Following round seven of 2017 MotoGP at Catalunya Circuit, the traditional post-race test was held Monday.The man who finished second Sunday at 2017 Catalunya MotoGP, Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez, was quickest at his home circuit. The three-time MotoGP Champion put in 82 laps aboard his RC213V, posting a quickest time of 1:44.071 around the 2.94-mile circuit containing 13 corners.Honda’s Marc Marquez
“The test today was good enough, though we didn’t test anything new in particular on the bike,” Marc Marquez says. “We did a lot of laps working a bit on the electronics and on my riding style, aiming to manage the tires better.“What finally made me very happy was the symmetric front tire Michelin brought here, which is the same, or more similar to last year’s. I immediately felt great again, on the bike and with the front. Actually I did my fastest lap on that tire, as it was more stable. I was smiling again, at least on this track. Hopefully we can continue on this path with the tires.”The only rider anywhere near Marquez was the current points leader, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Maverick Vinales. The Spaniard, who placed 10th on Sunday, finished Monday’s test 0.366 of a second behind rival Marquez.Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales“We tried many things today, many new set-ups and some different settings on the bike and I was feeling comfortable all day,” Maverick Vinales says. “I’ve been riding well, riding with a lot of confidence on the YZR-M1, so for me it was a good day. Overall for the test the feeling was really good, in the afternoon it was better with the very hot conditions and we completed many laps in the ‘45‘s and then ‘46’s so I was quite happy.”As for the rider who won the Catalunya Grand Prix and the previous round at Mugello, Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso wasn’t present. The factory Ducati team didn’t participate in Monday’s test. Rather, it will participate in private testing this week at Catalunya.Yamaha’s Jonas FolgerThe next closest rider at Monday’s one-day MotoGP test was Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s Jonas Folger, who was 0.901 of a second off the pace. The only other two riders to post within a second of Marquez were Catalunya’s pole man Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda, -0.932) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, -0.975).Rounding out the top 10 were Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda, -1.225); Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3, -1.381); Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing Ducati, -1.494); Tito Rabat (Marc VDS Honda, -1.511); and Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, -1.564).The series now breaks for two weeks ahead of the Dutch GP at Assen.
2017 Catalunya MotoGP Test Results:
1. M. MARQUEZ REPSOL HONDA TEAM 1’44.071 2. M. VIÑALES MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP 1’44.437 3. J. FOLGER MONSTER YAMAHA TECH3 1’44.972 4. D. PEDROSA REPSOL HONDA TEAM 1’45.003 5. A. ESPARGARÒ APRILIA RACING TEAM GRESINI 1’45.046 6. C. CRUTCHLOW LCR HONDA 1’45.296 7. J. ZARCO MONSTER YAMAHA TECH3 1’45.452 8. S. REDDING OCTO PRAMAC RACING 1’45.565 9. T. RABAT TEAM EG 0,0 MARC VDS 1’45.582 10. V. ROSSI MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP 1’45.635 11. D. PETRUCCI OCTO PRAMAC RACING 1’45.863 12. J. MILLER TEAM EG 0,0 MARC VDS 1’45.897 13. P. ESPARGARÒ RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 1’46.107 14. A. IANNONE TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’46.130 15. S. LOWES APRILIA RACING TEAM GRESINI 1’46.389 16. M. KALLIO RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 1’46.405 17. A. RINS TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’46.490 18. S. GUINTOLI TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’47.055
Hello everyone and welcome once again to Motos and Friends, the weekly podcast brought to you by Ultimate Motorcycling. My name is Arthur Coldwells.
Motos and Friends is brought to you by Yamaha. You can check out the amazing YZF-R7 at your local Yamaha dealer, or of course at YamahaMotorsports.com. The YZF-R7 is an amazing supersport machine that is comfortable too!
In this week’s first segment, Editor Don Williams takes the smallest BMW ADV bike on an urban adventure in Los Angeles. The BMW G 310 GS is a full size motorcycle with a modest engine, so of course we wonder if it is a little too underpowered and might struggle. Don put it through its paces and gives us his take.
In the second segment, Neale Bayly and Kiran Ridley have returned from the Ukraine to Paris where Kiran is based.
Kiran is an award winning photojournalist, and as an accomplished documentarian, he has covered stories as diverse as drug smuggling around the Mexican border, to the devastation of the Australian Bush Fires, to the tragedy of the Mediterranean migration crisis. Neale and Kiran reminisce about their motorcycle adventure in the Ukraine, and their observations and experiences with the incredibly resilient people of Ukraine, who have been put through such brutal hardship.
