Brno (Czech Republic), 7th August 2017 – Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales successfully rounded up a long weekend at the Automotodrom Brno today. Following yesterday’s Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team riders were back aboard their YZR-M1s for an eight-hour test. They tried out a new aero fairing and new carbon front forks from Öhlins and some other items, and secured first and third place respectively in today’s timesheets.
Rossi had a productive day testing in the Czech Republic. He got straight down to business when he hit the track, comparing various parts and settings with positive results. The Doctor completed 52 laps in total, and really put his head down on the last stint to go top on lap 51 with a 1‘55.162s, 1.930s quicker than his fastest time in yesterday‘s race. He wrapped up the day leading with a 0.018s margin over his closest rival.
This morning Viñales needed little time to get back into the strong rhythm he showed yesterday during the race, and posted a best time of 1‘55.679s just before midday. In the afternoon he gave the new aero fairing a try. His morning time remained unchallenged for most of the test, until the pace picked up in the final hours. The Spaniard responded with a 1‘55.335s, on lap 64 of 69 in total, and ended the day in third place, 0.173s from his teammate, and is looking forward to the Austrian Grand Prix with a positive feeling.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI
TEAM DIRECTOR
After yesterday‘s race it was good that we were able to get extra dry track time and do some testing that we didn‘t have time for during the weekend. Vale and Maverick tried the new fairing, the Öhlins carbon front forks and some other items. There were a few positive and negative points, but overall the rider feedback has been very positive. Maverick worked on the electronics and had a better feeling at the end of the test, and Valentino made a big step today, which resulted in him setting the fastest time of the session. The engineers will go over all the data that we‘ve collected, and they will prepare the next steps forward. It’s been a busy first week after the summer break, so now we have our muscles all warmed up again and we‘re ready to go to Spielberg for the next race in Austria.
VALENTINO ROSSI
1st / 1‘55.162 / 52 LAPS
I’m so happy, because it’s been a long time since I was able to be in the first position on a Monday. I don’t usually like the Monday tests, they are a difficult part of my work. It’s important because we finished a good weekend with a good performance. Being in first position is always a good feeling. Between all the things we tried, we tried the fairing that was good. I have a good feeling, but that depends on the track, I don’t think that for example at a track like Austria this fairing will be very important. I’m happy. I like the fork, because it helps in the change of direction and the bike is easier and lighter, so it’s a good option.
MAVERICK VIÑALES
3rd / 1‘55.335 / 69 LAPS
We were trying to get more acceleration, which is really important in Austria to get a good lap time. We improved and I feel happy again on the bike, I‘m riding really good. We also tried many things with the electronics that we improved, so I‘m quite happy. The carbon front forks from Öhlins feel much lighter, but anyway the effect wasn‘t the one we wanted. We‘ll try it again in Austria and let‘s see how we do there. We didn‘t try the two new front Michelin tyres, we wanted to keep the momentum going with this tyre and keep the best feeling for Austria.
TEST RESULTS
07/08/2017
1. V. ROSSI MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP 1’55.162
2. M. MARQUEZ REPSOL HONDA TEAM 1’55.180
3. M. VIÑALES MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP 1’55.335
4. J. LORENZO DUCATI TEAM 1’55.542
5. J. ZARCO MONSTER YAMAHA TECH3 1’55.691
6. C. CRUTCHLOW LCR HONDA 1’55.768
7. D. PEDROSA REPSOL HONDA TEAM 1’55.795
8. J. FOLGER MONSTER YAMAHA TECH3 1’55.830
9. A. IANNONE TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’56.123
10. A. ESPARGARÒ APRILIA RACING TEAM GRESINI 1’56.263
11. A. DOVIZIOSO DUCATI TEAM 1’56.403
12. T. RABAT TEAM EG 0,0 MARC VDS 1’56.535
13. J. MILLER TEAM EG 0,0 MARC VDS 1’56.634
14. A. RINS TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’56.637
15. P. ESPARGARÒ RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 1’56.668
16. B. SMITH RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 1’56.976
17. S. LOWES APRILIA RACING TEAM GRESINI 1’57.851
18. T. TSUDA TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’59.749
