Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi were back on track today for the second of three days of riding for the second IRTA official Sepang Test, finishing in second and fifth place respectively.
With yesterday’s storm having cleared off, today’s dry and bright weather conditions were perfect for more action at the Sepang International Circuit.
Re-energized after a good night’s sleep, Lorenzo adapted well to the morning’s cooler but still slippery track conditions and was quick to position himself at the front of the leaderboard. He rode consistent lap times in the 2’00, before turning the level up a notch further. Clearly feeling comfortable with the bike, the Spaniard dived under the two-minute mark with a hot lap of 1’59,902s, putting him in second place just 0,058s off the front.
Teammate Rossi was quick to find his pace in the morning. He took over the top spot from his teammate just one hour into the session with a 2’00.393s lap, making it a provisional ‘Yamaha 1-2’. He spent the remaining hours further testing various items, but decided to stop early to save some new tyres for tomorrow. His best time today of 2’00.308s puts him in sixth place, just 0.464s off the front.
Jorge Lorenzo
2nd / 1’59.902 / 71 laps
“Today was much better. I was able to sleep for more than eight hours so I had much more energy than on the first day. For sure this influenced my performance. The bike was also better. I had a better understanding of how to ride it on slippery track conditions, so I was also able to improve my riding. My pace, apart from the last two hours, was almost all day in the 2’00 lap times. That’s similar to the previous test but with worse conditions, so I’m happy.”
Valentino Rossi
6th / 2’00.308 / 61 laps
“We did a lot of testing today. We tried some forks and especially concentrated on rear grip in acceleration to exit from the corner in the best way. We also continued to work on the gearbox and that still gives a good feeling. We will be ready for tomorrow, because that will be the important day. Tomorrow everybody will be at their maximum for the time attack and they can try to do a long run, so I think tomorrow will be very interesting to understand the pace of all the guys. It will be a good target to be a bit faster than the last test and I think we have to improve the lap times and our pace during the simulation.”
Massimo Meregalli – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Director –
“Today the focus has been on the settings for both Jorge and Valentino. We worked on electronics and mechanics to give them the most comfortable position to be able to deliver consistent lap times. Jorge did a really good day; he had speed and also a good, consistent pace. This morning Vale unfortunately had some problems with a stomach bug but we are confident that he will be on form tomorrow. We have covered most of our testing requirements; tomorrow we have just a few items to check and of course a time attack and a race simulation. Fingers cross for no thunderstorms tomorrow.”
Smith increases the pace on day two in Malaysia
Bradley Smith continued his testing assault at the Sepang International circuit on day two by producing another encouraging performance to close the session in seventh position. The young British rider completed 50 laps around the famous Malaysian circuit and clocked his best time of 2’00.329 on the 49th lap at the end of the day. His performance highlighted a significant cut of nine tenths of a second from yesterday and saw him notably only 0.231 back from third position. Headway was made today after some constructive work by the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team with the English rider who will seek to maintain the positive momentum tomorrow as he grows more confident with the 2015 specification Yamaha YZR-M1 on every run.
Meanwhile, Pol Espargaro continued the vigorous testing of his Yamaha 2015 YZR-M1 today as he undertook 44 laps in the searing heat at the Sepang circuit. The 2013 Moto2 World Champion posted a best time of 2’00.689 on his eighth lap at the dawn of the test session, before eventually finishing in tenth position. Nevertheless, the Spaniard made steps forward and his time was quicker than yesterday’s best by almost two tenths of a second as he upholds his positive pre season form. Tomorrow, he will be back on track where he will proceed with his testing programme and seek to close the gap to the leader in lap times.
Bradley Smith
7th / 2’00.329 / 50 laps
“Today was a really positive day for me and the team. We began by doing a race simulation in the morning which was our main objective, in order to collect data and feedback. In addition, it was also so that I could understand the new 2015 Yamaha better and see how it handles during a race simulation with full fuel load or used tyres. The race run was very positive and I was able to stay consistently strong during the 20 laps, which indicates the team have done a good job and I have also with my training during the winter months. This afternoon I was able to improve the lap time and it was the closest that I have been to the front so far as I was just behind Valentino and 0.3 from Jorge, which is pleasing. Tomorrow we just need to continue with the testing programme and improving the bike. We are already doing a great job and are 95% there.”
Pol Espargaro
10th / 2’00.689 / 44 laps
“Today was a tricky day for us, but I still remain positive and am ready to bounce back tomorrow. We actually began the day well and I put in a fast time quite close to the beginning of the session on the eighth lap. However, then we lost some time as we were trying some new settings and we couldn’t find the grip level that I needed to go faster in order to cut the gap to the leaders. Then at the beginning of the afternoon, I had a crash which really didn’t help matters at all and we lost valuable time because of it. Despite it being a challenging day, I am upbeat and we will keep the positive feeling from yesterday plus, use the data we collected today to close tomorrow on a high.”
Work continues at Sepang for the Forward Racing team
Another day of work is over at Sepang for the Forward Racing team and its riders Stefan Bradl and Loris Baz.
Bradl and Baz continued the development work of their Forward Yamaha in view of the upcoming 2015 season and the race debut in Qatar. The German completed 58 laps and he managed to improve his lap time by more than a second compared to yesterday. Bradl ended the session in 16th place in the time sheet with a personal best of 2.01.131.
The day was more complicated for his team-mate who crashed, fortunately without consequences, in the morning session. The Frenchman has improved significantly compared to yesterday as he stopped the clock on 2.02.426, 24th in the overall standings.
Stefan Bradl
16th / 2.01.131 / 58 laps
“Like yesterday, I suffered some lack of grip particularly on the rear and on corner entry. The conditions are very different from the first test and this makes things more demanding for us. We tried several new solutions to better balance the bike and I’m sure tomorrow we will concentrate more on the lap time.”
Loris Baz
24th / 2.02.426 / 37 laps
“This morning I was on track aiming to improve my performance. Unfortunately the track conditions are very different from the first test and this does not help me. At the end of the morning session I crashed, fortunately without consequences, but this has had an impact on today testing. In the afternoon I went back on the track, I was running on worn tires almost all the time to concentrate on the setup. Tomorrow will be the last day of work here in Sepang and we are confident we can do well.”
Test Results – Day Two
1. Marc Marquez (SPA), Repsol Honda Team, 1:59.844
2. Jorge Lorenzo (SPA), Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, 1:59.902
3. Andrea Iannone (ITA), Ducati Team, 2:00.098
4. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA), Ducati Team, 2:00.250
5. Dani Pedrosa (SPA), Repsol Honda Team, 2:00.275
6. Valentino Rossi (ITA), Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, 2:00.308
7. Bradley Smith (GBR), Monster Yamaha Tech 3, 2:00.329
8. Cal Crutchlow (GBR), CWM LCR Honda, 2:00.333
9. Aleix Espargaro (SPA), Team Suzuki MotoGP, 2:00.409
10. Pol Espargaro (SPA), Monster Yamaha Tech 3, 2:00.689
16. Stefan Bradl (GER), Forward Racing Team, 2:01.131
24. Loris Baz (FRA), Forward Racing Team, 2:02.426
