Offseason testing – MotoGP Jerez testing: Ducati dominates day one –

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MotoGP Jerez testing: Ducati dominates day one

Offseason testing - MotoGP Jerez testing: Ducati dominates day one -

Danilo Petrucci was the fastest of the first day of official MotoGP testing at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit ahead of his new teammate Andrea Dovizioso in the official Ducati team. Takaaki Nakagami shines in third place ahead of Viñales and Marquez.

These official MotoGP tests in Jerez are of paramount importance as this is the last session before the winter break. There is therefore no question of missing out during these two days planned in the wake of, because the engineers will work all winter on the parameters validated in the off-season. !

  • MNC special file : All offseason MotoGP tests

The first day however started at low speed due to the particularly cool conditions in this Andalusian region. Little by little, the pace rose to highlight the excellent form of the official Ducatis: Petrucci does honor to his new status as factory rider with the best time in 1’37.968.

"Petrux" is followed at 0.217 sec by his box neighbor Andrea Dovizioso, second in the MotoGP general classification in 2017 and 2018. The two Italians spent part of the day exploring new electronic and mechanical parameters, while studying a saddle redesigned to improve aerodynamics.

Petrucci and Dovizioso are helped in this task by Alvaro Bautista, who continues his first WSBK tests with these MotoGP tests to replace test rider Michele Pirro who undergoes surgery on his collarbone following his big crash at the Italian GP.

The Nakagami surprise, Rossi disappointment

Takaaki Nakagami caused a sensation by taking third place this day 0.380 sec from the reference time on his Honda. The Japanese driver – often fast in the offseason – uses the latest version of the RC213V made available to the LCR team, in the absence of his star driver Cal Crutchlow who is still recovering from his crash in Australia.

 Offseason testing - MotoGP Jerez testing: Ducati dominates day one -

Fourth at 0.408 sec, Maverick Viñales – assisted by his new chief mechanic Esteban Garcia – remains in the leading group ahead of Marc Marquez. Encouraging for Yamaha, since the n ° 25 n ° 12 also shone during the tests in Valencia (Spain): remains to be confirmed beyond a single lap, which would still be problematic according to Valentino Rossi…

The Italian, anonymous 17th on this first day, was the victim of a breakdown on his M1 which made him lose a lot of time at the start of the day. On the track, the n ° 46 did not seem satisfied with the changes made by his employer and in particular considers the two new Yamaha engines not yet at the level.

Offseason testing - MotoGP Jerez testing: Ducati dominates day one -

Valentino Rossi, very disappointed with the lack of real progress after this first day, believes that if the M1 is indeed capable of slamming a pendulum with new tires – an area in which Viñales shines – it still lacks consistency to maintain its performance over time. towers.

"If we competed in a race tomorrow, we would be fourth or maybe third, but we would not win", angrily asserts the dean of the field, who has been repeating the same things since early 2017 !

Lorenzo adopts – already – a new tank

At Honda, development is going well around a new prototype that Marc Marquez was forbidden to drop because the HRC currently only has one copy! The World Champion – seen below be careful, eh! – said he was satisfied with the changes made … without going into details.

 Offseason testing - MotoGP Jerez testing: Ducati dominates day one -

Marquez is ahead of the Italian-Brazilian rider Franco Morbidelli, who signs the 6th fastest time 0.691 sec behind the leader on his new Yamaha from the Petronas SRT team. Former rider Marc VDS is extremely satisfied with his switch from the RCV to the M1, believing he feels like "rolling in butter" on the Yamaha handlebars. !

Jorge Lorenzo, Marquez’s new HRC teammate, appears in the next place (7th) on the second official Honda. The Mallorcan seems to have already found some good benchmarks on his new bike, among other things thanks to the responsiveness of his employer: Honda has indeed manufactured a new tank at his request, as Ducati had done successfully last year. !

More at ease on the handlebars of the RC213V thanks to these modifications, Lorenzo was much more incisive than during his first test run in Valence: the n ° 99 finished this first day just 2 tenths behind his new neighbor of box, Marc Marquez (1’38.749 against 1’38.517) !

Quartararo 16th on the Yamaha Petronas SRT

On the French side, the 16th place signed by the beginner Fabio Quartararo is likely to delight his fans: the young Nice is only 1.446 sec and still allows himself to beat a certain Valentino Rossi.

"El Diablo", author of an excellent end to the Moto2 season, believes he can still improve under braking on his bike, which is less developed than that of his teammate Morbidelli. Remember that the new private Yamaha team supplies an M1 in configuration "A" to Morbidelli and "B" to Quartararo.

The KTM must move forward

The 19th place signed by Johann Zarco, on the other hand, appears less positive, insofar as the French still lags 2.224 seconds behind the leading man … Johann had three versions of RC16 at his disposal, just like his new teammate Pol Espargaro who is placed in 15th position at 1.273 seconds from the reference time.

"I’m happy with this third day on the KTM, because I was able to take the step forward, which I expected", positive however Johann Zarco even if his times "are still a little slow".

"I feel like I have more control, especially with the front and I play more easily with the bike," said former Yamaha Tech3 rider. "It takes time, but I’m sure all of the effort will pay off!" The new KTM rider will have the opportunity to improve this Thursday for the second day of MotoGP testing in Jerez, which has just been kicked off !

Finally, it should be noted that Suzuki is launching a new carbon chassis on the bike of French test rider Sylvain Guintoli, 22nd on this first day. Beginner Joan Mir (10th) for his part allowed himself to finish in front of his teammate Alex Rins (13th) despite a good fall in the first hours.. 

Results of the first day of MotoGP testing in Jerez

Offseason testing - MotoGP Jerez testing: Ducati dominates day one -

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