FIM MotoGP World Championship
Valencia, Spain
November 11, 2014
Day Two Test Results (wet conditions, all on Bridgestone tires):
1. Danilo PETRUCCI, Italy (DUCATI), 1:42.431
2. Nicky HAYDEN, USA (HONDA), 1:43.598
3. Scott REDDING, UK (HONDA), 1:43.813
4. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (YAMAHA), 1:43.813
5. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (APRILIA), 1:43.827
6. Yonny HERNANDEZ, Colombia (DUCATI), 1:44.432
7. Marco MELANDRI, Italy (APRILIA), 1:44.873
8. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (HONDA), 1:45.715
9. Loris BAZ, France (FORWARD YAMAHA), 1:46.143
10. Eugene LAVERTY, Ireland (HONDA), 1:46.871
11. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Italy (DUCATI), no time recorded
12. Stefan BRADL, Germany (FORWARD YAMAHA), no time recorded
13. Hector BARBERA, Spain (DUCATI), no time recorded
14. Alex DE ANGELIS, San Marino (APRILIA), no time recorded
15. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (HONDA), no time recorded
16. Maverick VIÑALES, Spain (SUZUKI), no time recorded
17. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (HONDA), no time recorded
18. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (DUCATI), no time recorded
19. Cal CRUTCHLOW, UK (HONDA), no time recorded
20. Bradley SMITH, UK (YAMAHA), no time recorded
21. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (SUZUKI), no time recorded
22. Jack MILLER, Australia (HONDA), no time recorded
23. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (YAMAHA), no time recorded
24. Michele PIRRO, Italy (DUCATI), no time recorded
25. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (DUCATI), no time recorded
26. Alex HOFMANN, Germany (APRILIA), no time recorded
27. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (YAMAHA), no time recorded
More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:
Downpour Postpones the Second Day of Testing at Valencia
Valencia (Spain), 11th November 2014
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP has decided to postpone their testing plans until tomorrow after rain put action to a halt at the second day of MotoGP testing in Valencia.
Valentino Rossi was one of only eleven riders who braved the rainy weather at a soaking wet Ricardo Tormo Circuit. The Italian sensibly decided to wait for conditions to get better before mounting his 2014 Yamaha M1, saving the 2015 bike for dry conditions.
With two hours and forty minutes of the session remaining, the nine-time World Champion cautiously picked up the pace over his first flying laps. He soon rose to third place, posting a 1’43.813 on his eighth lap. Rossi then had a short stop at the pitbox before heading back out on the track. However, he was only able to complete 13 laps as weather conditions suddenly took a turn for the worse, leading the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team to decide to resume the testing program tomorrow instead.
Massimo Meregalli
“Unfortunately the weather forecast was not ideal to continue with the testing program that we prepared yesterday. We took the opportunity to let Vale do a few laps with the wet setting. This year there have been a few circumstances where we weren’t satisfied about the setting, but we couldn’t do the testing we wanted because of the condition of the track. We wanted to do a lot of laps, but the conditions were too risky so we preferred to stop. It looks like tomorrow’s weather is going to be really nice and we will be able to continue with the 2015 development.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Torrential rain affects second day of MotoGP™ Valencia test
After a busy day on Monday which saw 27 riders on track in Valencia, Tuesday’s test sessions were heavily affect by rain, with Danilo Petrucci going fastest of the 11 men who decided to lap on the wet track.
Many of the championship’s biggest name riders decided not to take any risks in the rain with the likes of Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo and Monster Yamaha Tech 3 pair Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith electing not to ride – having all featured towards the top of the timesheet on Monday.
Indeed Italian rider Petrucci (1’42.431) was over a second ahead of the next fastest participant as he spent his second day working with his new team Pramac Racing, adapting to their Ducati machine.
Having not ridden on Monday Drive M7 Aspar rider Nicky Hayden put in 24 laps and ended up second, with the new RC213V-RS Open machine now available to the American. Further down the timesheet Hayden’s new colleague Eugene Laverty was also on track, as he undertook his second day’s work with the Aspar team.
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi was fourth fastest, but only completed eight laps, with Repsol Honda’s World Champion Marc Marquez completing 16 laps and ending the day eighth.
Meanwhile, having noted that his new RC213V factory Honda specification bike is significantly different to ride than his 2014 Open machine, Team Estrella Galicia Marc VDS rider Scott Redding put in 42 laps on the wet track and ended up third (+1.382s).
Redding crashed towards the end of the day without consequences, whilst there were also crashes for Petrucci, Loris Baz (NGM Forward Racing) and Cal Crutchlow (CWM LCR Honda). Crutchlow crashed early in his only run, not marking a lap time and deciding not to go back out for a second outing.
Factory Aprilia Gresini pair Alvaro Bautista and Marco Melandri – the latter yesterday confirmed to ride for the team next year in MotoGP – both also featured with Bautista the busiest man of the day as he notched up 47 laps in fifth place on the timesheet.
The test will conclude on Wednesday with the riders and teams hoping for dry weather conditions at the Valencia track.
More, from a press release issued bu Repsol Honda:
Rain disrupts second day of Valencia Test
Today heavy rain in Valencia restricted the number of laps completed by the class of 2015, and some chose not to test at all as steady rain fell throughout the day.
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez ventured out on track at 12pm for three exits and completed a total of 17 laps aboard the 2014 spec RC213V machine. Marc worked with a new brake disc and callipers to check performance in colder conditions. He and his team will look to confirm their findings in hot conditions during the Sepang test next February. Marc’s fastest time of 1’45.715 (lap 16/17) placed him 8th for the day.
Teammate Dani Pedrosa, who yesterday tested the new 2015 prototype bike, chose not to go out on track. Both riders will be hoping for better weather for the final day tomorrow in order to give feedback to the HRC engineers before the Winter break.
TEAM QUOTES
Marc Marquez
8th – 1’45.715 (17 laps)
“Today was a day in which we couldn’t do too much. Nevertheless, we managed to test a couple of things in the wet which worked well for us. We only put in a few laps, but at least we could make a little progress with our workload. The weather forecast for tomorrow is for better than today, so let’s hope we can try the new bike!”
More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing:
Baz makes his debut on wet
The second day of practices at Valencia racetrack was spoiled by the rain. Stefan Bradl preferred not to go on track, postponing the work to the third and last day of testing, while for team mate Loris Baz was the occasion to test a MotoGP bike for the first time on the wet.
The Frenchman completed in total 32 laps, setting a lap time of 1.46.143 and finishing in 20th position. Two small crash in the afternoon, without consequences for the rider, didn’t stop Baz to smile. His feeling on the wet with the Forward Yamaha was good and he looks forward to continuing to work tomorrow.
Loris Baz
“The first impression on the wet is good. I wanted to know how the tyres work on the wet so I took advantage of the rain to test. I still need to gain more confidence also with the brakes but tomorrow we will continue to work. Despite two crashes, I’m satisfied”.
More, from a press release issued by CWM LCR Honda:
RAIN WASHES OUT SECOND DAY OF TESTING FOR CWM LCR HONDA
Rain fell throughout on the second of three days MotoGP testing at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, meaning there wasn’t much in the way of action out on the Spanish track. With two new arrivals in the CWM LCR Honda Team still finding their feet on their new motorcycles there wasn’t too much to be gained from lapping in the chilly and wet conditions.
This was backed up even further when Cal Crutchlow suffered a minor spill on the only occasion he ventured out onto the damp surface. With air temperatures at just 11 degrees Celsius and a long sequence of left-hand corners at Valencia, the Brit lost too much heat in the right-hand side of his front wet Bridgestone and slid out at low speed at turn four.
Both Crutchlow and his bike were unharmed, and he will hope for better weather tomorrow to complete his final day of testing in 2014.
Cal Crutchlow #35 (No time set)
“We decided that it wasn’t really worth riding in the end today, especially after I crashed on a first flying lap out from the pits. The track temperature was so cold and I went into turn four with no heat whatsoever in the right hand side of the front tyre, and had a really small crash. We know why it happened and doesn’t affect me, I know I can ride in the rain and have done some very good races in the past few years in MotoGP. My experience probably caught me out a bit today, because I tried to go fast immediately, but this is racing and we will try again tomorrow. We have a long testing plan lined up and I hope that the track is dry from first thing in the morning, but I doubt it will be fit until the afternoon.”
More, from another press release issued by CWM LCR Honda:
RAIN STOPS PLAY FOR MILLER AND CWM LCR HONDA
Rain fell throughout the second of three days MotoGP testing at the Ricardo Tormo circuit in Valencia, meaning there wasn’t much in the way of action out on the Spanish track. With two new arrivals in the CWM LCR Honda Team still finding their feet on their new motorcycles there wasn’t too much to be gained from lapping in the chilly and wet conditions.
Australian rookie Jack Miller only made his first laps on board his new Honda RC213V-RS yesterday, so he and the team decided it was best to avoid the chance of any mishaps. Instead they worked in the garage through the information they had gathered on Monday.
Forecasts for Valencia are for more showers for tomorrow’s final day of tests, but with the chance of a brighter afternoon Miller will hope to be able to make further progress in his adaptation to the new machine.
Jack Miller #43 (No time set)
“Today was quite a boring day really, we didn’t get to do any laps. I’ve only done one day on the bike so far and we have lots more tests to come so we don’t need to take any risks going out in the wet conditions just yet. I spent most of the day looking through the data from yesterday to get a better idea of how things went in the dry conditions.”
More, from a press release issued by Pramac Racing:
Test Valencia – Petrucci the fastest under the rain. Hernandez first time on Gp 14.2
The second day of the official test in Valencia has been characterized by an heavy rain. It was an opportunity for Pramac Racing Team to gain some important information on the setting of the bikes in wet condition.
Yonny Hernandez, on his first outing with Ducati Gp 14.2, was the first rider to go out on the track and managed to do 19 laps finishing with a time of (1’44,432), setting the second top speed (313,4 km/h).
Danilo Petrucci felt early confortable under the rain with his Ducati Gp 14 completing 23 laps with the fastest time (1’42.431) of the day. Petrucci setted also the highest speed with 314.1 km/h. One lap before getting back to the pit box, the italian rider crashed without any particolar damage to the bike.
Yonny Hernandez (Pramac Racing Team #68)
Due to the weather conditions it has been very difficoult to feel the difference between the Gp 14.0 and the Gp 14.2, even if this is clearly a different bike. It was important to get information for the wet but it’s clear that i hope to ride the bike tomorrow in the dry. Anyway the first impression on Gp 14.2 was very good even in the rain and it has been confirmed by the quite good time i made.
Danilo Petrucci (Pramac Racing Team #9)
It was a useful day to get used to the bike in wet conditions. It was very cold and the asphalt has never exceeded 13 degrees. It was not easy but i felt good as the wet conditions are not a problem for me. I’m sorry for the crash but fortunately there were no significant damage to the bike. I’m happy for the fastest time and especially for the first two days of test with Pramac Racing. I feel very confortable with my new Team.
More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:
Constant rain causes Espargaro and Smith to sit out day two of testing
Monster Yamaha Tech3 riders Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith opted to not run on the second day of the Valencia test and will wait for tomorrow to return to action with dry weather expected. Pol Espargaro decided against competing in order to give his injured foot time for recovery after the efforts of the weekend in preparation for the final day of testing. Whereas British rider Bradley Smith chose to wait for dry conditions tomorrow to focus on evaluating the important specifications provided by Yamaha, as it will be the last appearance before the Sepang tests in February.
More, from a press release issued by Drive M7 Aspar Team:
Nicky Hayden rides new Honda RC213V-RS in wet conditions
American completes first run on new machine as team-mate Eugene Laverty also gathers wet data
After perfect conditions on the opening day of MotoGP testing at Valencia yesterday, the last thing anybody expected to see today was a downpour but unfortunately that’s what happened and day two of three took place in the wet. With today’s session planned from 10am to 5pm there was plenty of track time available but constant and heavy rain from the start meant that nobody bothered to venture out until past midday. Once they did they were few in number, with just ten riders completing laps today as the showers continued to come and go throughout the afternoon.
Two of the riders on track were in DRIVE M7 Aspar Team colours, although neither ventured out of the garage until 1pm. Nicky Hayden began the day on his 2014 bike and he waited until the final hour of the session before trying out the new Honda RC213V-RS, the Japanese factory’s new pneumatic-valved Open entry. The experienced American was surprised with the power of the new machine and he is hoping for improved weather tomorrow so that he can feel the full force of its potential in dry conditions. His new DRIVE M7 Aspar team-mate Eugene Laverty took the opportunity to get used to his new bike in the wet, the Irishman again expressing his surprise at the performance of the rear tyre but warning that there is a lot of work to be done on the electronics.
Nicky Hayden 1’43.598 (44 laps): “With the wet conditions today we weren’t able to test everything we wanted. We have some new members within the technical staff so we took the chance to get to know each other today. We didn’t ride in wet conditions all season so we did the first part of the session on the old bike. We made some adjustments that worked well and then at the end we had the chance to ride the new bike. Riding a new bike in the wet is not the best thing in the world but at least we were able to get a feel for it over a few laps. It has a lot of power so I hope we get the chance tomorrow to try it out in normal conditions. It seems a bit stiffer, a little heavier, but the biggest difference compared to the old bike is definitely the power. If the weather is on our side tomorrow we can concentrate on setting the new bike up and getting a real feel for it. The chassis, the engine… there are a lot of new things to adapt my riding style to so hopefully we get chance tomorrow.”
Eugene Laverty 1’46.871 (26 laps): “The track was quite slippery and at the start I found it difficult to get a feeling because I couldn’t keep the heat in the tyres and the bike was moving around a lot. Luckily after the first few laps I got to grips with the bike. The tyres allow for a lot more lean angle than I am used to in Superbikes. We still have a lot of work to do with the electronics to understand the bike more but at the moment my feeling on the rear in corner entry is really good. We also have to work on the power delivery and engine braking. A lot of riders talk about the front tyre but I haven’t noticed anything in particular, for me the most surprising thing is the rear. Even though the bike is sliding you can keep pushing and making up ground, the tyre really lets you get the bike turned. Compared with bikes I have ridden in the past this is smaller, lower and handles better. To an extent the size of the fuel tank determines the size of the bike and with the Honda being so small you can really move around on it.”
More, from a press release issued by Marc VDS Racing Team:
Positive wet weather test for Redding
Valencia, Spain – 11 November 2014: Scott Redding enjoyed a positive second day of testing aboard the Team Estrella Galicia Marc VDS Honda RC213V today, despite wet and miserable weather at Valencia.
The 21-year-old Briton has previous experience in the rain aboard the Honda RCV1000R, but he was immediately impressed with how much of an advantage the factory electronics and the seamless gearbox on the RC213V offered over the Open Class bike in the wet.
Although the intermittent, but often torrential, rain throughout the day meant that conditions weren’t ideal for testing, Redding was happy with his progress, having made a significant step forward in adapting his riding style to suit the characteristics of the Honda RC213V.
The weather forecast promises much improved conditions for tomorrow’s third and final day of testing at Valencia.
Scott Redding // 3rd // 1’43.813
“Both me and my Chief Mechanic have learnt a bit more about the bike, making some steps forward together, which was good despite the wet conditions today. This afternoon the track temperature dropped quite a lot and it was harder to keep the heat in the tyres, but we stuck at it, focussing firstly on braking and turning. I also tried a few things with the electronics to understand better how they work, especially when the rear starts spinning up like in the long turn 13. At the moment, to be sideways in the wet doesn’t feel right to me, so I have to understand it to get a better feel of it. We also managed to improve my position on the bike, so it’s been a pretty productive day, even if the weather wasn’t ideal. If conditions improve for tomorrow then I think it will be even better.”