MotoGP Monday – MotoGP riders rack up the laps at testing
With an accumulated amount of over 1440 kms of testing on the day (roughly around 330 laps) the various teams focused on different aspects of their bikes
Mason Meyer
While there was no MotoGP race action this past weekend, there is still a lot of action taking place within the team camps as they reflect on the first official in-season test which took place last week Monday at Jerez track in Spain, following the Sunday races.
With an accumulated amount of over 1440 kms of testing on the day (roughly around 330 laps) the various teams focused on different aspects of their bikes. The Yamaha team of Rossi and Vinalez focused on testing a new chassis as well as accumulating data for tyre wear, usage and performance.
The Honda boys of Marquez and Pedrosa were testing a new exhaust system, as well as accumulating info on their tires. The Ducati outfit of Dovizioso and Lorenzo had no new parts fitted to their bikes but focused heavily on testing their tires as well.
The other teams all followed a similar pattern of testing tires, as well as other small changes to their setups, such as improving front end feeling, electronic systems and other minor adjustments.
With lap times not being as important as data gathering and performance testing of new parts the top few riders were very close to each other in terms of lap times, Vinalez set the quickest lap of the day (1:38:635), with Marquez in 2nd, a mere 0.002 seconds behind, Pedrosa was 3rd with a 1:38:716.
MotoGP now heads to the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans, France this weekend for the 5th round of the Championship.
