2014 Valencia MotoGP Test, Day 2Unlike Monday’s first day of the traditional post-season MotoGP test at Valencia when 27 riders were out on the circuit, only 10 rode on Tuesday.
The reason? Torrential downpours. Out of the 11 riders who braved the conditions and decided to get some testing complete, Pramac Racing Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci was fastest.He posted a 1:42.431 around the Valenica circuit as he adapted to the Desmosedici, nearly 12 seconds slower than Monday’s quickest time set by Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo.The two-time MotoGP Champion Lorenzo didn’t participate in Tuesday’s session. Other riders that didn’t participate were Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, and the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 duo of Pol Espargaro – this year’s Rookie of the Year – and Bradley Smith.Finishing second was Drive M7 Aspar Honda’s Nicky Hayden, who put in 24 laps aboard his new RC213V-RS open motorcycle. Hayden, who didn’t ride Monday, was joined by his new teammate Eugene Laverty, who finished the day last in 10th.Team Estrella Galicia Marc VDS Racing rider Scott Redding put in 42 laps aboard the new RC213V factory Honda he will pilot in 2015 MotoGP, noting how the bike was drastically different from the 2014 Open machine. Redding finished third, 1.382 of a second behind.Redding crashed, though walked away unharmed. There were also other crashes, including ones from NGM Forward Racing’s Loris Baz and CWM LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow; these two also were unharmed.Finishing fourth fastest was Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi. The Italian only completed eight laps before retiring for the day.Fifth went to the new Factory Aprilia Gresini rider Alvaro Bautista, who notched 47 laps in the wet. His teammate, Marco Melandri, was seventh quickest, just ahead of this year’s MotoGP Champion, Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez.Energy T.I Racing Ducati’s Yonny Hernandez finished Tuesday’s MotoGP test in sixth.The 2014 Valencia Post-Season MotoGP test concludes Wednesday with the riders and teams hoping for dry weather conditions at the Valencia track.2014 Valencia MotoGP Post-Season Test Results, Day 2:
Associate Editor Teejay Adams recently attended the Yamaha Champions Riding School in Las Vegas, and she took with her the Yamaha XSR900 that she’s been riding for a while. This is the retro-style version of the MT-09, and Teejay gives us her impressions of the bike, including her thoughts versus the XSR700 that she rode previously.
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In our second segment, Teejay chats with Cait Maher, a contributing journalist at motorcycle.com and owner of a Yamaha TW200. The two ladies met at the recent launch of Kawasaki’s dual sport KLX230s. Teejay is a total novice off-road. Cait however, although quite experienced in the dirt including her recent venture on the District 37 Barstow to Las Vegas dual-sport ride, still doesn’t consider herself an expert. Both of these girls have a positive, upbeat attitude, and their fun, energetic outlook shines through. Cait is definitely a give-it-a-go type of personality. Her take on the various challenges, experiences and adventures that she’s had make for fun listening.
