FIM MotoGP World Championship

Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia

January 29, 2018

Day Two Test Results (all on Michelin tires):

1. Maverick Vinales, Spain (Yamaha), 1:59.355

2. Valentino Rossi, Italy (Yamaha), 1:59.390

3. Cal Crutchlow, UK (Honda), 1:59.443

4. Jorge Lorenzo, Spain (Ducati), 1:59.498

5. Jack Miller, Australia (Ducati), 1:59.509

6. Johann Zarco, France (Yamaha), 1:59.702

7. Marc Marquez, Spain (Honda), 1:59.730

8. Andrea Dovizioso, Italy (Ducati), 1:59.732

9. Danilo Petrucci, Italy (Ducati), 1:59.747

10. Andrea Iannone, Italy (Suzuki), 1:59.917

11. Aleix Espargaro, Spain (Aprilia), 1:59.925

12. Dani Pedrosa, Spain (Honda), 1:59.999

13. Alex Rins, Spain (Suzuki), 2:00.042

14. Pol Espargaro, Spain (KTM), 2:00.262

15. Tito Rabat, Spain (Ducati), 2:00.506

16. Bradley Smith, UK (KTM), 2:00.520

17. Franco Morbidelli, Italy (Honda), 2:00.662

18. Mika Kallio, Finland (KTM), 2:00.701*

19. Alvaro Bautista, Spain (Ducati), 2:00.728

20. Karel Abraham, Czech Republic (Ducati), 2:00.728

21. Takaaki Nakagami, Japan (Honda), 2:00.952

22. Sylvain Guintoli, France (Suzuki), 2:01.392*

23. Scott Redding, UK (Aprilia), 2:01.456

24. Yamaha Test Rider Three, Japan (Yamaha), 2:01.480*

25. Yonny Hernandez, Colombia (Yamaha), 2:01.554

26. Xavier Simeon, Belgium (Ducati), 2:01.689

27. Tom Luthi, Switzerland (Honda), 2:01.810

28. Yamaha Test Rider Two, Japan (Yamaha), 2:02.573*

*test rider

More, from a press release issued by Monster Yamaha Tech 3:

Tech3 duo displays significant progress on day two of testing

Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Johann Zarco continued to impress on Monday at the Sepang International Circuit, the second day of pre-season testing in 2018. The French rider improved by more than 0.7 seconds in order to hit his target, well arriving inside the 59’s.

However, Yonny Hernandez did well to further adapt his riding style to the Yamaha YZR-M1 and gradually finds his way back to the highly-competitive MotoGP field. The 29-year-old lowered his lap time from day one by about half a second.

Johann Zarco

Position: 6th – Time: 1’59.702 – Laps: 48

“What we saw from the first day, the bike is able to be very consistent, but yesterday I felt it was not fast enough. On my last lap today though, I have been very quick and was able to clock a really good time. Obviously, the other riders increased their pace in the last 30 minutes. Anyway, we can be happy, as we reached our goal to be under the 2 minutes bracket. There are many positives to take away from today, although it has not been easy to find solutions in some areas we wanted to improve. It’s the first winter test of this year, therefore it’s truly important to work on the bike rather than just try to set a fast lap time. For now, I have to rest a bit and sleep well and tomorrow we want to try some different things to be able to give even more feedback.”

Yonny Hernandez

Position: 25th – Time: 2’01.554 – Laps: 49

“On day two we found a small improvement and I’m happy about that. Compared to yesterday, we also lowered our lap time by half a second, which is another positive point. Clearly, this is not the position we want to be in, but today we understood more and more aspects about the bike. I just focused on riding the Yamaha, plus I also did some good work with used tyres, which is very important. I learned to ride the bike on it, used the traction control a lot and trying to figure out how the medium and the soft tyres perform. I’m pleased that we are improving day by day, exit by exit, just doing as many kilometers as possible. The goal for tomorrow is the same like today; learning a lot and trying to reduce the gap to the top.”

More, from a press release issued by Angel Nieto Team MotoGP:

ÁNGEL NIETO TEAM CONTINUES TESTS IN SEPANG

Spanish team continue their adaptation to their new bikes and finish a second and a half off the fastest in Sepang

Yesterday he was 1.2 seconds off the fastest time on the opening day of preseason but today it was Maverick Viñales who set the pace at Sepang, the Spaniard managing to improve on Dani Pedrosa’s best from yesterday and setting the bar at 1’59.355, just 0.035 seconds faster than his teammate, Valentino Rossi, who battled with him for top spot in the final few minutes of the session. Today as many as twelve riders broke the two minute barrier, with Cal Crutchlow, Jorge Lorenzo and Jack Miller completing the top five of the day.

The Angel Nieto Team continued its testing programme at Sepang, after an initial day that saw the plans change due to a crash for Álvaro Bautista and a technical problem for Karel Abraham. The pair completed several runs today, generally between six and ten laps, with the Spaniard clocking a total of 58 laps and the Czech some 53. Bautista, recovered from his tumble yesterday, shaved a second off his best time from yesterday. Together with his team, he focused today on the search for more grip on the rear of his Ducati GP17 to be able to squeeze maximum potential out of the bike. Abraham was less than two tenths off his teammate’s best lap on the second day of tests as he continued his adaptation to the Ducati GP16.

19th Álvaro Bautista 2.00.728 (58 laps): “We have been taking to the track with a set-up that is similar to the one we had last year, but it is true that this bike has some different characteristics. As far as the front end is concerned, I feel good, but in traction we are losing out so we are working to get more grip, because there I lose a lot. I do not notice much difference with the wings on the bike, it doesn’t go worse with them on but I do not know how much difference there is between having them and not. This track is not a place where you would notice a lot anyway.”

20th Karel Abraham 2.00.914 (53 laps): “We’re experiencing a tough first couple of days of our 2018 preseason. Yesterday we didn’t get to ride much because of the weather and some technical issues, and today was pretty difficult as well. I couldn’t get into a rhythm and as much as the team tried to help me we didn’t manage to get into some fast lap times. We just need to find a way that is good for both of us – me and the bike. So we need to keep working hard and stay positive. We will need to push really hard in the first part of the season, as the differences between the bikes won’t be as big as in the end of the season.”

More, from a press release issued by Alma Pramac Racing:

#SepangTest Day-2: Jack continues to fly (5th), Petrux works on development and laps fast (9th)

After the exciting debut in the first official tests of the 2018 MotoGP season (Danilo Petrucci 4th and Jack Miller 5th), the second day of activity at Sepang International Circuit ends up with convincing confirmations for Alma Pramac Racing.

Jack confirms his speed and the feeling with his Ducati Desmosedici GP 2017 improves lap after lap. After working on the set up in the morning, and staying for a long time in the Top 5, in the afternoon’s time attack, the Australian rider improved by more than 6 tenths of a second the crono obtained in the first day of testing, finishing in P5 only 1 tenth of a second behind the best lap-time of Maverick Vinales.

Petrux spent the morning with Ducati engineers working on specific tests on his riding set-up using the Ducati Desmosedici GP 2017. In the afternoon the rider from Terni climbed on the “2018” and lapped with an interesting pace. At the end of the session, the first real time attack with the new bike and a time of 1:59.747, which allows him to stay easily in the Top 10.

9th Danilo Petrucci – 1:59.747 (46 laps)

“The sensations are very positive. The feeling with the new bike improves day after day. Today we have done a very important job with Ducati that will be usefull during the season. Then in the afternoon I tried the first real time attack with the “2018”. I still have to take a little bit of confidence in order to be able to reduce the time even further. We will certainly try it tomorrow”.

5th Jack Miller – 1:59.509 (44 laps)

“I’m really very satisfied. And I have to say that I’m happy more for the sensations that the bike is giving me rather than for the times that are still very positive. We started working on the set up and this means that we still have margin. But we must take one step at a time. The goal is to grow day by day without thinking too much about the lap-times”.

More, from a press release issued by Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS:

HARD WORK AND MORE PROGRESS ON DAY TWO IN SEPANG

Andrea Iannone: 10th – 1:59.917 (+ 0.562)

Alex Rins: 13th – 2:00.042 (+ 0.687)

Sylvain Guintoli: 22nd – 2:01.392 (+ 2.037)

Andrea Iannone in the Top 10, setting a lap time under the 2-minute mark on Sepang’s second day of testing, as he tries different chassis and set-up configurations.

Alex Rins very consistent on pace while testing two different specs of engine, very close to dipping below the 2-minute mark.

The second day of testing at Sepang International Circuit was a positive one for Team SUZUKI ECSTAR, with opportunities to try many new things on the bikes and for the riders to improve their feeling and confidence with the 2018 GSX-RR. All three riders found themselves improving their lap times and decreasing their deficit to the front as they completed a combined total of 159 laps.

Andrea Iannone, who focused mainly on chassis configuration, was able to drop his time under two minutes which allowed him to take 10th place in the session – just over half a second off the fastest time. This was a nice boost for the Italian, who had struggled on Day 1 following a couple of crashes.

Alex Rins was not far behind his experienced team-mate, ending the session in 13th place – just six tenths of a second from the fastest time. He reported that he was feeling very positive about the adjustments made over the course of the day as he concentrated mainly on engine specification.

Team SUZUKI ECSTAR test rider Sylvain Guintoli completed fewer laps but was also able to find some important settings for tomorrow’s final test day.

Although the session stayed dry the riders had to instead battle against intense heat and humidity, making it difficult to stay on track for long periods of time. But thanks to their hard work during the winter break they found they were able to push through and complete another productive and useful day.

Davide Brivio – Team Manager

“Today has been another day where we worked a lot, but we are in a situation at the moment where we really need to understand everything and get good information. We really worked hard and we made a lot of adjustments with both riders, who were working in different areas of the bike. Alex concentrated more on the engine side with two slightly different specs., so he was trying to understand the positives and negatives of each one. In the morning he could keep a consistent and positive pace, then further improved in the afternoon. And for Andrea it was much more based around the chassis area, we worked a lot with different configurations and we could find a positive one that allowed him to set a good lap time, his best so far. We will continue tomorrow and into the next test to try to be as clear as possible about our final package.”

Andrea Iannone

“As I said in the last days we are on a growing path, working with a step by step approach, and we’re working day after day to understand and see any limits that we encounter. Today has been another day on this path, we have understood many things and found both positives and negatives which makes the day very useful. We have focused on trying different set-ups to understand how the GSX-RR reacts to our changes and we got a lot of information. The weather and the crashes have affected the working schedule and we are a little behind with our ‘to do list’, therefore we must stay focused tomorrow to understand as much as possible the true potential of the various options and different configurations that we have here, in order to address the future work until the Qatar debut.”

Alex Rins

“I’m feeling really good and today was a really positive test in which we tried many things. We tried to adjust the bike with a new engine and in that way we found really positive things. Tomorrow we have more to try; such as suspension, and some parts of the chassis, so we will focus on that. I tried to work really hard during the pre-season so that I could arrive here with good feelings physically, because it can be difficult after two months off the bike, and I am feeling really good.”

More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:

Testing continues in Sepang for Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa

On day two of the official test in Sepang, the action started around 11a.m., after riders had waited for the asphalt to dry from an overnight downpour. No further rain disrupted the proceedings until the very last minutes of the session.

Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa were therefore able to take advantage of a full day of work to carry out a number of tests on several areas of their bikes’ setup, including engine, aerodynamics, suspension, and tyres, and they posted the seventh (1’59.730”) and 12th (in 1’59.999”) fastest times, respectively. Marc suffered an uneventful tumble at turn two during his last run, when a light rain started to fall.

The test will conclude tomorrow.

Marc Marquez 93

7TH 1:59.730 (51 OF 68 LAPS)

“Today I’m very happy because we made some steps forward and I felt really good on my bike, especially in the afternoon, when we put everything in place and I did my fastest lap when the temperature was highest. Besides continuing our work on the engine and setup, we tried a new fairing, and when you do that type of test you have to adjust the bike’s balance a little bit. We’ll need to do more laps to collect more data and get used to riding with it. There are a few things we need to improve more, several areas of the setup that we have to adjust, but so far I’m happy with our pace and think we’re working well. Unfortunately, when we fit a new tyre at the end of the day, it started to rain a bit. I lost the front at turn two even though I wasn’t really pushing, but it wasn’t important.”

Dani Pedrosa 26

12TH 1:59.999 (51 OF 56 LAPS)

“Today we had a full-day session that allowed us to carry out many tests. We mainly used the new engine specifications, and we worked a lot on a new fairing and other combinations with the aerodynamics. We also worked on the suspension and tyres because with this type of work, you have to make many adjustments to the settings. Some aspects were good right away—the wheelie control was better, and we were able to apply more torque on corner-exit—but we need to improve other aspects and also try everything again at a different track. Anyway, the feeling was generally positive again today; we were quite precise in our work and managed to follow our testing plan well. Tomorrow will be the final day, and we’ll try and work more on the details.”

More, from a press release issued by Aprilia Gresini Racing:

THE NEW 2018 APRILIA RS-GP GROWS IN SEPANG

IN MALAYSIA, ESPARGARÓ AND REDDING IMPROVE FEELING AND TIMES

After the first and promising contact with the 2018 version Aprilia RS-GP, work in the Italian garage continued with the goal of exploring the potential offered by the new bike and testing some of the available technical solutions in order to define which package to take to the first race of the season.

After today’s 47 laps, Aleix Espargaró confirmed his initial sensations with a positive assessment of the progress made. After a few start simulations at the beginning of the day, the Spanish rider tested various tyres and a different swingarm, increasing his feeling with the new bike lap after lap. His best time of 1’59.925, just 570 thousandths behind the best time on the sheets, is an indicator of the hard work done by rider and team.

Scott Redding also improved his sensations, although his progress was slowed a bit by chattering. The new Aprilia Racing Team Gresini rider and his team will be focusing on this aspect for the final day of testing.

ALEIX ESPARGARO’

“The tests today demonstrated how competitive MotoGP is: with just a half a second gap, I am out of the top 10. In any case, I am very pleased with the way we are working. I only lapped with the 2018 bike and I must say that the improvements are clear. Especially in terms of the chassis architecture, Aprilia has developed the RS-GP following my requests and cornering performance has benefited from that. We still have room to improve, for example in acceleration, but the base on which we will begin the season will be even further evolved, so I cannot help but to be optimistic.”

SCOTT REDDING

“We improved compared to yesterday, both in terms of times and my feeling with the new bike. The biggest limitation right now is chattering at the front which keeps me from making further progress. We did a few tests, but evidently we need a radical change. I can feel that the bike can be faster and Aleix is demonstrating that. Now we’ll analyse the data and decide what to try tomorrow.”

More, from a press release issued by Movistar Yamaha:

MOVISTAR YAMAHA TEAMMATES TOP SECOND SEPANG TEST DAY

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi were back on track today at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia for the first 2018 pre-season Official IRTA test. The riders continued with their testing schedules, but saved some energy for the final stages of the session to post hot laps. They ended day two securing first and second place respectively in both today’s and the combined timesheets.

Sepang (Malaysia), 29th January 2018

The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team were back on track today to continue work at the first official IRTA test of the 2018 season, held at the Sepang International Circuit. Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi again worked diligently to improve their 2018 YZR-M1s, and the results echoed the positive rider feedback. They finished the second day in first and second place respectively.

Similar to yesterday morning, the MotoGP riders waited for the track to dry before they ventured out just before 12 o‘clock local track time.

Viñales had a busy schedule again. His strategy remained the same as for Day 1: put in a lot of laps to work on tyre wear. He initially headed out on the same bike as yesterday to get a feel for the conditions, before he gave the new fairing a try. Throughout the second day of testing the Spaniard noticed improvement in the consistency of his lap times. He put his YZR-M1 to the test during the final stages of the eight-hour session and posted a 1‘59.355s on lap 66/68 for top billing, with a 0.035s margin.

Trying to make up for lost time due to the overnight rain, Rossi also made strides in the afternoon. He only needed about half an hours‘ time to drop a 1‘59.766s, set on lap 12, to take over at the top of the timesheets. Back into the rhythm, he proceeded work on his bike‘s setting as well as the tyre wear. He spent a long time in second place on the provisional timesheets, until the pace quickened at the end of the day. The Doctor joined in on the action and briefly went top with a 1‘59.390s attempt on lap 38/39, before his teammate pushed him to second place.

Today‘s efforts see Viñales and Rossi also hold first and second place respectively in the combined day 1-2 standings, leaving them in a positive mindset to complete the testing schedule tomorrow.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI

TEAM DIRECTOR

We’ve made further progress today. We lost a few hours of testing time in the morning, but we’re still on schedule. On the first day we tried to confirm our earlier found data and on the second day of testing we wanted to add onto it. Maverick and Vale were really focused on riding with used tyres, and so far it looks like improvements have been made on tyre wear. They have a good feeling on the bike and were also able to test a new aerodynamic fairing with positive results. The mini time-attack at the end of the day put us in first and second place, which is great for the team. More importantly, we’re working in the right direction as we prepare for longer runs. We still need about four or five dry hours of testing tomorrow in order to finish our schedule.

MAVERICK VIÑALES

The second day went really well. I felt really good with the bike. We‘ve been working especially on the electronics, but there’s still work to do. We have a long way to go to set up the electronics correctly, but I‘m happy with the steps we‘ve made. We tried to work in hot conditions, especially around midday and we’ll follow the same plan tomorrow. We‘re trying to improve a lot in hot conditions, to solve the problems we had last year. I think it was a positive day and I‘m ready to work some more tomorrow.

VALENTINO ROSSI

I’m happy about the second day because we worked well and finished our programme for today. We tried some big and small details and some things were good and some things were less good. For example, I like the aerodynamics, and I was able to improve my pace and lap times. I think I did my personal best here in Sepang today, because a 1’59.3s is good. It’s very tight, all the top riders are very strong, so that will be interesting. I’m very happy to be there at the front. I like the fairing more than last year’s because I have more protection and – because I’m a bit big and tall – that’s what I need, so that’s good. The ducts – that are not wings – are good because the bike has less wheelie and that gives us more front contact. It looks like we’re also quite fast in the straight and so it was a good day.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Viñales and Rossi reign on Day 2

Movistar Yamaha duo take to the top, with Crutchlow, Lorenzo and Miller for close company

Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) went quickest on Day 2 at Sepang International Circuit, just beating teammate Valentino Rossi to the top late on as the Yamaha duo put in some timeattack laps. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) was third quickest, with the top three split by less than a tenth as the timesheets were close once again.

It was Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pol Espargaro who led the way early on Day 2, with action slow to get in gear following some overnight rain. But soon, times began to tumble – and a good number of late movers shook up the timesheets in the final hour. Espargaro also took a tumble, tipping off at Turn 4 and heading to the medical center. Largely ok, the Spaniard will nevertheless head to hospital in Kuala Lumpur for further checks.

Some of the biggest headlines on Monday were aero-fairings, with Honda and Yamaha riders all trying some of this year’s evolutions. Crutchlow had the carbon-black Honda version to try out on HRC test duty, before Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa both tried the innovation at Repsol Honda. At Yamaha, some of the new changes previously seen on test riders’ machines were on show, too – with both Viñales and Rossi trying them out. Rossi also tried out a new testing lid – but it wasn’t technically an innovation; the rider from Tavullia instead opting to wear an updated replica of his 1996 helmet.

The Yamaha duo at the top did a 1:59.355 and a 1:50.390 respectively, with Viñales putting in 68 laps and Rossi 39. Crutchlow, meanwhile, managed a 1:59.443 as his best of 65 laps – keeping the top three within 0.088 seconds.

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) was the next man on the timesheets. The five-time World Champion did a 1:59.498, and was only a further half a tenth back after 44 laps. Another Borgo Panigale machine completed the top five, with Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) impressing once more – and only 0.011 off Lorenzo. Miller managed to break into the 1:59 club and did 44 laps.

Behind that top five, there was a slightly bigger gap back to sixth. Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) ended the day 0.193 off the top five after putting in 48 laps – just ahead of reigning Champion Marc Marquez and settling into life on the 2017 M1.

Marquez put in exactly the same lap count as compatriot and expected Championship rival Maverick Viñales – 68 – and ended the day with a 1:59.730 as his quickest; just 0.002 ahead of another big rival in the form of Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team). Marquez was another crasher on Day 2, but it was a very minor tip off early in the lap just before some rain began to fall.

The reigning Champion explained he would be working through their programme – going from engine to setups to aero – on Days 2 and 3, and the Spaniard showed that to be true as he tried the aero-fairing in the afternoon. Dovizioso, meanwhile, is concentrating on a deeper evaluation of the new GP18 after initial positive reports coming from the Ducati Team camp after the opening day. Another Ducati was just behind him, with Danilo Petrucci putting the second Alma Pramac Racing machine in P9.

Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was tenth quickest on the second day as Suzuki look to move forward with their changes made for 2018, saying their engine last season had been a mistake in direction. The Italian suffered some early drama however when his GSX-RR caught fight and caused him to pull over, but got back out soon after and put in a total of 57 laps. Teammate Alex Rins was P13, with a similar lap count.

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was tantalizingly close to the top ten as the Noale factory continue to evaluate their winter mission for, amongst other things, more horsepower. He did 47 laps, with teammate Scott Redding putting in 51 further down the timesheets as he gets to grips with his switch to the RS-GP.

Dani Pedrosa was the only rider who didn’t improve and he was P12 after topping Day 1, but his fastest lap from the first day is the third fastest overall on combined times.

Pol Espargaro was P14 and did only 22 laps due to his crash, with Tito Rabat (Reale Avintia Racing) splitting the two Red Bull KTM Factory Racing riders to take 15th; two tenths ahead of the second Austrian machine as Bradley Smith ended Day 2 in P16.

Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) struck back in the battle of the rookies on Monday despite two crashes, with the intermediate class reigning Champion P17 on the second day and managing to stay three tenths clear of fellow rookie Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu). The Japanese rider was P21.

The final day of action at Sepang gets underway tomorrow, with the track open from 10:00 (GMT +8) once more.

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

TOP THREE ON DAY TWO OF TESTS FOR CRUTCHLOW

On the second day of pre-season testing at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, Cal Crutchlow impressed once more by setting the third fastest time of the day. After overnight rain had delayed the riders taking to the track when the green lights came on, temperatures then soared towards the 40°C mark in the middle part of the day, both conditions restricting the amount of laps that could be put in.

Despite that, Crutchlow still managed to put in 65 laps of the track, all the while picking up valuable data as he helped HRC by testing parts for the 2018 RC213V. Towards the end of the day the British rider pushed hard for a fast lap, and despite not feeling like it was perfect, stopped the clock in a best time of 1’59.443, less than a tenth of a second behind the fastest man of the day.

Testing continues in Malaysia with a third and final day tomorrow.

Cal Crutchlow – 3rd

(1’59.443 – lap 56 of 65)

“It’s been another positive day today, where we had a lot of things to test for ourselves and for Honda so the schedule was very busy. Unfortunately, we had to start late because the track was a bit damp, but overall we are happy with our performance today.”

“We worked very well with used tyres over the day, which was quite important. Then we were able to push for a one-off fast lap at the end, but I had a bit of a bad feeling on the lap. So, it is actually quite positive that the lap time was so good, despite it not feeling great. It also meant we only used one tyre out of our allocation to be able to push for the lap-time.”

“Our race-pace looks good at the moment in comparison to our competitors, so tomorrow we have to continue to work with what we have on our schedule and overnight we will be working together with Honda and the team to see where we can make improvements.”

More, from a press release issued by Reale Avintia Racing:

Reale Avintia Racing riders keep improving in Malaysia

When MotoGP riders arrived this morning to Sepang, they’ve found a damp track after overnight rain, but unlike yesterday the Malaysian sun was shining and the track surface dried up quickly. Before lunch time, Reale Avintia Racing riders were ready to jump on their bikes and continue working.

Tito Rabat improved again his rhthym and compared to the first day his race pace was a second faster. The former Moto2 World Champion has been working very well with his crew and improved in more than half a second his best lap time from the first day, even so, he wanted to improve a bit more at the end. In the 30 minutes went out with a new rear Michelin slick tyre for a time attack, pero a rain shower ruined his plan of improving his lap times.

Xavier Simeon has also taken a big step forward in his adaptation process to the MotoGP class. The Belgian rider, following the advice of the team and his ‘coach’ Ruben Xaus, is steadely improving his riding style bettering his time from yesterday by almost 1.5s. His goal for the winter test is not just make a fast lap, but to learn as much as possible before the MotoGP World Championship starts in Qatar next March.

Tito Rabat | 2’00.506 | P15

“Today was a day to try many different things in the set up of the bike to see what we like and what we don’t like. I’m happy because we have clear which way to follow and although we didn’t complete many laps, all of them have been effective and have allowed us to test what we wanted to test. For tomorrow, if tonight doesn’t rain, the intention is to start early and try to improve the lap time but, to be honest, I’m happy with the pace we have and specially because I’m doing fast times riding on my own. We have to concentrate to make the most of the last day and if everything goes well I would like to do a race simulation”.

Xavier Simeon | 2’01.689 | P26

“I’m very happy because today we did a big step compared to yesterday, and even during the afternoon with used tyres I was able to improve. Every time I go out on track I feel better with the bike, every time I understand the tyres better, I’m changing my position and little by little and I’m riding more in the style requiered by a MotoGP machine; lifting the bike as soon as possible and trying to brake as late as possible. At the end of the day we put a set of fresh soft tyres to try to improve the lap times and, honestly, I expected to improve a bit more. Especially seeing how the other riders with the new tyre were doing a big improvement. I expected to be able to do the same, but it is clear that I still have many things to learn”.

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

NAKAGAMI CONTINUES LEARNING PROCESS IN MALAYSIA TESTS

Day two of pre-season tests at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, saw LCR Honda IDEMITSU rider Takaaki Nakagami continue his apprenticeship with the RC213V. After overnight rain had delayed the riders taking to the track when the green lights came on, temperatures then soared towards the 40°C mark in the middle part of the day, both conditions challenging the rookie’s adaptation to the MotoGP machine by restricting the number of laps that could be put in.

Despite these setbacks, the Japanese rider still completed 50 laps of the gruelling Malaysian venue, and whilst only 21st on the timesheets overall, he and the team can look at a gap of just 1.5 seconds from the fastest rider. His best lap of 2’00.952 came in the earlier part of the day, before a small crash in the afternoon prevented him from making a time-attack like many of his rivals when temperatures dropped slightly.

Taka Nakagami – 21st

(2’00.952 – lap 19 of 50)

“The second day of testing has been quite good, we had a good start to the morning session, but then I had a small crash at around 4pm. It was a really small mistake and a small crash but the bike was damaged a little bit and I had to swap to the spare machine. On that bike the geometry was a bit different, and the feeling wasn’t so positive, so it changed our plans a bit.”

“At the end of the day I wasn’t able to push for a lap time, but I’m feeling OK physically, so we are looking forward to the last day tomorrow when we will try for a long run race simulation.”

More, from a press release issued by Ducati Corse:

Jorge Lorenzo fourth and Andrea Dovizioso eighth on Day 2 of official MotoGP testing at Sepang

On the second day of testing at Sepang, the MotoGP riders again only went out on track late in the morning because the surface conditions were still partially damp after overnight rain.

The two Ducati Team men continued their schedule programme of work, concentrating mainly on the new Desmosedici GP 2018: Jorge Lorenzo ended the day in fourth place with a time of 1’59.498, while Andrea Dovizioso was classified eighth in 1’59.732.

Tomorrow will see the third and final day of the first 2018 official MotoGP tests at Sepang, scheduled from 10 am to 6 pm Malaysian time.

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 1’59.498 (44 laps)

“Today we were competitive again and I’m very happy about that. We sorted out a few details, tested some new components and settings and in the end improved both our lap time and our pace. I also believe we still have room for more improvement and, when we get a better idea of some things, I think we’ll be able to express all the potential of the new Desmosedici GP, which is very high.”

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’59.732 (32 laps)

“I’m satisfied with the work we did today and the sensations I had with the new bike, even though in the afternoon unfortunately we were unable to complete all the tests that had been scheduled. Also last year we proved that we were very competitive here at Sepang, so now we have to getter a better understanding of how much room for improvement we have with the 2018 bike, and it’ll be vitally important to verify the positive aspects on the next tracks we go to and in different conditions.”