Moto GP: Barbera and Rea (!) Start Jerez’s private tests strong
Several MotoGP teams are back on track at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain for three days of private testing. In the absence of the favorites of the premier class, the Ducati satellites had a great time on the first day… Threatened by World Superbike Kawasaki at the hands of Jonathan Rea !
The MotoGP riders set sail for the beautiful and fast Jerez circuit, in Andalusia, to begin their first round of private testing, in the wake of. As explained previously on MNC, not all the teams made the trip to Spain: Yamaha, for example, preferred to go to Malaysia to test the new M1 2017 out of sight with Rossi, Viñales, Zarco and Folger.
Likewise, the official Honda riders did not make the trip to Jerez: the HRC did not consider the presence of Marquez and Pedrosa useful at this stage, for lack of new parts to test on the RC213V. The reigning world champion and his teammate are replaced by test pilots of the winged crest, such as Hiroshi Aoyama. Tito Rabat is also missing at Honda Marc VDS, due to an intervention to have a plate removed from his forearm.
At Ducati, the big absentee is Jorge Lorenzo, to whom Yamaha refused the possibility of getting back on the Italian bike before the end of his contract, on December 31 … The Mallorcan will therefore not be able to take back the handlebars of the GP17 before the official Sepang tests at the end of January. Like Honda, the Bologna brand has also preferred to entrust further development to its testers, leaving its holder Andrea Dovizioso to rest..
Hector Barbera at the controls in front of … Jonathan Rea !
In the end, no big favorite in the premier class was present in Jerez, which explains the somewhat surprising ranking of the first day: Hector Barbera took the best time on the GP16 which he discovered in 1’39.614, at a small second from pole taken by Valentino Rossi in 1’38.736 during the. A difference partly justified by weather conditions that were still fairly cool during this first day, following the showers that fell the day before.
In the "MotoGP" classification, the Spaniard precedes his teammate Loris Baz, who has swapped his old "GP14.2" for a GP15 on which he feels more comfortable and more consistent. However, if we include the lap times, the Frenchman drops to third place one breath away (+0.067 sec!) Of the WSBK world champion, Jonathan Rea, on the factory Kawasaki: 1’39.739 for the ruthless " JR "against 1’39.806 for" Baz-ooka " !
This admirable performance of the official Kawasaki reinforces the credibility and competitiveness of the world championship of production motorcycles, especially as Rea’s ZX-10R gives a good 10 km / h at the GP16 of Baz: 272 km / h for the Superbike against 283.5 km / h for the MotoGP! On the GP16 of the Aspar team, with whom he made his reunion, the Spaniard Alvaro Bautista sets the fourth fastest time. The former Aprilia rider is the last to drop below 1’40 ahead of Scott Redding, who closes this Top 5 scored by Ducati.
Aleix Espargaro once again posted a good performance on the Aprilia, demonstrating, as in Valencia, his good handling of the RS-GP, of which he praised the qualities of the front axle. The Spaniard precedes test driver Michele Pirro and Andrea Iannone, discreet eighth for his second session on the Suzuki. The former Ducati official is ahead of Jack Miller and Chaz Davies, the second Superbike rider who is among the top ten in MotoGP. Note the minor falls of Smith on the KTM and Lowes on the Aprilia, he who had already fallen heavily when he discovered the RS-GP in Valence.
Results and standings of the first day of private testing in Jerez
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