Spanish GP – Fabio Quartararo’s new record in the Jerez MotoGP tests! –

New record for Fabio Quartararo in MotoGP tests in Jerez !

Spanish GP - New record for Fabio Quartararo in the Jerez MotoGP tests! -

The Jerez circuit is on the way to becoming the preserve of Fabio Quartararo! After the Spanish GP, the talented Frenchman partially erases the disappointment of his retirement and sets a new absolute record during official testing on his Yamaha Petronas-SRT !

On Saturday May 4, Fabio Quartararo made history by becoming at 20 years and 14 days the youngest poleman in the premier category – ahead of Marc Marquez! – during qualifying for the Spanish GP. Timed in 1’36.880, the Niçois seized the new absolute record of the Andalusian circuit !

Sunday, May 5, bad luck fell with all its blind cruelty: the selector rod of the M1 n ° 20 breaks out of a bend – a first according to Yamaha who would consider increasing its diameter – while Fabio had just recovered second position at the expense of Franco Morbidelli, his teammate at Petronas SRT (Sepang Racing Team)…

  • Spanish GP 2019:
  • Spanish GP 2019 :
  • MNC special file :

On Monday May 6, the young Frenchman ignores this infuriating twist of fate and improves his own record by five tenths during the "post-GP" test day in Jerez! The French rookie went down in 1’36.379 in the 70th of his 73 laps: no driver will join him below the 1’36.5 mark, which says a lot about his speed !

This remarkable ability to get back in the saddle suggests that Fabio has a mind up to his speed, which recalls – oh sigh – the thunderous debut of Johann Zarco on the same bike … A perf ‘with double meaning otherwise signed on an M1 with a new fork.

Rossi continues to suffer in Jerez

Quartararo ended the day with 4 tenths ahead of Crutchlow’s Honda and 7 tenths over Morbidelli’s M1 and Espargaro’s KTM. The Spanish driver, 13th in the race, gives the Austrian manufacturer some hope after a particularly disappointing weekend…

Spanish GP - New record for Fabio Quartararo in the Jerez MotoGP tests! -

Maverick Viñales takes fifth fastest time after celebrating his first podium on Sunday since winning last fall in Australia. Les Bleus d’Iwata focused on electronics and chassis settings to improve traction that continues to be lacking in official Yamaha … but strangely not in M1 Petronas, which are also from 2019 vintage. ! 

For his part, Viñales’ teammate finished in 17th position: Valentino Rossi will have definitely suffered from start to finish this year in Jerez, although he managed to limit the damage in the championship by climbing from 13th to 6th position in the race. ! We can bet that the next round at Le Mans (72) for the French Grand Prix from May 17 to 19 will be more favorable to him.

Three motorcycles for Marquez

The winner of the Spanish Grand Prix, Marc Marquez, got the seventh fastest time in this test, 0.881 sec behind Quartararo. The Honda official, already back in charge of the championship despite his fall in Austin, was particularly assiduous during this day with no less than three motorcycles made available to him by the HRC !

Spanish GP - Fabio Quartararo's new record in the Jerez MotoGP tests! -

The defending champion has alternated runs with his usual RCVs and that of test pilot Stefan Bradl, equipped with a new carbon chassis launched in the race this weekend. With some success, since the German took 10th place in the Spanish GP just behind the holders Honda LCR, Cal Crutchlow and Takaaki Nakagami !

Bodes well for the HRC which could draw an excellent result from this first part of the season if its second driver was less in a hurry: Jorge Lorenzo, sad 12th in the Spanish GP, did not manage to improve his feelings during this test post-GP. Worse yet: the Mallorcan has fallen twice and fails in 9th place at 1.087 sec…

Suzuki is also "in the wind"

We should also mention the 6th and 8th places of the Suzuki of Joan Mir and Alex Rins, which in turn released a spoiler in front of the rear wheel. The Hamamatsu coat of arms follows the trend started by Ducati, then imitated by all those who had yet filed a complaint against this appendix (Aprilia, KTM, Honda and Suzuki) !

The opportunity to see that this spoiler attached to the swingarm of the GSX-RR is not particularly becoming: it is even a real snow shovel! The Suzuki pilots also had the support of the French assayer, Sylvain Guintoli (23rd at 3.258 sec).

KTM is treading water without Pedrosa

Johann Zarco – who will now be coached by former champion Jean-Michel Bayle – ends these tests in 16th position 1.516 seconds from the reference time. The large gap between him and his teammate Pol Espargaro (0.781 sec) confirms that the n ° 5 is still struggling to make his mark on the RC16, despite the new chassis discovered in private testing at Le Mans (72).

Spanish GP - New record for Fabio Quartararo in the Jerez MotoGP tests! -

The progress of the KTM clan is slowed down by the absence from the track of Dani Pedrosa, who still can not drive while his presence this weekend in Andalusia gave hope the opposite. Alas, his return to the handlebars has not yet entered into the convalescence plan of n ° 26, the umpteenth time operated on the shoulder this winter..

Andrea Iannone, forfeited following his fall in FP4, for his part tried to take back the handlebars of his Aprilia at the start of the day, but in vain: the Italian had to resolve to let go due to severe pain. His teammate Aleix Espargaro finished this test in 15th place.

Results and classification of the post-race test in Jerez

  1. QUARTARARO, Fabio 1: 36.379 
  2. CRUTCHLOW, Cal 1: 36.797 0.418
  3. MORBIDELLI, Franco 1: 37.093 0.714 
  4. ESPARGARO, Pol 1: 37.114 0.73 
  5. VIÑALES, Maverick 1: 37.226 0.847
  6. MIR, Joan 1: 37.233 0.85  
  7. MARK, Mark 1: 37.260 0.881
  8. RINS, Alex 1: 37.275 0.896  
  9. LORENZO, Jorge 1: 37.466 1.087
  10. NAKAGAMI, Takaaki 1: 37.468 1.089 
  11. DOVIZIOSO, Andrea 1: 37.601 1.222 
  12. BAGNAIA, Francesco 1: 37.698 1.319
  13. MILLER, Jack 1: 37.701 1.322
  14. PETRUCCI, Danilo 1: 37.720 1.341
  15. ESPARGARO, Aleix 1: 37.758 1.379
  16. ZARCO, Johann 1: 37.895 1.516
  17. ROSSI, Valentino 1: 38.056 1.677 
  18. RABAT, Tito 1: 38.061 1.682
  19. ABRAHAM, Karel 1: 38.075 1.696 
  20. SMITH, Bradley 1: 38.077 1.698
  21. OLIVEIRA, Miguel 1: 38.649 2.270
  22. SYAHRIN, Hafizh 1: 39.053 2.674 
  23. GUINTOLI, Sylvain 1: 39.637 3.258

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