2014 MotoGP WallpaperThe 23-rider MotoGP grid wrapped up the second Sepang preseason test on Friday, which was the final test of 2014 that featured both the Factory- and Open-class machines.
Leading the way were two riders that posted identical 1:59.999 lap times – Yamaha Factory Racing’s Valentino Rossi and Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa.Though these two factory riders topped Sepang II combined test times, the lap was almost a half-second slower than the quickest Sepang I test time posted by the reigning MotoGP Champion, Marc Marquez.The 21-year-old Spaniard was forced to miss the Sepang II sessions due to breaking his right leg during a dirt-track training accident last Wednesday. He will also miss next week’s Phillip Island tire test in hopes of being in optimal shape for the season opener March 23 at Qatar.Taking the third quickest time was Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso, who trailed Rossi and Pedrosa by 0.068 of a second aboard the GP14. But the bigger news for Ducati was the decision to compete in 2014 MotoGP under the new Open class, which means the only manufacturers fielding Factory bikes are Yamaha and Honda.And once again setting the fastest Open-class time was Aleix Espargaro aboard the NGM Mobile Forward Racing Yamaha; he was 0.102 off the top time.For a report, including entire test-time results, click here.Attached above is a photo gallery of 21 images from Sepang II MotoGP testing. Each image also makes for great wallpaper. To download, simply right click the desired thumbnail, and save to desktop background.
This Podcast is also brought to you by the new modular helmet from Schuberth, the C5. The C5 blends safety with light weight and amazing quietness. Visit Schuberth.com for more information.
This week, in the first segment Editor Don Williams talks to us about the new Kawasaki Versys 650 LT. It’s the middleweight ADV style machine that uses the same 650 parallel twin motor as the Ninja 650, so it’s an excellent performer in a user-friendly, good looking package.
In the second segment, I chat with one of my dearest industry friends—now retired Honda PR executive, Jon Seidel. Jon’s fascinating career spans some 30 years with Big Red, and gave him some great experiences with some incredible machines. I was fortunate enough to be invited on many of the press launches that he organized. His new project is documenting and saving many of the old archives from years gone by—and incidentally, if you have anything that may be of value to the project, please contact us by email at producer@ultimatemotorcycling.com and we’ll pass it all on to Jon.
So on that note, from all of us here at Ultimate Motorcycling, we hope you enjoy this episode!