Marquez Under Pole Record at 1-Day Brno MotoGP Test 2014

Brno MotoGP Test 2014

Just one day after the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Brno, the grid was back on the technical 3.357-mile circuit for a one-day test.

For most of the post-race test, weather conditions were sunnier than over the entire race weekend, causing for warmer track conditions. But from 3 p.m. local time on, overcast skies set in, causing cooler track temps.

It was a tough Brno MotoGP weekend for the reigning MotoGP Champion Marc Marquez, who – for only the third time of his premier-class career – finished off the podium. This was also the first race Marquez lost after winning the opening 10 rounds – a feat equaled to Giacomo Agostini 1968 and 1969).

But with the pressure off, Marquez returned Monday to his dominate ways. The 21-year-old Spaniard piloted his 2014 Reposl Honda RCV13 to the quickest time of 1:55.411 – quicker than the Best Pole/Fastest Lap at Brno (1:55.527, Cal Crutchlow, Yamaha, 2013).

Marquez, along with his teammate Dani Pedrosa – Sunday’s Brno MotoGP race winner – spent most of the day tuning their 2014 machines. But The factory Honda duo achieved their best results on the 2015 prototypes, with Pedrosa finishing the day third 0.603 of a second back.

“Today went very well and I am very happy, because we’ve erased the doubts that we had after yesterday’s race. We didn’t understand what had happened. We reached the conclusion that many factors combined yesterday, because today we were fast from the start and had a good pace with the same setup as yesterday,” Marquez says.

“This morning we focused on work with this year’s bike, using some different setups, and I immediately felt very comfortable. Later we tried out the new bike again, which has great potential, and we set a good time with it. The best thing is that the pace we had today was back to that which we had over the entire weekend –except for Sunday.”

The rider who finished second Sunday – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo – also took the second-quickest time Monday. After running on top of the time sheets for most of the day, Lorenzo eventually finished second, 0.155 of a second off Marquez’s top time.

Lorenzo and his teammate Valentino Rossi – who finished fifth overall, 1.035 seconds off the pace – tested 2014 prototypes with new engines. They also experimented with a single prototype chassis, which both shared during the day. Rossi would cut his afternoon run short due to a shower near the end of the testing.

A once-usual face in the action was part of the Brno test – Loris Capirossi, who serves as Bridgestone Safety Advisor.

During the test, the retired MotoGP pilot tested three bikes – Cardion AB Motoracing Jpmda RCV1000R, and both versions of the Forward-Yamaha that NGM Forward Racing are racing this season.

“I really enjoyed it – it was like Christmas Day!” Capirossi says. “It had been two years since I last rode a MotoGP bike. Today I jumped on again. They have made a big step with the bikes. I was nearly four seconds off the top pace, which is good after not riding for two years! The MotoGP riders are really lucky to be able to ride these kinds of bikes.”

The Cardion AB squad also attempted to find more rear-end grip for regular rider Karel Abraham, while the agenda of Forward’s Aleix Espargaro revolved around setup and electronics, with Magneti Marelli having brought a minor upgrade to its “Open” software.

However, the company insisted that no significant update is set to arrive until MotoGP heads to Valencia in early November, MotoGP reports.

On the other side of the Forward garage, Alex de Angelis was busy at work as he continued to adapt to the bike. This meant a change to the plan of allowing Moto2 rider Dominique Aegerter an outing on the machine, as this had been penciled in before it was confirmed that de Angelis would be Colin Edwards’ replacement and the San Marino rider is now in need of as much track time as possible, MotoGP reports.

At GO&FUN Honda Gresini, Alvaro Bautista and his team continued to work closely with suspension supplier Showa and existing parts in a keen bid to overcome the Spaniard’s ongoing lack of rear-end grip. Team-mate Scott Redding, on the other hand, tested a new front fork as well as some small adjustments to the rear shock and Nissin brake components on his Open-specification bike, MotoGP reports.

Bradley Smith was the highest-placed Factory Option satellite runner on the final timesheet, having ended his day shortly after 2pm. Until then, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider had been mostly working on setup and verifying issues from race day. In sixth and eighth places, Smith and team-mate Pol Espargaro sandwiched LCR Honda MotoGP’s Stefan Bradl into seventh as the German tried to cure understeer issues which had affected him during the Grand Prix one day earlier, MotoGP reports.

The top 10 was rounded out by the aforementioned Bautista and Pramac Racing’s Yonny Hernandez, as the Colombian attempted to discover what caused a flat front tyre which had taken him out of Sunday’s race; having carefully looked into the problem, the team explained that the tyre had not lost pressure overnight and that no visible damage could be seen on its surface. Should a solution have not been found by the end of today, the tyre could be sent to Ducati’s Bologna factory in order to ensure that no wheel rim defect may be causing the concern, MotoGP reports.

There was a crash for Leon Camier as the Drive M7 Aspar rider continued to pound the laps in, fresh from a first points-scoring finish in the race; the Englishman was able to walk away from today’s minor slip-up. At Avintia Racing, FIM CEV Repsol Superbike rider Kenny Noyes was testing the bike. Elsewhere, brake supplier Brembo revealed a standard aluminum caliper for teams to test, as factory Yamaha riders Lorenzo and Rossi sampled the parts for the first time.

The riders return to racing in two weeks with the Hertz British Grand Prix at Silverstone. On-track action for the premier class begins at 9:55 a.m. local time Friday, Aug. 29.

2014 Brno MotoGP Test Results: