By Dean AdamsValencia Test – Combined Results:
1 M.VIÑALES SPA YAMAHA 1’30.327 58 1’29.849 56
2 F.QUARTARARO FRA YAMAHA 1’30.163 73 1’30.013 42
3 F.MORBIDELLI ITA YAMAHA 1’30.650 30 1’30.114 50
4 C.CRUTCHLOW GBR HONDA 1’31.183 63 1’30.316 59
5 J.MIR SPA SUZUKI 1’30.811 61 1’30.427 54
6 A.RINS SPA SUZUKI 1’30.958 57 1’30.503 54
7 M.MARQUEZ SPA HONDA 1’30.698 33 1’30.556 53
8 A.DOVIZIOSO ITA DUCATI 1’30.665 48 1’31.143 37
9 P.ESPARGARO SPA KTM 1’30.974 29 1’30.685 12
10 V.ROSSI ITA YAMAHA 1’31.012 57 1’30.781 55
11 J.MILLER AUS DUCATI 1’31.130 20 1’30.854 57
12 T.RABAT SPA DUCATI 1’31.775 50 1’31.258 62
13 M.PIRRO ITA DUCATI 1’32.016 23 1’31.424 31
14 D.PETRUCCI ITA DUCATI 1’31.433 9
15 D.PEDROSA SPA KTM 1’31.863 38 1’31.470 28
16 I.LECUONA SPA KTM 1’31.645 55 1’31.515 10
17 A.ESPARGARO SPA APRILIA 1’31.815 20 1’31.526 22
18 K.ABRAHAM CZE DUCATI 1’32.034 44 1’31.597 53
19 S.BRADL GER HONDA 1’32.833 25 1’31.657 29
20 A.IANNONE ITA APRILIA 1’31.674 28 1’31.800 36
21 B.SMITH GBR APRILIA 1’32.090 46 1’32.249 26
22 A.MARQUEZ SPA HONDA 1’32.873 52 1’32.235 52
23 B.BINDER RSA KTM 1’32.645 61 1’32.367 61
MotoGP Press
Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) topped Day 2 of the Valencia test and it was once again a Yamaha 1-2-3, with the trio at the top within three tenths. Viñales was the only rider in the 1:29s – true of Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) at the weekend – and the number 12 narrowly beat the Frenchman’s pole time on Wednesday. Quartararo was 0.164 in arrears, with Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) within 0.265 of the top. Honda’s Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) was the only other man within half a second…
Viñales fastest was set on the ‘new’ bike – with a different chassis and new engine – and the Spaniard put in 67 laps on the final day of testing, topping the timesheets with his 56th. Teammate Valentino Rossi was once again ninth, and ‘The Doctor’ did 68 laps on Wednesday. He was within 0.968 of the top and suffered a mechanical problem in the afternoon, but got back out.
Quartararo and Morbidelli, meanwhile, didn’t say much about what they were working on – “some small things” and the Frenchman said it was more a day of riding than testing as yet. For a man only just starting his second season, the 64 laps were doubtlessly useful, however, and Morbidelli added another 52 to the team’s count.
For Crutchlow it was a mammoth day of work. The Brit headed out on the ‘2020’ bike, suffered a crash but managed to prove Yamaha’s closest competitor on the timesheets and improve his laptime from the weekend after 73 laps. Speaking of the number 73, Alex Marquez, on the other side of the LCR Honda garage, was the only man to do more laps. The rookie did 79 on his second day as an HRC MotoGP™ rider, shaving six tenths off his time from Tuesday.
Reigning Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) made some more Honda headlines, however. The number 93 rode around with his brother AND premiered the aero seen on Crutchlow yesterday, with the all-black Honda breaking cover bearing a 93 in the afternoon, and he ended the day in seventh after 71 laps. He also suffered a failed getaway earlier in the day, and his teammate for the test – in the garage at least – also suffered an issue on Wednesday as Stefan Bradl ground to a halt. Nevertheless the German was able to complete 53 laps by the end of play.
Team Suzuki Ecstar were fifth and sixth on Wednesday. The new engine previously having been put through its paces by test rider Sylvain Guintoli was a big focus for the Hamamatsu factory as they look for a step forward in terms of outright speed, and Joan Mir was the quickest Suzuki on Day 2. He put in a 1:30.427 and did 61 laps, but teammate Alex Rins was just 0.076 off and did 47 laps. They plan to continue testing the engine at Jerez.
KTM stole a few headlines on Day 2. For their speed – Pol Espargaro’s (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) impressive showing and that of Red Bull KTM Tech 3’s Iker Lecuona – and they had the new kids on the block, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Lecuona, taking some tips from the veterans. But there were also a few crashes, with each of the three racers all going down. Espargaro first, Lecuona later and Binder even later in the day. Espargaro’s crash, however, led to his fastest lap as he was then forced to switch bike to another new chassis – and found immediate positives. He was eighth and did 46 laps, Pedrosa 14th after 48 laps and Lecuona just 0.045 off the three-time World Champion by the end of play. Binder did 66 laps on Day 2.
The Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso, meanwhile, was focused on gathering more information on what they tested on Day 1, one big thing of note being a new chassis. Some sensors were spotted on the rear of the Borgo Panigale machine too on Wednesday, and the ‘salad box’ was back. Danilo Petrucci, however, was not back. The Italian remained sidelined by his bothersome shoulder, although Michele Pirro was once again on track to put the laps in – 40 of them – and Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) was all action stations too. The Aussie explained he’d been doing back to back comparisons with the first version of the 2020 machines because the number 09 was ruled out. Miller was fastest Ducati in 10th, just ahead of Dovizioso. Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) was 12th, ahead of Pirro.
For Aprilia, it was another day of track action working with their 2019 machines. Aleix Espargaro was 16th after 43 laps, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini teammate Andrea Iannone in 19th. Espargaro crashed at the final corner, and Iannone ran on at Turn 1 with the RS-GP then catching alight – rider ok. Test rider Bradley Smith was also on track and did another 32 laps to add to the information-gathering tally.
That’s it from Valencia and the first test of 2020 – with Jerez up next as a two-day test takes place on Monday and Tuesday. Who will reign there? Will we see more engines, chassis updates, more aero and even more tech on show? And can Yamaha keep their dominion so far? Check out motogp.com for coverage, interviews and more.
Repsol Honda
Valencia Test
MotoGP 2020
Repsol Honda Team pleased with results at productive Valencia Test
Over 250 laps later, the Valencia Test comes to a close for the Repsol Honda Team as they prepare to head for Jerez before officially beginning the winter break.
The Valencia test drew to a close after two productive days of running in the wake of the final race of the year. Despite some cold mornings, the weather remained dry and sunny across the two days with improvements on the second.
Completing 131 laps over the two days, reigning champion Marc Marquez leaves Valencia pleased with the information gathered ahead of the 2020 season. With a variety of parts and settings tested, Marc ended the post-race test as the seventh fastest rider thanks to a 1’30.556 set on the second day.
The second day of testing brought 79 more laps aboard the RC213V for MotoGP rookie Alex Marquez, this was the most laps completed by a rider today. Improving his best lap time by over half a second from day one to day two, Alex Marquez heads to Jerez hungry to continue making progress and further his understanding of the MotoGP machine.
A final pre-winter test at Jerez will offer both riders and engineers alike a chance to gather the last pieces of information to help further develop the 2020 machine over winter. The Repsol Honda Team will enjoy a brief rest before returning to track with Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez at the Andalusian track on November 25 and 26.
Marc Marquez
7th 1’30.556
“It has been a good test and we have started to understand the 2020 bike, or at least the first version. We tried some things with the engine and the chassis, like always there were some positives and negatives. I did my best time today with the prototype bike, this was a positive. Now in five days we will be back to work in Jerez and I think that this will help us even more to understand the bike. I’m looking forward to it. The goal is to confirm our findings from here and make a further plan.”
Alex Marquez
22nd 1’32.235
“I’m quite happy with how the test went, lap by lap we are understanding the bike more and more. I did a lot of laps today so physically I am a little tired because I’m still a bit stiff on the bike but this will improve with more laps. We did a lot on used tyres to improve our pace and learn the behaviour more. Of course, we still need to improve more and work on some things, but I am satisfied with what we have done today and in this test. Now we go to Jerez, I’m looking forward to being on the bike again after really enjoying the bike.”
KTM
First stage of 2020 MotoGP work completed at Valencia
MotoGP 2020 IRTA test Valencia (ESP)
Two sunny and efficient days of testing at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, Spain helped Red Bull KTM make headway into their schedule of preparation for the 2020 season. Pol Espargaro used a brand new configuration of his factory KTM RC16 to set the 8th fastest time by the end of the second afternoon of work.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing and Red Bull KTM Tech3 immediately got to grips with their testing programme at Valencia and in the wake of the nineteenth and final round of MotoGP this week. Ideas, components and theories for 2020 and a forthcoming fourth year of Grand Prix racing were evaluated in two days of sunshine and pleasant autumnal conditions.
Pol Espargaro sprung from KTM’s best season yet in the premier class of the FIM World Championship to make progress with the latest version of the RC16 chassis and tested two new packages through the course of more than 100 laps (8th fastest on day two with a small crash). New teammate Brad Binder entered the garage and begun his process of familiarisation with the demands of MotoGP machinery. The South African was 22nd fastest.
Test rider Dani Pedrosa (14th) circulated at a very respectable pace, often less than two seconds from the quickest lap, and worked on an even more advanced incarnation of the KTM race bike. Countryman and Red Bull KTM Tech3 rookie Iker Lecuona (15th) was also eye-catching with his speed and, like Binder, spent most of his track time learning the idiosyncrasies of MotoGP.
Both Red Bull KTM teams will gather together again next week at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain for the second and final test outing of 2019.
Pol Espargaro: “Overall it has been a good two days, a lot of info for the electronics and for the guys in the factory and the chassis technicians so quite positive. Today we focussed again on chassis and tested an evolution. When I crashed on the bike with yesterday’s frame we jumped straight away on the new one and it was very good. I’m super-happy; to have a second chassis like that right away means we know what we are doing, which is so important. We are ‘touching the button’ and improving our weakest spots. We go to Jerez now and let’s see what’s going on there and whether we can stay at the same level as here in Valencia.”
Brad Binder: “It was a cool two days and completely different to what I expected. From lap one it was like another world. The amount of power on the MotoGP bike is unbelievable. It’s incredible to see Pol’s data and some of the things he is doing is insane. I have a lot to learn. It is mainly just the lines and the way you pick up the bike on the exit of the corners. Working with the new team has been amazing. The guys are awesome and there is no pressure, they are super-chilled. They want me to improve in my own time. I had a little crash there at the end but other than that everything was pretty good today. More speed will come with time and when I find more confidence on the bike.”
Iker Lecuona: “Now I have two days more on the bike here in Valencia. Overall, it was very nice with the bike and my feeling got a lot better. I improved my lap time compared to qualifying on Saturday. I know that I still need to continue my work and adapt my riding style a lot more. For the next test in Jerez I want to change some more things regarding lean angle and my body position. On the brakes, I already feel better and also with the electronics but there’s still a lot to do for us.”
Mike Leitner, Red Bull KTM Team Manager: “We are very happy with the test and the position and work we have done. We needed this time on track and with new stuff without the pressure of lap-times. Our four riders went through their respective schedules in a good way. Pol is already working with next year’s bike – the first prototype that Dani used this summer – and Dani himself continued to work with this version. Iker and Brad used the last spec of 2019 to get used to the bike and there are many things to learn. We can see that the speed is coming but they need to get the hang of the power, the tyres and the electronics. We were lucky with two dry days here and hopefully we can carry on in Jerez. Again I want to thank everyone in the factory for all the effort and strong work to bring us to this point. Let’s keep pushing.”
Sebastian Risse, Technical Director MotoGP: “As with every year it is an exciting time for us as a team and as engineers. We had a lot of new parts here, maybe 30% of what we need to validate before the end of the year and we managed to do it already. We have virtually a new bike, a new package, with different parts to come together. We’ve been working on this with Dani and Pol and there are also options where we have to decide ‘A’ or ‘B’ and see if they work as well as the old one: that’s where we could involve our new riders a little bit but generally we tried to keep them as free as possible to focus on the riding and understanding the bike. Overall it was a really successful test and we are happy with what we have for the new bike. Pol was fast and very consistent. We are still at the point where we have to explore this package, so we have to keep pushing and tuning it. We still have to decide on a lot of parts and we’ll hope to do that in Jerez and the rest in Sepang next year.”
Ducati
Two days of 2020 MotoGP testing conclude at Valencia with Dovizioso (100 laps) in eighth place. Petrucci absent today with a shoulder problem, while Pirro finishes in thirteenth position
The second day of official MotoGP testing at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Cheste came to a close this afternoon at 17.00. After two days of track activity, Andrea Dovizioso had completed a total of 100 laps, the Italian continuing the development work on the Desmosedici GP 2020 with positive results. His best time today was 1’31.143.
Team-mate Danilo Petrucci didn’t go out on track today because of a problem with his left shoulder that appeared yesterday morning. However, the Italian rider is confident he will be able to test without any problems at Jerez at the start of next week.
Michele Pirro was again out on track with the Desmosedici GP of Ducati’s development team. The Italian completed 78 laps, the best of which in 1’31.424, and he finished the two days in thirteenth place overall.
Andrea Dovizioso (#04 Ducati Team) – 1’30.665 (8th) – 42 laps today
“Today it was important to deliberate on several components of the new bike on which we did back-to-back tests, and we were also able to try out a new experimental front tyre brought here by Michelin. The next test at Jerez will be very important for us to be able to give a definitive opinion about the 2020 package, but the first impression is positive”.
The MotoGP riders will be back on track again on Monday and Tuesday of next week (25th and 26th November), at the Jerez de la Frontera circuit in southern Spain, where the final test session of 2019 will take place.
Tech 3
Lecuona improves further on day two of testing in Valencia
Following an impressive MotoGP debut and a strong first day of testing at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo yesterday, Iker Lecuona once again improved during this sunny, but cold second day of official 2020 tests in Valencia, Spain. The talented Spaniard went 0.130 seconds faster than on Tuesday, found his limits and adapted better and better to the MotoGP riding style, the KTM RC16 is requiring. Lecuona concluded the second day in P15, missing just 1.666 seconds to the top.
Iker Lecuona
Position: 15th
Time: 1:31.515
Laps: 5
“Now I have two days more on the bike here in Valencia. Overall, it was very nice with the bike and my feeling got a lot better. I improved my lap time a bit compared to the Qualifying on Saturday. I know quite well, that I still need to continue my work, adapt my riding style a lot more. For the next test in Jerez de la Frontera, I want to change some more things regarding lean angle and my body position, on the brakes, I already feel better and also with the electronics, but there’s still a lot to do for us.”
Lecuona – 2019
Lecuona – 2019
Hervé Poncharal
Team Manager
“A great second day in Valencia with Iker Lecuona. We have been continuing to work in order to improve Iker’s riding style, to improve his skill and knowledge about the bike, mainly working on the tyres, understand the carbon brakes and played with the setting, trying different lines to find out how to extract the maximum of a MotoGP machine. The lap time was a bit faster, but pretty similar. The pace was clearly a lot better. On the data, we could see, that his riding style is a lot better already. So, this is mission accomplished. Now we are heading to Jerez to continue to work hard. We are very happy! On the other side, we were impressed by the amount of work Dani Pedrosa and the whole test team were doing, so we will have these two riders again with us in a few days. Let’s hope the sunshine will follow us and we can continue the good work before the winter break.”
Yamaha
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team were back in action today at second and final day of the Valencia MotoGP Official Test, completing their first steps of the 2020 pre-season testing plan. Similar to yesterday, Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi spent all the available time getting familiar with the new engine and the prototype chassis. They secured first and ninth place respectively in the Day-2 timesheets, and first and tenth in the combined results.
1st
MAVERICK VIÑALES
1’29.849 / 66 + 67 LAPS
10th
VALENTINO ROSSI
1’30.781 / 73 + 68 LAPS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi continued their work at the Valencia MotoGP Official Test, eager to collect as much data as possible for the upcoming Jerez Test next week. They enjoyed a positive second day at the Circuito de la Comunitat Valenciana – Ricardo Tormo, testing the new engine and chassis. Their enthusiasm about the new parts showed in the results: Viñales took first both Day 2 and in the combined test results, while Rossi set the ninth fastest time of this day and was tenth in the combined standings.
Viñales was pleased with the new prototype bike on the first day of the test and continued the positive vibes today as he noticed consistent progress on each run. The Spaniard picked up where he had left off yesterday, working on the 2020-engine spec and trying to further tweak the prototype‘s chassis set-up. He rode a total of 67 laps and bettered his personal best time from the first day by 0.478s, setting a 1’29.849s on his 56th lap, making him the only rider to dip under the 1’30s during the test. He ended the session in first place, leading a Yamaha top 3. The result puts him also in first position in the combined test timesheets.
Rossi was on the case again on the second day of testing at the Ricardo Tormo circuit, underlining his dedication to his beloved sport by clocking 68 laps in total. The Doctor had nothing but positive feedback for the new prototype YZR-M1 and was, like his team-mate, fully focused on getting the new engine and chassis in perfect shape before testing them again in one week‘s time. He set a 1’30.781s towards the end of the day, enough to put him in ninth position in the rankings, 0.932s from today’s best time. The lap earned him tenth place in the overall Valencia Test results.
The Yamaha engineers will thoroughly go over all the data of the Valencia Test, in order for the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team to make another step at the joint private Jerez Test held on 25th – 26th of November.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
“For sure, it has been a positive start to the new ’racing year‘. Yesterday both riders tried the new prototype bike for the very first time and their impressions were quite positive, especially considering the engine, because that‘s where we put the focus on for this test. The new engine is smoother than last year‘s, and we also increased the top speed to a certain extent, allowing us to improve. We didn‘t have any problems during these two days of testing. As a matter a fact, the work on the engine went so well that we also had time to start on improving the chassis set-up at the end of the day. We will spend some time on that next week, because we will go to another track in a few days‘ time. Jerez has a different lay-out and characteristics. We want to try the same specification at that circuit as we have run here, because we can‘t base our verdict on new parts on a one-time performance. This is really important, especially for evaluating the engine. We aim to improve our general package there: chassis, engine, and electronics. This prototype is a completely new bike, with the aim of improving all the areas without losing the positive points Yamaha bikes traditionally have. That‘s still our goal.”
MAVERICK VIÑALES
“Today was similar to yesterday. The new chassis works quite well, I‘m happy. I kept working on the engine and it feels like run by run we are making little steps. For sure, we are working very hard, but it‘s not enough yet. We have to keep working, but this test was positive because we brought significant changes and that‘s the most important. Honestly, the grip here in Valencia was fantastic during the test, so if the grip is lower in Jerez, we will know more. At the moment I feel there‘s potential and we have to understand how to realise it. The Jerez track‘s lay-out is totally different. It‘s a good track for a test, because usually if the bike goes well there it goes well everywhere. There we will see how strong we are.”
VALENTINO ROSSI
“It was a positive 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, it’s not so bad. We have a lot of work to do, but we improved. We also had some changes in the team, a new Chief Mechanic, so it is very important to understand the new team dynamic and try to work together. Both the new bike and the personnel change turned out positive and at the end I’m in P9 today. We improved the pace a lot with the used tyre, which is very important.”
Suzuki
FIRST TEST OF 2020 COMPLETED SUCCESSFULLY FOR SUZUKI
Team Suzuki Press Office – November 20.
Joan Mir: 5th – 1’30.427 (+ 0.578)
Alex Rins: 6th – 1’30.503 (+ 0.654)
The second day of testing in Valencia brought very close lap times among all the riders. And Team SUZUKI ECSTAR’s pairing completed the day in 5th and 6th.
On the first day of the test, the riders spent the majority of the time carrying out comparisons between the 2019 and 2020 engine specs. And this work was continued on Wednesday as both Alex Rins and Joan Mir continued to try the 2020 spec.
The pair also used the day to work on electronics and various set-up configurations. Rins completed 57 laps, while Mir did 61.
The next time the riders will be on track is at the Jerez Test from the 25th to 26th of November.
Ken Kawauchi – Technical Manager:
“Our main priority in this test was to test the engine with the 2020 specification and we did so with both riders. Yesterday we received positive feedback from the riders, with both of them fairly happy with it; today we worked to finalise some electronics and the riders are now around 80% satisfied with it. It’s still too early to say that we have a final decision on the engine but for sure it looks like we are on the right path. In Jerez next week we will focus again on the engine, finding new solutions with the electronics that will hopefully help us with the final decision. Then ready for Sepang, we will develop some more items to complete the 2020 package.”
Davide Brivio:
“For sure we can say we’re happy with this test. We had the new spec. engines to test, and both Alex and Joan immediately felt more comfortable with it. But we also needed time to work on it, especially with the electronics and setup we improved run after run during these two days. We went through some comparisons of other parts too. Now we head to Jerez where it will be important to carry on this positive job and hopefully confirm a few things. While at the moment we are focused on the engine and electronics, in Sepang we will be able to focus on more general setup, and we should have some new parts in the chassis area.”
Joan Mir:
“I feel really happy about these two days here in Valencia. We initially tried the new engine and even yesterday I felt positive with it, so today we have been working on the electronics to find the limits of this new configuration. I did great lap times, very consistent and always towards the top of the timesheets. At the moment we are happy, everything went well here, but we are aware that it’s too early to say 100% that the new engine is the correct way. We need to continue testing, especially with the electronics. In Jerez maybe we’ll get some more upgrades, but in any case we are on the right path.”
Alex Rins:
“Today has been another positive day, as we improved our work on the engine and the results are good: I could better my lap times and also be very consistent, which means that the new spec. engine is giving good support. I feel a lot of improvement in top end power, despite the fact that Valencia is not the right track for trying that as it’s so short. So, I’m keen to go to Jerez where we can collect some more info. Of course, it’s important that we found many positives during these two days, and at the moment no negatives. This means that we can focus on finalising the new spec. and see if we can confirm our findings in the next test.”
Valencia Test – Combined Results:
1 M.VIÑALES SPA YAMAHA 1’30.327 58 1’29.849 56
2 F.QUARTARARO FRA YAMAHA 1’30.163 73 1’30.013 42
3 F.MORBIDELLI ITA YAMAHA 1’30.650 30 1’30.114 50
4 C.CRUTCHLOW GBR HONDA 1’31.183 63 1’30.316 59
5 J.MIR SPA SUZUKI 1’30.811 61 1’30.427 54
6 A.RINS SPA SUZUKI 1’30.958 57 1’30.503 54
7 M.MARQUEZ SPA HONDA 1’30.698 33 1’30.556 53
8 A.DOVIZIOSO ITA DUCATI 1’30.665 48 1’31.143 37
9 P.ESPARGARO SPA KTM 1’30.974 29 1’30.685 12
10 V.ROSSI ITA YAMAHA 1’31.012 57 1’30.781 55
11 J.MILLER AUS DUCATI 1’31.130 20 1’30.854 57
12 T.RABAT SPA DUCATI 1’31.775 50 1’31.258 62
13 M.PIRRO ITA DUCATI 1’32.016 23 1’31.424 31
14 D.PETRUCCI ITA DUCATI 1’31.433 9
15 D.PEDROSA SPA KTM 1’31.863 38 1’31.470 28
16 I.LECUONA SPA KTM 1’31.645 55 1’31.515 10
17 A.ESPARGARO SPA APRILIA 1’31.815 20 1’31.526 22
18 K.ABRAHAM CZE DUCATI 1’32.034 44 1’31.597 53
19 S.BRADL GER HONDA 1’32.833 25 1’31.657 29
20 A.IANNONE ITA APRILIA 1’31.674 28 1’31.800 36
21 B.SMITH GBR APRILIA 1’32.090 46 1’32.249 26
22 A.MARQUEZ SPA HONDA 1’32.873 52 1’32.235 52
23 B.BINDER RSA KTM 1’32.645 61 1’32.367 61
Aprilia
FIRST TESTS OF THE 2020 MOTOGP SEASON END IN VALENCIA
APRILIA HARD AT WORK WITH ESPARGARÓ, IANNONE AND SMITH
Only a one-day break separated the final 2019 race weekend and what are, for all intents and purposes, the first tests of the 2020 MotoGP season. The Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia was where all the teams were hard at work, in Aprilia’s case, the factory team with Espargaró and Iannone supported by the Test Team and Bradley Smith’s efforts. While waiting for the new Italian prototype, expected to be ready for the Sepang tests, most of the work involved electronics strategies, an element that will also provide benefits for the future RS-GP.
The major indications concerned electronic traction management. Progress was also made in terms of the engine brake, a particularly important aspect in the braking and cornering phases.
Ahead of the winter break, there will be time in a few days for the final test in Jerez de la Frontera.
ALEIX ESPARGARÒ
“During these two days, unfortunately some of the difficulties we had during the race weekend were confirmed again, beginning with a certain instability at the front that we were unable to fully resolve. We worked primarily on the electronics, we know that the new bike will arrive in Sepang and I can’t wait to try it.”
ANDREA IANNONE
“We did a lot of work during these two days. We know we need to improve, and we are leaving nothing untried. We had the chance to test various solutions and to retest a few components used during the year. We found some interesting things – developments that will certainly be useful in view of the 2020 season. Of course, problems can happen and that is to be expected when you get close to a few limits, but I am rather serene.”
BRADLEY SMITH
“Over these two days, Aleix, Andrea and I divided up the work. Right now, it is not about testing drastically new components, but rather collecting data that lets the engineers make the final changes to the 2020 project, in my case, primarily in terms of chassis architecture and ergonomics. We don’t have a lot of days to test before the beginning of the season, so it is important to move forward with our work as much as possible.”
LCR
CRUTCHLOW IMPRESSES ON NEW HONDA PROTOTYPE IN VALENCIA
PRESS RELEASE: 20 November 2019 | Valencia Test Last Day
LCR Honda CASTROL rider Cal Crutchlow continued preparations for the 2020 MotoGP season with an impressive display on the second and final day of the official Valencia test. The Briton went fourth fastest on Wednesday and finished the session as the quickest Honda rider as he eclipsed the efforts of world champion Marc Marquez on the new RC213V prototype.
Crutchlow once again had a busy schedule at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, although his track activity was confined to the afternoon once weather conditions had warmed up. He then got through a total of 73 laps to gain more valuable data on the new machine, posting a best time of 1’30.316.
Cal Crutchlow – 4th
(1’30.316 – lap 59 of 73)
“Obviously, we went a little bit quicker today than yesterday and that was always the aim, to get some more information and to be able to go faster. Overall, we’re pleased, pleased with the amount of laps we did. We did quite a high amount of laps in the short space of time we went out on track because I don’t think anybody went out too early, it was too cold and we have another test in another two or three days’ time. We managed to get 75 laps done in three and a half, four hours and we’re pleased with the progress we made today.”
