2017 Jerez MotoGP Test Results
The day following round four of the 2017 MotoGP Championship at Jerez in Spain, the premier-class teams remained at the circuit for a one-day test – the first in-season testing session.
Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa, the Spaniard who dominated at the Spanish Grand Prix, leading every session except FP4, was quick, but only managed third fastest overall.
Up front was the only other two riders to win this season: Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Vinales and Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez.
Vinales, who won the opening two rounds of MotoGP at Qatar and Argentina, put in 84 laps with a best of 1:38.635. His time was a mere 0.002 of a second faster than Austin MotoGP winner Marquez, who put in 96 laps.
Vinales, along with teammate and current points leader Valentino Rossi, both worked on new chassis setups aboard their respective YZR-M1s, and also new tires. As for Rossi, he was way off pace, finishing 21st, 1.828 second behind Vinales.
“During the Jerez test we tested different things on the bike. The new chassis works quite well. We compared the same set-up from yesterday with the same tires, to see if it was working good,” Vinales says.
“Today we had a totally different result compared to yesterday, we had a really good pace. Anyway, we have to start looking forward to Le Mans, because I think that will be a good track for us, especially with my riding style, and we can do a really good job. There were positive and negative points when testing the new chassis, we have to check and analyze and then we will see. I tried the different style front tyre and I feel good with nearly all the tires, so for me it‘s alright. If they want to go back to the old compounds, for me it‘s going to be OK.”
Marquez also commented: “I’m quite happy with today’s test. We did many laps and tried many things, working hard. It took us half the day to set up this new exhaust, but I think it was important as it has some potential. It was positive and now we must evaluate if we should use it in Le Mans or carry out some more comparisons. Anyway, we took some steps forward, especially with used tires.
“I’m happy because we worked a lot with the hard rear and it was a positive day. I also tried the front tyre that Michelin brought here to test, and it gives me more stability on the brakes, more feedback on turning. I like it. Of course now they’ll collect the feedback of all the other riders, so we’ll see what they decide regarding that.”
These three winners so far in 2017 MotoGP were far ahead of the remaining riders.
Aprilia Racing Gresini RS-GP pilot Aleix Espargaro claimed fourth, 0.364 of a second off the lead time. He was followed by Ducati Team Riders Andrea Dovizioso (-0.395 of a second) and Jorge Lorenzo (-0.489).
Rounding out the top 10 were LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow (-0.684), Reale Avintia Racing Ducati’s Hector Barbera (-0.825), Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Johann Zarco (-0.893) and Octo Pramac Racing Ducati’s Scott Redding (-0.901).
The top Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR pilot was Andrea Iannone, who was 1.019 of a second off the pace, and the top Red Bull KTM Factory Racing time went to Pol Espargaro, who was 1.324 seconds behind.
The riders now break for two weeks ahead of the French Grand Prix at Le Mans. The MotoGP action gets underway on the Bugatti circuit on May 19.
