By Dean Adams
These just in:
MotoGP.com
Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) topped the timesheets by three tenths at the post-Catalan GP test, leaping ahead of Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Maverick Viñales and Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Jonas Folger at the end of action at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The number 93 was faster than his fastest in Q2, and only just over a tenth off Saturday’s pole position time.Repsol Honda Team riders Marquez and Dani Pedrosa were both fast, in P1 and P4 respectively. Pedrosa did 53 laps, Marquez 82, with the rider from Cervera blasting to the top late on. The two Spaniards focused on settings, getting ready for the coming rounds including the next stop on the calendar: the TT Circuit Assen.
Cal Crutchlow at LCR Honda worked on geometry, electronics and suspension to try and fix his problems encountered in the race with rear grip, ending the day sixth quickest after 60 laps despite a crash at Turn 10. The Brit also tried a Repsol Honda liveried fairing for some laps. At EG 0,0 Marc VDS Tito Rabat did 59 laps and was an impressive P9 as he worked on chassis setup, with teammate Jack Miller in P12 after 52 laps and three tenths down on Rabat. Miller worked on the front suspension, and on agility in preparation for Assen.
Movistar Yamaha had two new chassis to test, with Viñales trying one back-to-back and Valentino Rossi the other. Viñales’ fastest was a 1:44.437 and he did 81 laps – improving at the end – with Rossi in P10 after 71 laps. Viñales also tried a new fairing nearer the end of track action.
Johann Zarco left it until the middle of the day to head out, as Monster Yamaha Tech 3 worked chiefly on suspension and setup. The Frenchman did 33 laps and ended the day seventh, with teammate Jonas Folger putting in a good number more on 42 laps completed. The German was third fastest overall, and had topped the timesheets earlier in the day with his best of 1:44.972 despite a crash – rider ok. He tried a new chassis, but will stay with the one used until now.
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini focused on the front – for Sam Lowes the aim was to improve confidence when braking, for Aleix Espargaro it was to work on maximising one of the Granollers native’s strongest points on the bike. Espargaro also tried a new exhaust for a few laps and ended the day in an impressive P5 after 48 laps.
Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing) did 28 laps and then called it a day before the end of the session, feeling some pain in his shoulder. He ended the day in P11, with teammate Scott Redding finishing up in P8 after 59 laps.
Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was back in action following injury and focused on re-adaptation, with teammate Andrea Iannone working on settings. Sylvain Guintoli, who replaced Rins when the Spaniard was injured, was also on track for the Hamamatsu factory.
Red Bull KTM Factory racing spent their day evaluating their chassis compared to the previous version, and working on improving the turning of the bike. Pol Espargaro was P13 after 75 laps and joined on track by test rider Mika Kallio, as Bradley Smith recovers from an injury to his finger.
Some teams remain for private testing at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this week, before the engines fire up for Assen.
Repsol Honda complete positive Catalunya weekend with Monday post-race test
Following yesterday’s double podium, Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa were back on track for a one-day post-race test.
On another sunny and very hot day, Marc and Dani worked on setup, electronics and Michelin tyres. Marc was fastest for the day with his lap of 1’44.071 on lap 81 of 82. Dani finished the day fourth with a time of 1’45.003 on lap 18 of 53.
After two very busy weeks, the Repsol Honda Team will have just a week of rest before returning to action for two more back-to-back races, the Dutch GP on 25 June and the German GP on 2 July.
Marc Marquez
1ST 1’44.071
“The test today was good enough, though we didn’t test anything new in particular on the bike. We did a lot of laps working a bit on the electronics and on my riding style, aiming to manage the tyres better. What finally made me very happy was the symmetric front tyre Michelin brought here, which is the same, or more similar to last year’s. I immediately felt great again, on the bike and with the front. Actually I did my fastest lap on that tyre, as it was more stable. I was smiling again, at least on this track. Hopefully we can continue on this path with the tyres.”
Dani Pedrosa
4TH 1’45.003
“Today we had an important day as we tried a different fork, doing a lot of comparison tests. We also tried a few things on the setup, working on the bike’s geometry. The track wasn’t in the best condition, as the temperature was very high and the tyres were dropping quite fast, but overall now we have more info to keep working on. At the end of the day, the track improved a bit and we also tried a front Michelin tyre.”
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LCR Honda
LCR HONDA COMPLETE SUCCESSFUL TEST IN BARCELONA
PRESS RELEASE: 12 June 2017 | Catalunya Test Session
Just one day after a tough weekend at the Catalan Grand Prix the LCR Honda MotoGP Team were back to work on their factory RC213V at the Barcelona-Catalunya Circuit. Cal Crutchlow worked tirelessly through 60 laps in the searing Spanish heat, and ended the day as the sixth fastest rider overall, with a best lap time of 1’45.296 – over one and a half seconds faster than his best lap during Sunday’s race.
The British star quickly found the root of his issues over the race weekend, and despite a small crash just before lunch, the team continued to work well into the afternoon, including testing a new fairing.
Cal Crutchlow – 6th
(1’45.296 – lap 40 of 60)
“The test went ok and was a lot better than yesterday’s race, that much is for sure. There’s nothing we can really take from Sunday, except for a few points. We think we know the problem behind our disappointing race yesterday. We confirmed and clarified that in our first exit from the pits today”
“We tested a few different things, unfortunately I had a small crash just before 12 o’clock and had a bit of pain in the shoulder and in the elbow. I stopped for a little while and then continued the day’s work, and we’re happy with what we’ve done”
“Our priority now is to get back towards the podium positions, so hopefully we’ve done a good job and we can do that now when we go to Assen. I look forward to there, it’s a good circuit and I’ve had a podium there before. The team are working hard and so are Honda over the last few races. It’s been a difficult period but they’re doing a great job.”
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