Offseason tests – MotoGP test of Valence: tripled from Yamaha who still has to work his Vmax –

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MotoGP test of Valencia: tripled from Yamaha who still has to work his Vmax

Offseason tests - MotoGP test of Valence: tripled from Yamaha who still has to work his Vmax -

Viñales, Quartararo and Morbidelli were the fastest on the Valencia track during the first two test days for the 2020 MotoGP season. Bleus – Iwata – fans should not, however, claim victory too soon: the Honda and Ducati were much faster… at the end of the short straight line !

A small 1’30 for Quartararo on Tuesday, a big 1’29 for Viñales yesterday … The M1 n ° 20 (2019 model) and the M1 n ° 12 (prototype 2020) took turns leading the two timesheets of the Valencia test, the very first of the 2020 MotoGP season, the 72nd of the Moto Grand Prix … and the 18th on Site !

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  • MNC file :

The "winning" trifecta of these official tests was completed each time by Morbidelli on his own Yamaha n ° 21 … Like our tasty "20 French" (not to be confused with the Beaujolais Nouveau), Franco drove the bike he was racing on last weekend for the last GP of the 2019 season. !

Offseason tests - MotoGP test of Valencia: tripled from Yamaha who still has to work his Vmax -

Maverick on the contrary was responsible for evaluating the very last version of the Yamaha Grand Prix. The fact that he managed to turn a hint faster than our "Fabio-lous rookie" – author of the pole position last Saturday – is encouraging, of course, but the enthusiasm of the Spaniard was still weak last night.

Indeed, Viñales is aware that the Ricardo Tormo circuit record already belongs to an old M1: that of 2016, then fitted with Bridgestone and driven by the now very young retiree Jorge Lorenzo. The reigning world champion at the time had then covered the 4 km (and 5 meters) of tarmac in 1’29.401, that is to say half a second faster! In addition, Viñales had already dominated Valencia’s post-GP testing last year….

Offseason tests - MotoGP test of Valencia: tripled from Yamaha who still has to work his Vmax -

Alone on the track, the Yam ‘therefore remains the benchmark in Valence and trustees the three steps of the "podium". But in the race, surrounded by its rivals and above all dislocated in the short straight, the M1 no longer dominates. This is why the Iwata engine manufacturers were asked to work – even harder – on their 4-cylinder "crossplane"….

To increase the power of their engine and thus improve the maximum speed of their motorcycle, the Blues have to fill the airbox more … Hence the new air intake now higher than wide, seen on the official machines of Viñales and de Rossi (but yes, remember) who are in 10th place just one second behind his teammate.

Offseason tests - MotoGP test of Valence: tripled from Yamaha who still has to work his Vmax -

Paradoxically, the boss of the Yamaha Monster team praises the greater smoothness of the new engine, compared to the old one which was too "gummivorous" … Massimo Meregalli also ensures that the top speed has been improved "until some point".

Nothing revolutionary in reality since the M1 of Maverick Viñales, credited with the best time but also the best maximum speed of the four Yamaha with 322.8 km / h, still returned 7 km / h to the RCV of world champion Marc Marquez ( to the aspiration of a Ducati?), and the double to the Desmosedici of the champion of Vmax on this test, Jack Miller !

Offseason tests - MotoGP test of Valence: tripled from Yamaha who still has to work his Vmax -

For its part, Suzuki which, like Yamaha, focused its work mainly on its engine and speed during this first test, seems to have made greater progress on the GSX-RR: Joan Mir exceeded 325 km / h yesterday and the day before yesterday. … To be confirmed soon on the more demanding circuit of Jerez.

The Spanish n ° 36 and n ° 42 made a nice group shot in fifth and sixth place, just ahead of their compatriot Marc Marquez! HRC No.93 was also beaten by his LCR team colleague Cal Crutchlow, who spared no effort by completing 122 laps in two days (!) And finished fourth, half a second behind the leader.

Offseason tests - MotoGP test of Valence: tripled from Yamaha who still has to work his Vmax -

While working on his future RCV, the six-time MotoGP champion kept a watchful and benevolent eye on his new teammate and little brother Alex. According to Marc, the n ° 73 must in particular progress on the last phase of the braking, the most critical according to him at the controls of the Honda….

The new and unexpected recruit of the Honda Repsol team (following the surprise withdrawal of Lorenzo) ends his first test in the penultimate place in the standings, almost two and a half seconds behind Viñales … The Moto2 world champion is ahead of the ‘Another unexpected rookie Brad Binder (due to KTM / Zarco clash) but is beaten by their third friend…

Offseason tests - MotoGP test of Valence: tripled from Yamaha who still has to work his Vmax -

Iker Lecuona is the very pleasant surprise of this test since the new member of the Tech3 team (satellite and junior KTM team for the second season) signs the 16th fastest time. The very young Spaniard – he was born on the sixth day of the year 2000! – thus equal the impressive performance of a certain Quartararo a year ago !

Still at KTM, Pol Espargaro is ninth to two breaths hundredths of a second for vice-world champion Andrea Dovizioso. Supported by a Dani Pedrosa still in the game and in the Top 15 (!), The n ° 44 was able to quickly try a new chassis still in orange steel tubes, but with an oblong section rather than a round one..

Offseason tests - MotoGP test of Valencia: tripled from Yamaha who still has to work his Vmax -

No mystery recruit on the other hand at Ducati, despite the announcement – erroneous or premature? – the signing of a contract between Zarco and the Avintia team … The French n ° 5 has not taken over the handlebars of the second RCV of the LCR team despite the absence of Takaaki Nakagami (what good is it does not ride in 2020 on this motorcycle).

The Bologna Reds did well to summon Michele Pirro for this test: injured in the shoulder, Danilo Petrucci only completed nine laps before forfeiting. At the end of his 54 laps, the development pilot’s best time, however, was ahead of that of n ° 9 by only 9 thousandths of a second..

Offseason tests - MotoGP test of Valence: tripled from Yamaha who still has to work his Vmax -

Finally, Aprilia was rolling its three official drivers: racing drivers Aleix Espargagro and Andrea Ianonne accompanied by development driver Bradley Smith. While waiting for the delivery of the all-new RS-GP 2020 in January 2020 in Sepang, the Reds of Noale did not make any sparks: the Aprilia n ° 41 turned a little slower than the KTM n ° 27 of the little new Lecuona…

The Italian n ° 29 nevertheless put on the show – despite himself! – by getting off his flaming motorcycle at the end of the straight line. In the standings, unfortunately for him, the "Maniac" is less of a "show" since he has to be content with a distant 20th place. Maybe it will be warmer and higher in Malaysia ?

Valence test 19 and 20 November 2019: the times

Offseason tests - MotoGP test of Valence: tripled from Yamaha who still has to work his Vmax -

Valence test 19 and 20 November 2019: the statements

Maverick Viñales (Yamaha n ° 12):

“Today was similar to yesterday. The new chassis is working pretty well, I’m happy. I continued to work on the engine and I feel like we are taking small steps forward. We are working very hard indeed, but that’s not enough yet. This test was positive because we’ve made some big changes and that’s what matters most. Honestly the grip here in Valencia was fantastic during the test so if the grip is weaker in Jerez, we will know more. I feel that there is potential and we have to find how to exploit it. The layout of the circuit in Jerez is totally different. It is a good track for a test, because that usually if the bike fits well it fits everywhere so we will see how strong we are.

Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha n ° 20):

“We tested a few things today, but we’ll have to try them again to confirm how it felt. The most important thing I could do today was just ride, and work on a few settings. things to improve on the bike, but it looks like Maverick’s new bike is already faster than the current one so Yamaha is working in the right direction and I can’t wait to be able to ride it in Jerez ".

Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha n ° 21):

"I am satisfied with this test because we were able to be fast throughout these two days, faster than at the race weekend and closer to the front ones. We tried new products which were good for us, just little things. Some of them I liked very much and some didn’t make a big difference, so it’s important now to try to understand the changes. I hope we we will be able to test the new engine in Jerez, because it will be very important to get feedback and understand its strengths ".

Cal Crutchlow (Honda # 35):

"We went a little faster today than yesterday, which is obviously still the goal: to get more information and to be able to go faster. We are generally satisfied, satisfied with the number of laps completed. We completed a fairly high number of laps in the short amount of time we were on the track because no one got out very early, it was too cold and we have another test in two or three days. managed to complete 75 laps in three and a half to four hours, and we’re happy with the progress we’ve made today. ".

Joan Mir (Suzuki n ° 36):

"I am very happy with these two days here in Valencia. We first tried the new engine and from yesterday I felt good with it, so today we worked on the electronics to find the limits of this new setup. I had excellent lap times, very consistent and always up the timesheets. At the moment we are happy, everything has gone well here, but we are aware that it is too early to say 100% that the new engine is the right one. We have to continue testing, especially on the electronics. In Jerez, we may have other improvements, but in any case, we are on the right track ".

Alex Rins (Suzuki # 42):

"Today was another positive day, because we made progress on the engine and the results are good: I was able to improve my lap times and also be very consistent, which means that the new engine configuration is working well. I feel like the power at high revs has been improved significantly, although Valencia is not the right track to check it out as it’s a very packed track. I can’t wait to go to Jerez where we will be able to collect more info. It was important to find out about this progress over these two days, and so far we haven’t found any negative points. This means that we can focus on finalizing the new specification and see if we can confirm our results in the next test ".

Marc Marquez (Honda n ° 93):

“It was a good test and we started to understand the 2020 bike, or at least the first version. We tried some things on the engine and the chassis: as always there were positives and negatives. had my best time today with the prototype that’s a good point. In five days we’ll be back to work in Jerez and I think that will help us understand the bike even more. I can’t wait to be there. The aim is to confirm our findings here and move forward on the agenda. ".

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati n ° 04):

“Today it was important to study several components of the new bike, to compare them to each other, and we were also able to test a new experimental front tire brought here by Michelin. The next test in Jerez will be very important so that we can give a definitive opinion on the whole 2020, but the first impression is positive ".

Pol Espargagro (KTM n ° 44):

“Overall it was a good two days, with a lot of positive information gathered on the electronics and the chassis for the guys at the factory and the technicians. Today we focused again on the chassis and tested an evolution ".

Valentino Rossi (Yamaha n ° 46):

“It was a good test, I’m quite happy because we worked well. It was very important for us to try the new bike, the 2020 prototype. It’s good, which is not bad. We have a lot. but we have improved. We have also made some changes within the team, incorporated a new chief engineer, so it is very important to understand the new dynamics of the team and to try to work together. The new bike and the change of personnel turned out to be positive and in the end, I’m ninth today (10th overall). We have improved the pace a lot on the worn tire, which is very important ".

Jack Miller (Ducati n ° 43):

"I am very satisfied with these two days of testing and to have finished the season offering great satisfaction to the team. We have worked hard with some new parts, and today I had the chance to test the 2020 chassis which I will use again in Jerez. The feeling is extremely positive and I can’t wait to get back on the track next week for the last two days of testing. Then the whole team will enjoy a winter break well deserved ".

Iker Lecuona (KTM n ° 27):

“I now have two more days on the bike here in Valencia. Overall it was very pleasant to ride the bike and I felt a lot better. I improved my time slightly compared to qualifying on Saturday . I know very well that I have to continue to work, to adapt my riding style a lot more. For the next test in Jerez de la Frontera, I want to change a few more things concerning the lean angle and the position of my body, braking … I already feel better even with the electronics, but there is still a lot to do ".

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia n ° 41):

“During these two days, some of the difficulties that we encountered during the race weekend were unfortunately confirmed, starting with some instability of the train before that we were not able to resolve completely. We mainly worked on the electronics, we know the new bike will arrive in Sepang and I can’t wait to try it out ".

Andrea Iannone (Aprilia n ° 29):

“We did a lot of work during those two days. We know we need to improve and we are leaving nothing to chance. We had the opportunity to test different solutions and ‘retest’ a few things used during the year. We have found some interesting things: improvements that will certainly be useful in view of the 2020 season. Of course, problems can arise and it is normal when you get close to the limits, but I’m pretty calm.

Alex Marquez (Honda n ° 73):

"I’m very happy with the way the test went: lap after lap we understand the bike better and better. I did a lot of laps today so physically I’m a bit tired because I’m still a little steep on the bike, but it will get better as the runs. We have worked a lot on worn tires to improve our pace and learn more about the handling. We still have to improve of course, and work on some points , but I’m happy with what we did today and yesterday. Now we’re going to Jerez, I can’t wait to be on the bike again after really enjoying the bike. "

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