FIM MotoGP World Championship

Jerez, Spain

May 4, 2015

Test Results (all using Bridgestone tires):

1. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Yamaha), 1:38.508

2. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:38.550

3. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:38.814

4. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Suzuki), 1:38.890

5. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:38.968

6. Bradley Smith, UK (Yamaha), 1:39.339

7. Yonny Hernandez, Colombia (Ducati), 1:39.357

8. Scott Redding, UK (Honda), 1:39.370

9. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Suzuki), 1:39.475

10. Pol Espargaro, Spain (Yamaha), 1:39.654

11. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Aprilia), 1:39.766

12. Stefan Bradl, Germany (Forward Yamaha), 1:39.887

13. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:39.892

14. Nicky Hayden, USA (Honda), 1:39.909

15. Eugene Laverty, Ireland (Honda), 1:40.101

16. Loris Baz, France (Forward Yamaha), 1:40.186

17. Jack Miller, Australia (Honda), 1:40.248

18. Hector Barbera, Spain (Ducati), 1:40.260

19. Hiroshi Aoyama, Japan (Honda), 1:40.342

20. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Honda), 1:40.654

21. Mike Di Meglio, France (Ducati), 1:41.085

22. Marco Melandri, Italy (Aprilia), 1:41.825

Marquez and Aoyama complete productive post-race test

Fresh from yesterday’s Spanish GP, Repsol Honda Team riders Marc Marquez and Hiroshi Aoyama were back on track in Jerez today working on HRC’s testing programme.

Due to fatigue from his injury and in order to give him a chance to recover, Marc – who finished second yesterday – only tested for two hours but it was important to receive his feedback on the new swingarm HRC brought from Japan. Marc completed 31 laps with his best time 1’38.968 placing him 5th fastest.

Hiroshi, who unfortunately crashed out of the race badly brushing his shoulder, managed to complete some of his test schedule today. He also tried the new swingarm and then after lunch he worked on Öhlins suspension items and electronics. He managed 60 laps with a fastest time of 1’40.342.

The HRC engineers will now take this valuable feedback back to Japan to prepare ahead of the French GP in two week’s time.

Marc Marquez

5TH 1’38.968 [LAP 4 / 31]

“I’m happy with the work we have done today. I put in a few laps, as we planned last night, basically just to test out a swingarm. HRC engineers wanted us to analyse it to find out if we could use it in the coming races, to see where we can improve and which direction to continue working in. We have drawn some very positive conclusions that have allowed us to improve in some aspects today, and we have obtained a lot of information for further development with things that have been a little bit more difficult, for example corner entry.”

Marc Marquez

Hiroshi Aoyama

19TH 1’40.342 [LAP 28 / 60]

“It was a productive test even if my physical condition wasn’t 100%. This morning I still had some pain but it’s important to get back on the bike after having a big crash and get the feeling back. Today we tested some new parts including a different swing arm and some suspension. We found some positive things which I hope is useful for the engineers to take back to Japan and help Honda for the rest of the season.”

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

Yamaha Successfully Completes Jerez Test

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP‘s Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi successfully concluded the one-day MotoGP test in Jerez today, finishing first and second in today‘s session times.

Jerez de la Frontera (Spain), 4th May 2015

After a brilliant race from Jorge Lorenzo yesterday, that saw him take the 55th victory of his career and teammate Valentino Rossi claim his 200th career podium, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team returned to the Circuito de Jerez de la Frontera today for an official MotoGP test. Lorenzo and Rossi spent the extra track time usefully and were able to improve their set-ups to finish first and second in today‘s session times.

Still elated from his stunning victory, Lorenzo had every reason to smile today as it was also his 28th birthday. Despite the fact that he was focusing on improving the set up of his YZR-M1, it wasn‘t long after he hit the track that he moved into second place. He concluded his morning stint by topping the timesheets with a 1‘38.516 lap, which remained unbeaten for the rest of the day by all but himself.

During his afternoon outing he dropped another fastest time of 1‘38,508, which only his teammate got close to.

Rossi also made strides today. Similar to his teammate he steadily booked progress as he focused on improving his setting compared to yesterday. Though he was satisfied with his third place in the race, the Doctor is always looking for improvement and spent most of today‘s session testing small details of the set-up he hadn‘t been able to try during last weekend. He ended the day in second place with a fastest lap of 1‘38,550, 0,042s off his teammate‘s time.

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP will analyse the gained data in preparation for the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, held at the Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix race circuit in two weeks time.

JORGE LORENZO

I‘m quite happy after scoring the first victory of the season for me and also because I turned 28 today. I could feel the heartwarming response from so many people. I‘m back in the groove and I returned to the podium, so now I hope to keep this momentum going in the coming races like Le Mans, Mugello and Montmeló. Today we tested as usual here in Jerez, but we were only focused on different set ups with the bike. We had nothing special to test, but we fixed the basis of the bike for the future. I think we found out how we can take profit of some adjustments, so we are quite confident for the next Grand Prix!

VALENTINO ROSSI

This testing day was positive. We didn‘t have many things to try, just some small detail of set up. We focused on improving the bike compared to yesterday and I am very happy because we could also improve the time we did in qualifying. I was happy with the podium in Jerez, it was a positive weekend, but we could have done better, so today we focused on the bike‘s set-up. We tried some solutions that we couldn‘t try during the race weekend. The results of these tests were interesting. In two weeks we will be at Le Mans and we have to do a good weekend. I like the track a lot, but first I need a few days off!

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

Today was a good day, especially after a good weekend for us. Jerez left us a good feeling with both riders and we are glad Jorge is back on form. Also Vale did a good job despite having a few little problems finding the perfect set up for the race yesterday. We were able to achieve a very valuable double podium, which is very important, also in terms of the constructor and team championships. Today we worked mainly on comparing different set-ups with both riders based on yesterday‘s results and also focusing on the next race. We‘re all looking forward to Le Mans!

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia:

MOTOGP TESTS AT JEREZ: THE SEAMLESS GEARBOX MAKES ITS DEBUT ON THE APRILIA RS-GP

Jerez, (Spain), 4 May 2015 – The day after the Jerez de la Frontera race, where Aprilia Racing Team Gresini continues improving with Alvaro Bautista’s performance and the progress Marco Melandri made in the race, development on the RS-GP does not stop.

In the tests scheduled for today on the Andalusian track the seamless gearbox (continuous engagement), active in upshifting as well, made its début and was immediately appreciated by Bautista who was the first official rider to ride it onto the track.

The Italian team’s entire season has been and will be characterised by continuous experimentation with technical solutions which serve both to improve the performance of the RS-GP and to provide data and information for the design of the prototype that will race in the 2016 season. For this the technical step today takes on particular importance and paves the way for the new gearbox’s race début which could take place in one of the next European MotoGP rounds. The team also worked on new chassis solutions, particularly on a new frame and swingarm. The test results will now be processed at the Noale headquarters in order to prepare for the upcoming races.

ROMANO ALBESIANO (Aprilia Racing Manager)

“Today was a very positive day. For the first time we put our seamless gearbox technology, a particular Aprilia solution, on the track with an official rider. Alvaro liked it very much and found a clear advantage straight away compared to the conventional gearbox. So it was a complete success which now means that we’ll have to work hard to get it into a race as quickly as possible. Considering how things went today I think we’ll be able to do that soon, within the next two or three races. I’d like to have it for Mugello or at the latest for Barcelona. Marco did his job, bringing in new chassis ideas, some we liked and some not so much, so we still have some work to do in that area. In short I would say that, between the race and the tests, we are finishing up this trip to Jerez pretty well.”

FAUSTO GRESINI (Team Manager)

“Days like this are fundamental, especially for us as we are taking on a season where we need to learn and grow. They help us understand what steps to take in order to improve. In the end Alvaro also put in a good time with 1’39.766, but in these tests it is just as important to figure out which solutions to reject. Any new information is important, but to understand where to direct the technical advancements and to avoid going down paths that lead nowhere. Everything works together to make progress in the development of such an important project.”

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo ended the official test at Jerez on top after dominating the Spanish GP over the weekend.

It was cloudy but warm for the first official mid-season MotoGP™ test on Monday in Jerez and Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo, who had dominated proceedings during the race weekend, ended the day once more on top of the timesheets recording a 1’38.516.

His teammate Valentino Rossi was only four-hundredths of a second further back in second. The team admitted they did not have any major updates to test, with both riders focusing more on the setup of their bikes, and completing 52 and 66 laps respectively.

CWM LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow (+0.306s) followed up his fourth during the race in Jerez by finishing third in the test, as he tried out some new suspension parts and worked on the electronics package on his RC213V as he put in 64 laps.

Team Suzuki Ecstar Aleix Espargaro (+0.382s) completed 63 laps and was 4th fastest as he used the test to try and find out if they had solved the chatter issue which had affected the bike at the three previous races. Chatter can be caused by excess grip, so the team wanted to know if they had fix the problem, or if it was simply down to slippery nature of the Jerez track.

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez only completed four laps as he tried out a new swingarm for his Repsol Honda team, ending the day in 5th, 0.460 seconds behind Lorenzo as he protected his broken finger from any more damage.

Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Bradley Smith completed the top six, 0.831s back from Lorenzo, beating his time from Qualifying in the process. The Brit put in 41 laps as he finished three-tenths ahead of his teammate Pol Espargaro.

A number of the Open class teams made use of the extra track time to work on the setup of their Magneti Marelli electronics package, while Avintia Racing’s Hector Barbera had some new parts to test to effectively turn his Open GP14 into the 14.1 his teammate Danilo Petrucci rides.

Aprilia Racing Team Gresini debuted their full seamless shift gearbox at the test with Alvaro Bautista, while Marco Melandri had a new swingarm and chassis to test. Bautista made dramatic progress to end the day in 11th 1.2s behind Lorenzo, while Melandri finished last in 22nd.

More, from a press release issued by Forward Racing:

Hard day of work for Bradl and Baz at Jerez

In the aftermath of the Spanish Grand Prix the riders of the Athinà Forward Racing team were able to take full advantage of a day of testing at the Andalusian circuit together with the other MotoGP teams.

After a difficult weekend, this was an opportunity for Bradl and Baz to test new solutions for the race in Le Mans. At the end of a weekend affected by lack of grip on the rear, both riders focused on the electronics and on the set-up to improve the feeling with the bike and be competitive again in France.

Bradl was the quickest in the Open class as he finished in 12th position with a time of 1.39.887. Sixteenth was Baz with 73 laps and a personal best of 1.40.101.

Stefan Bradl

“Despite my condition is not yet at 100%, I’m already happy to be back on track. It was a tough weekend and it was important to go back to work and further develop the bike. We focused on the electronics and set-up. I am satisfied. We go to Le Mans convinced that we can fight with the other Open for the lead. “

Loris Baz

“I am very happy with the work done today. Over the weekend we struggled to find rear grip and today we focused on it to get ready for Le Mans. We tried several new solutions and the feeling is getting better. “

More, from a press release issued by CWM LCR Honda:

CRUTCHLOW COMPLETES KEY TEST SESSION AT JEREZ

Just a day after securing a second consecutive top-four result in the Spanish GP, Cal Crutchlow and the CWM LCR Honda Team continued their work at the Jerez circuit on Monday by completing a full day’s testing with the Honda RC213V.

The British rider was second Honda across the line in Sunday’s race, and in the continued absence of Dani Pedrosa from the factory line-up, Crutchlow took on extra testing duties by helping the manufacturer assess a new swing-arm for the MotoGP machine.

Crutchlow and the team also worked on his electronics package, eventually completing a total of 64 laps, with a best time of 1’38.822 making him the fastest Honda on the day, and third fastest rider overall.

Cal Crutchlow #35

“We tested a lot today – we had a few things to go through. We didn’t need to do so many laps though, I think it was over 60 fast laps and I was happy with that, we didn’t see the point in doing 100 laps if they weren’t fast!”

“We went a lot faster than during the race yesterday, but that’s always the case. If we had the race today I think we’d have been a bit faster over the race distance after going through the settings we needed to.”

“We’ve been struggling with rear grip, and also with initial braking too – compared to Marc Marquez anyway and his style is different so it’s hard to compare too much. He’s actually also had the rear grip problems too, so we both tested a new swing-arm and took some positives from that. It was good for Honda that they got some information from another rider that’s competitive, and it’s nice for me to be able to do that test for them.”

More, from another press release issued by CWM LCR Honda:

MORE MILES FOR MILLER AT JEREZ TEST

After a disappointing Spanish GP on Sunday, Jack Miller and his CWM LCR Honda Team joined the rest of the MotoGP field in a full day’s testing at the Jerez circuit, to try and solve some of the problems they encountered during the race there.

The Australian put in 64 solid laps of the Andalusian track, eventually finishing with the 17th quickest time of the day. His best of 1’40.248 was faster than the lap Miller had put in during qualifying on Saturday, and half a second quicker than his best race lap.

Satisfied with the work they have put in, Miller and the rest of the CWM LCR Honda Team now move on to the Le Mans circuit in France for the fifth round of the MotoGP World Championship.

Jack Miller #43 (17th – 1’40.248)

“I’m reasonably happy with today, there’s always a lot of work to do during testing. We’ve come up with a decent set-up, one with which we could ride consistently at our fastest lap time of the weekend. That’s a real bonus because as well as the team learning a lot, I also did.”

“We can think of this test as being positive and we will take a lot from it. I now feel a lot more ready to travel to Le Mans than if we had just packed up and left after Sunday’s race. It’s definitely been a good test all round.”

More, from a press release issued by Aspar Team:

Satisfactory conclusions drawn by POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar pair at Jerez

Nicky Hayden and Eugene Laverty set similar times to those of Spanish GP at post-race test, but feel far more comfortable

Today saw one of the first post-race tests planned for the 2015 season, at the Jerez circuit which yesterday held the Spanish GP. The MotoGP riders stayed on at the Andalusian track to test and further develop their machines. The sky was overcast for much of the day, with temperatures more bearable than at the weekend, although there was a strong wind in the second half of the day. The track was open from 10am until 6pm without interruption, and it became clear that riders had plenty of work to do on Monday as they used almost all of the allotted time. Jorge Lorenzo topped the testing timesheets after his victory on raceday at the Spanish GP.

The POWER ELECTRONICS riders emerged this morning in Jerez with one thing in mind: Finding more grip – especially with the rear. The weekend had been tricky for them, so they had to work from the early stages onwards to find solutions to their problems. Throughout the day they focused on testing electronics, traction control, various mapping setups and many other variables. Fortunately, the findings were very positive. Both Nicky Hayden and Eugene Laverty rode at a similar pace to that of the weekend, but with a much better feeling. Hayden set his best time in the last hour of the day, and finally broke the 1:40 barrier. Laverty preferred a move away from consistency to seeking a fast time. The pair were also able to test new setups and accumulate tremendously useful data for the next round at Le Mans Both rode until the end of the test, completing 73 laps each.

14th Nicky Hayden 1.39.909 (73 laps): “The conditions today have been better -cooler than the rest of the weekend. Today was a positive day in which we improved our times and our feeling. After 73 laps we have drawn many conclusions -some positive and others less so- but the overall verdict for the day is satisfactory. The team did a great job despite the accumulated fatigue of the whole GP weekend. Today the solutions allowed me to overcome the 1:40 barrier and improve my times from qualifying. In addition, with the hard tyre I was significantly faster than I was over the weekend. In yesterday’s race we suffered a lot under braking, and this was something we improved a lot today. Oviously we always have work still to do, but all the information gathered today could be very useful at Le Mans.”

15th Eugene Laverty 1.40.101 (73 laps): “I’m surprised we completed 73 laps, because a crash at midday lost us some time. We’ve worked hard today, basically focusing on improving the rear setup. As I mentioned yesterday, for the race we found productive solutions but they were a little aggressive, and that harmed me in other areas. Today we worked to find a more balanced bike, and the findings have been fantastic. Finally, after an entire weekend here, we have discovered how to get more grip with the rear and how to find a balance for the bike. We have solved the problem that has plagued us at the first few races of the year, and now we know which way to go. The mechanics have also worked on traction control, which we still continue to develop, but we liked what we tested today.”

More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team:

Positive Jerez test for Redding

Jerez, Spain – 4 May 2015: Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider Scott Redding completed 105 laps of the Jerez circuit during today’s MotoGP test, which he declared a positive one after improving both his pace and consistency compared to yesterday’s Spanish Grand Prix.

Redding was out as soon as the track opened this morning, putting in two long runs using the same settings with which he finished the race yesterday. A better feeling with the front meant that the 22-year-old Briton rediscovered the confidence that was lacking this weekend and he gained even more confidence as his lap time continued to improve.

The Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider also made some changes to his positioning on the bike, giving him the freedom to more easily move his bodyweight to counter both braking and acceleration forces. The result was that Redding’s typically aggressive riding style was smoothed out, which led to more consistency in his lap times.

Redding now heads to Le Mans for the French Grand Prix in a positive frame of mind, having eliminated most of the issues that had plagued him throughout the Jerez race weekend.

Scott Redding: 8th – 1’39.370

“It’s been a long test, but a good one! Testing is always tough straight after a race weekend, but we kicked off with two runs of ten laps, because I needed to rediscover the feeling with the bike. Straight out of the box it was better; especially the front. We didn’t change so much today, only my position on the bike really, but it made a difference. I was able to move around the bike more easily and load the front tyre and it’s all about loading the front tyre. Go hard into the turn and it’s all good, but go slow and you don’t make the corner. It’s all a bit back to front, but that’s what test days are for, finding these things out. Overall it’s been a positive test and I leave the circuit tonight much happier than I left it yesterday.”

Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal

“After the disappointment of the weekend, today has been far more positive. Scott has done a good job here today. We basically changed very little on the bike, so the improvement has come from him. He’s faster than in the race yesterday, yes, but more importantly he’s also more consistent with his lap times, with none of the peaks and troughs we’ve seen previously. He’s worked to adapt his riding style, to rider smoother, and that has also had a positive result. Scott learnt a lot today, about himself and about the bike and he heads into the next race in France in a far more positive frame of mind than he was immediately after the race yesterday.”

More, from a press release issued by Team Suzuki Press Office:

SUZUKI ECSTAR MOVE FORWARD IN JEREZ TEST

Following a positive race for Team SUZUKI ECSTAR yesterday at Jerez, the MotoGP™ riders stayed on in Andalucia for a day of testing in a bid to make steps forward.

Team SUZUKI ECSTAR used the day to continue the development-process of its GSX-RRs, following a pre-determined plan and reacting to the information collected in the last three-days of the race weekend.

The main objectives were to verify improvements made on the chatter issues and to look for better traction; the latest ideas being pursued with updated electronics, but also with a new swingarm and variations in machine geometry.

Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Viñales made a number of runs, recording a total of 63 and 79 laps respectively.

Aleix Espargaro:

“It’s been a good day of testing. We worked to improve traction and to better -understand both the positives and negatives of what we have tested. Today said to me that probably a hard front tyre would have been better in yesterday’s race, but the other thing is that we improved a lot the feeling with the traction of the bike. We tested both a different swingarm and electronics software, finally collecting a lot of information on what works best and what is worse. At this point I feel that we have a very competitive package, it’s not a matter of pure power any more but to exploit better what we have available. With my engineers we worked on some new ideas and finally we found some very interesting paths to follow for the future.”

Maverick Viñales:

“We ran a lot of laps today with the objective of testing as much as we could. To me the new swingarm resulted to have positives and negatives so it gave us a lot of ideas as to what else we can try. We had available some new electronics and we managed to be consistent on a pace that was much faster than yesterday in the race. The very good thing gleaned from the day is that we tested some new ideas in geometry and they gave us very positive improvements in braking: I feel much more confident in getting more into the corner with brakes than before. This is much more important for tracks like Le Mans with very slow corners, which is the next race.”