FIM MotoGP World Championship Test
Jerez, Spain
May 5, 2014
Results (all on Bridgestone tires):
1. Marc MARQUEZ, Spain (Honda), 1:38.737
2. Jorge LORENZO, Spain (Yamaha), 1:38.999
3. Valentino ROSSI, Italy (Yamaha), 1:39.063
4. Dani PEDROSA, Spain (Honda), 1:39.377
5. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Spain (Honda), 1:39.635
6. Stefan BRADL, Germany (Honda), 1:39.713
7. Pol ESPARGARO, Spain (Yamaha), 1:39.780
8. Aleix ESPARGARO, Spain (Forward Yamaha), 1:39.797, Open
9. Bradley SMITH, UK (Yamaha), 1:39.840
10. Hiroshi AOYAMA, Japan (Honda), 1:39.881, Open
11. Andrea IANNONE, Italy (Ducati), 1:40.077, Open
12. Scott REDDING, UK (Honda), 1:40.276, Open
13. Michele PIRRO, Italy (Ducati), 1:40.717, Open
14. Karel ABRAHAM, Czech Republic (Honda), 1:40.723, Open
15. Hector BARBERA, Spain (FTR-Kawasaki), 1:41.231, Open
16. Michael LAVERTY, UK (PBM-Aprilia), 1:41.357, Open
17. Broc PARKES, Australia (PBM-Aprilia), 1:41.925, Open
18. Simone CORSI, Italy (Forward-Yamaha), 1:42.333, Open
19. Mike DI MEGLIO, France (FTR-Kawasaki), 1:42.912, Open
20. Colin Edwards, USA (FTR-Kawasaki), did not ride, Open
21. Nicky Hayden, USA (Honda), did not ride, Open
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Productive day of testing for Repsol Honda in Jerez
After another double podium in yesterday’s Spanish GP, Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa were back on track today in Jerez, Andalucia for the first official post-race test of the season.
Both riders went out on track at 10:10am and set to work on their testing programmes planned by HRC. Yesterday’s race winner Marc spent the day focusing on the electronics, as well as testing a different rear suspension setting and completed a fastest lap of 1’38.737 on lap 28 of 55, placing him on 1st place for the day. Dani, who missed out on second place yesterday by just 0.098s, worked mainly on chassis geometry and set his fastest time on lap 44 of 51 with a time of 1’39.377.
The team will now pack up and make their way to Le Mans for the French GP in two weeks time.
Marc Marquez
1st – 1’38.737
“Today went rather well and we were able to draw some very positive conclusions. We didn’t really have anything important to test out, but there were some things that you don’t have time to look at over during a Grand Prix weekend; things like the electronics, the start strategy or some different setups. Despite feeling comfortable, we tested things out in order to have some ideas for the future. We tried a different rear suspension but in the end I went back to what we basically had used throughout the weekend. I felt most comfortable with it that way.”
Dani Pedrosa
4th – 1’39.377
“We did a lot of suspension testing today and made some setup changes to the chassis. It was all to try and find a better balance that will allow us to perform better in races. In general we did some good testing today and made some progress, although now we have to go to Le Mans and confirm that the changes are positive. We will have to see if what we have found here adapts well to the different temperature and track layout there, because here it was very hot and it will be cold in France. We shall see if we can adapt and get the best performance out of the tyres.”
More, from a press release issued by Drive M7 Aspar Team:
HIROSHI AOYAMA COMPLETES SATISFACTORY DAY OF TESTING AT JEREZ
DRIVE M7 Aspar rider matches times from race weekend and improves pace, whilst teammate Nicky Hayden sits out test with wrist trouble
Yesterday the Spanish Grand Prix rounded off a busy two weeks of World Championship events, with back to back races in Argentina and at Jerez. In a final effort from the MotoGP riders, today saw a day of testing in Spain. The level of competition in the premier class is such that any time on track is useful to test new things and gather data. The single-day test is the first post-race runout of the season, with each outing coming directly after a Grand Prix. The next will be at the Circuit de Catalunya, followed by Brno. The Jerez track was open from 10am through to 6pm, with testing uninterrupted by the fantastic weather and only paused by a small crash for Andrea Iannone after midday.
It was a perfect day for Hiroshi Aoyama, who tested out several pending setups. The Japanese DRIVE M7 Aspar Team rider went out early, with the intention of trying various chassis modifications, changes in seating position and suspension settings to allow greater speed and consistency when cornering. The day was very positive for him, as he matched his best time from the weekend and set a faster pace –even with used tyres. He concluded his day of testing at 3pm.
Teammate Nicky Hayden decided not to go out on track today, due to the swollen right wrist that has plagued him since Saturday night. The American was operated on during the winter, recovering normally and not suffering during the preseason or start of the championship. On his return home he will undergo a checkup to look at the wrist issue, and he hopes to find the cause of the swelling ahead of the next round in France.
Nicky Hayden: “I went to the Clinica Mobile this morning and the doctors advised me not to ride the bike today. I don’t know why, but since Saturday night I have had swelling and discomfort with my wrist. This winter I had my wrist operated and I recovered well, had strength in my hand and everything seemed normal. It seems that it is nothing serious, and although yesterday I suffered a lot during the race, at least I could finish. When I return home I will head to the hospital for further tests to find out why I have a swollen wrist. With the French GP coming up in ten days I think it was the right thing to do to rest today, so that the situation does not worsen. We had no specific material to test, just some setups. We wanted to take the opportunity to try things that we don’t have time to look at during a Grand Prix. It would have been nice to ride a little and gather data, but we took the wisest decision. We’ll wait until Le Mans, where I hope to continue improving. I think last weekend we took a step forward, and our race pace after the first lap was similar to Dovizioso’s. The objective is to continue growing and get even closer to the riders ahead of us.”
Hiroshi Aoyama: “Today we used our time to try to improve things we cannot experiment with during race weekends. We also continued to test things we discovered during the past weekend and liked. Basically, we tried to improve our cornering speed, played around with various geometry and suspension options. This afternoon we saw several improvements thanks to our work, so we’re happy with that. Also, considering the heat on track, our lap times were very positive. This test has been very productive for us, we found improvements that will help us at the next few races.”
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Marquez on top again following day of testing
It was a familiar story at the head of the MotoGP™ test timesheet in Jerez on Monday as World Champion Marc Marquez set the fastest lap of the post-Grand Prix workout.
Repsol Honda’s MotoGP™ championship leader – who missed the last preseason tests due to injury – made up for lost time with a 1’38.737 best effort recorded on the 28th of 55 laps around the 4.4km Jerez circuit where he took his fourth win of 2014 on Sunday.
In the perfect morning conditions Marquez was amongst the first riders on track along with Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) and Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing).
Marquez tried rear suspension tweaks to help with fast cornering and also worked on electronics and geometry settings. His teammate Dani Pedrosa was 0.64s behind him in fourth place overall having worked on front suspension to improve race performance in early laps.
Second on the timesheet was Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) a 0.262s margin from the top with a late fast lap having worked on electronics and bike balance – also testing a new swingarm.
In third place was Valentino Rossi (+0.326s) who has recently incorporated a new chassis into his evolving Yamaha YZR-M1 package. Fifth fastest was the aforementioned Bautista (+0.898s), the Spaniard completing a marathon haul of 73 laps as he worked on front forks and rear shocks.
LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl (+0.976s) ended up sixth having elected to test despite feeling arm pump symptoms over the weekend, putting in 70 laps working on suspension, geometry and electronics to improve corner entry. Bradl will visit a specialist in Germany on Tuesday with regard to the pain he is suffering in his arm.
The test top ten was rounded out by Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3), Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing), Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive M7 Aspar), all of them lapping just over a second off the pace of Marquez.
Ducati Team’s test work was handled by Michele Pirro in the absence of Andrea Dovizioso and Cal Crutchlow, whilst Nicky Hayden (Drive M7 Aspar) was forced to miss the test due to a severely swollen wrist from Sunday’s race.
Colin Edwards (NGM Forward Racing) also missed the test, with his Moto2™ colleague Simone Corsi taking over his duties as the Italian gathered some MotoGP experience.
More, from a press release issued by NGM Mobile Forward Racing:
Corsi tests the Forward Yamaha at Jerez
After the Spanish GP, the NGM Forward Racing team is back to work at Jerez de la Frontera for one day of test organized for the MotoGP riders.
Aleix Espargaro worked on the development of his Forward Yamaha, focusing on the electronics and bike set up. During the day he used both machines but dedicated a special attention to the second one that he hadn’t used since the Qatar GP. In total the Spaniard completed 41 laps with his best lap time of 1’39.797.
It was a special day for NGM Forward Racing Moto2 rider Simone Corsi who made his debut on board of a MotoGP machine. Simone used Colin Edwards’ bike and he used at the best the test day to take confidence with the new machine. The Italian completed 45 laps, setting a best lap time of 1’42.333.
Aleix Espargaro:
“It was a very positive day of work. We worked on the electronics in preparation of the next races. We collected important data and I’m satisfied. In the afternoon I worked on the set up of the second machine as I hadn’t use it since Qatar Qualifying session.”
Simone Corsi:
“Today I had the great opportunity to test the MotoGP Machine and it was an incredible experience. I completed 45 laps to get confidence with the Forward Yamaha and I’m satisfied. There are so many differences with the Moto2 in terms of power, acceleration and electronics. The MotoGP is very physically demanding, so I preferred to concentrate all the work in the morning. I’d like to thank the team for this opportunity.”