Offseason testing – Nakagami leads Jerez MotoGP testing on his Honda LCR –

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Nakagami leads Jerez MotoGP testing on Honda LCR

Offseason testing - Nakagami leads Jerez MotoGP testing on his Honda LCR -

At the end of the second – and last – day of the 2019 MotoGP offseason tests in Jerez (Spain), it is Takaaki Nakagami (Honda LCR) who returns to the top of the combined classification ahead of Danilo Petrucci (official Ducati), Marc Marquez ( Honda official), Maverick Viñales (official Yamaha) and Jorge Lorenzo (official Honda). Debriefing.

"It was obviously a good day," said the Japanese rider, who had already created a surprise with the. The LCR Honda rider was riding the 2018 version of the RC213V in the absence of Cal Crutchlow, still recovering.

  • MNC special file : All offseason MotoGP tests

"I’m really happy to finish with the fastest time, our goal was to have a big 1’37 and that’s what we did," continued Nakagami. "I’m very satisfied with my feelings on the bike, we improved every day. Only Marc Marquez and I managed to turn in 1’37, it’s a good time. It’s an excellent way to finish the season to come home and rest, but I can’t wait for the 2019 season to begin ".

Offseason testing - Nakagami leads Jerez MotoGP testing on his Honda LCR -

Another good surprise with the new official Ducati rider: in the lead on the first day and 5th the next day, Danilo Petrucci came in second over the two days. "I am very happy with the work done during the four days of testing," said Petrux after and. "We tested a lot of different solutions but I always had a good feeling with the bike. This is the first time that I have been riding in an official team, I am discovering a new way of working but I am very happy with the atmosphere that reigns in the team. We have collected a lot of data which will allow us to work this winter to develop the bike for next year ".

One of the disappointments of these last tests comes from the 11th time of Valentino Rossi in the cumulative two days: the Yamaha official finished the year just ahead of the young Frenchman Fabio Quartararo, who discovered the MotoGP category on the Yamaha satellite Petronas SRT…

Offseason testing - Nakagami leads Jerez MotoGP testing on his Honda LCR -

However "my pace was not so bad", judge the Doctor: "we worked more details and we progressed (and 11th the next day in 1’38.596, Editor’s note). My feeling with the bike is rather good. At the start we knew we were going to have to choose the engine specifications and we made our choice, so the situation is quite clear. In other words: Rossi did not try to set a good time … Except that on the same bike, his teammate was classified fourth.

"For now I think we have kept a very good pace because we have mostly driven on worn tires," said Maverick Viñales. "I’m pretty happy because when I decided to push for a good lap, the bike reacted well. I know that we can still improve the chassis significantly. For the moment we have focused on the engines. So for me it’s pretty clear. We will meet and see what we decide. Obviously we still have to progress, but it was important to lay the foundations first. I think that in Malaysia we can improve the top speed, which will be important on long circuits. Overall, I think we have a competitive bike ".

"Some differences of appreciation"

"Maverick and Vale have given us precise feedback and they agree on the direction to take, so we can decide soon," said official Yamaha team manager Massimo Meregalli. "There are still some differences of opinion on certain aspects that will have to be clarified during the next offseason tests, but we already have an idea of ​​the working basis. We are looking for more smoothness in the arrival of power and engine brake, in accordance with what Maverick asked for because it corresponds to his riding style.We also tried to increase the life of the tire, which caused us problems in 2018. We have made progress but we must continue to work ".

Offseason testing - Nakagami leads Jerez MotoGP testing on his Honda LCR -

Finally on the French side, Sylvain Guintoli recorded the 22nd fastest time on a Suzuki prototype with a carbon frame, while the rookie Fabio Quartararo (above) finished 12th on his new Yamaha satellite SRT (1: 38.761). "El Diablo" is only 6 tenths behind his most experienced teammate Franco Morbidelli, who ranks 6th !

"On the second day I improved against the clock and my feelings improved," explains Fabio. "We made good progress and we managed to test things on the electronics, an area that we had hardly touched on. The biggest progress is in acceleration and in cornering. I could see that my lap times were going down and I felt fast, it was a great feeling ".

"We knew that the more I would ride on the Yamaha, the more I would progress", continues the young man from Nice who will be celebrating his 20th birthday on April 20 between. "My goal on the second day was to do one lap in 1’38 and I did three. We are working on the pace little by little and we are gradually getting closer to the fastest riders. I am very happy with this first phase. of the 2019 season, so I thank the whole team for their work. Now I can’t wait to be in February! "

Offseason testing - Nakagami leads Jerez MotoGP testing on his Honda LCR -

For his part, Johann Zarco (above) finished the two days in 19th position on his new official KTM (1: 39.864). Despite this deficit of almost 2 seconds (!) On the best time, the n ° 5 said he was "happy because we made the progress I was looking for. We confirmed the direction in which the technicians must work. The second day has started. on a better pace and I improved my lap times. Then we tested different time things but without being able to do a lot of laps ". 

"We are still working on my basic settings, we do not try to be the fastest but the settings improve with each of my outings on the track", positive No. 5 which also offers. "I can see that because the lap times are there and I can do them again relaxed, so that means that we are on the right track. The engine gives me a good feeling when coming out of a corner because even if we miss each other, the motorcycle is doing well and that is still one of our strengths. When we drive faster, we can enjoy it even more ".

Lorenzo already close to Marquez

Regarding the official Honda, Marc Marquez recorded the 3rd stopwatch just 0.025 sec behind Takaaki Nakagami: rather promising if we consider that the Japanese had the latest version of the 2018 RCV – therefore perfectly accomplished – while the world champion was driving a 2019 prototype, which Honda had expressly asked him not to drop due to the lack of a spare model !

Fifth, his new teammate Jorge Lorenzo confirms his very rapid adaptation to the world champion motorcycle on which Honda has redesigned the tank at his request, as Ducati had done successfully last year. "Jorgueuil" is only 0.135 sec behind Marquez and can therefore have a smile when leaving the Andalusian circuit, the scene of the last official tests before the traditional winter break. 

The next MotoGP 2019 offseason tests will take place from February 6 to 8, 2019 in Sepang (Malaysia): stay tuned !

2019 MotoGP test combined results in Jerez

  1. 30 Takaaki NAKAGAMI JPN LCR Honda IDEMITSU HONDA 1: 37.945 (Session 2)
  2. 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1: 37.968 0.023 0.023 (Session 1)
  3. 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1: 37.970 0.025 0.002 (Session 2)
  4. 12 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Yamaha Factory Racing YAMAHA 1: 38.066 0.121 0.096 (Session 2)
  5. 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1: 38.105 0.160 0.039 (Session 2)
  6. 21 Franco MORBIDELLI ITA Petronas Yamaha SRT YAMAHA 1: 38.118 0.173 0.013 (Session 2)
  7. 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1: 38.185 0.240 0.067 (Session 1)
  8. 43 Jack MILLER AUS Alma Pramac Racing DUCATI 1: 38.207 0.262 0.022 (Session 2)
  9. 63 Francesco BAGNAIA ITA Alma Pramac Racing DUCATI 1: 38.333 0.388 0.126 (Session 2)
  10. 42 Alex RINS SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 1: 38.522 0.577 0.189 (Session 2)
  11. 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Yamaha Factory Racing YAMAHA 1: 38.596 0.651 0.074 (Session 2)
  12. 20 Fabio QUARTARARO FRA Petronas Yamaha SRT YAMAHA 1: 38.761 0.816 0.165 (Session 2)
  13. 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Ducati Test Team DUCATI 1: 38.830 0.885 0.069 (Session 1)
  14. 53 Tito RABAT SPA Reale Avintia Racing DUCATI 1: 38.876 0.931 0.046 (Session 2)
  15. 36 Joan MIR SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 1: 38.931 0.986 0.055 (Session 2)
  16. 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 1: 39.008 1.063 0.077 (Session 1)
  17. 44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1: 39.144 1.199 0.136 (Session 2)
  18. 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Reale Avintia Racing DUCATI 1: 39.744 1.799 0.600 (Session 2)
  19. 5 Johann ZARCO FRA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1: 39.864 1.919 0.120 (Session 2)
  20. 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 1: 40.156 2.211 0.292 (Session 2)
  21. 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 1: 40.174 2.229 0.018 (Session 1)
  22. 50 Sylvain GUINTOLI FRA Suzuki Test Team SUZUKI 1: 40.498 2.553 0.324 (Session 2)
  23. 55 Hafizh SYAHRIN MAL KTM Tech 3 Racing KTM 1: 40.520 2.575 0.022 (Session 2)
  24. 88 Miguel OLIVEIRA POR KTM Tech 3 Racing KTM 1: 40.577 2.632 0.057 (Session 2)
  25. 15 Matteo BAIOCCO ITA Aprilia Racing Test Team APRILIA 1: 41.907 3.962 1.330 (Session 2)

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