Less than a day after the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team were back in action at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya for the Catalunya MotoGP Official Test. Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi were keen on spending the extra track time usefully, working on their bikes’ race set-ups. They clocked the 9th and 14th fastest time of the day respectively.
Viñales once again showed his impeccable work ethic as he worked around the clock to better his bike’s race set-up whilst riding with a full tank. He completed a total of 85 laps, looking for improvements and testing small details of the settings. He ended the day dipping under the 1’40s-mark, dropping a 1’39.797s on lap 81. His fastest lap earned him ninth place, 0.881s from first.
Having secured his third consecutive third place of the 2018 MotoGP season yesterday, Rossi arrived at the track motivated to make another step forward. Rather than wanting to set a fast time, the Doctor worked on acceleration, trying solutions he hadn’t been able to test during the race weekend, and also ran a new tyre for Michelin. He completed 58 laps in total. His fastest time, a 1’40.124s lap set on lap 13, put him in 14th place in the rankings, 1.208s from today’s fastest time.
The team will analyse the gained data in preparation for the Motul TT Assen, held at the TT Circuit Assen from June 29th – July 1st.
Maverick Viñales
Position: 9th – Time: 1‘39.797 – Laps: 85
“We’ve been working a lot with a full tank, especially concentrating on the first five-six laps, where I struggled the most. I think we improved a lot at the end, in the afternoon, and I’m happy about that. I tried to sit a bit more backwards, because I thought I could ride better like that. It didn’t turn out that way, because it upsets the front. Finally, the bike was the same, we just tried different set-ups to make the front tyre work. I think we did a good job today, but it’s just a test day, we need to prove it during a race. I hope to come back strong in Assen and be able to push from the beginning of the race. The bike is there, I just need to make the first five laps in a good rhythm.”
Valentino Rossi
Position: 14th – Time: 1‘40.124 – Laps: 58
“We had some new stuff for today, to try to improve the acceleration. We worked hard, also on some other details and we tried a tyre for Michelin, for the future, that I like and it’s not so bad. Unfortunately we weren’t able to improve our performance and acceleration, but yesterday’s third place gives us great motivation for the next races.”
Massimo Meregalli
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Team Director
“Our riders spent today’s time following their own testing plans. Maverick worked on his race set-up, riding with a full tank, whilst Valentino tried a new Michelin tyre and some options to improve acceleration. Some of the things we tried today were more successful than others, so we will take this information on board for the next GP. This championship is still open in terms of the rider, constructor, and team standings, so we will continue to work hard to prepare for the next round in Assen.”
No rest for Monster Yamaha Tech3 Pair as Testing Continues
Less than 24 hours after the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya Johann Zarco was back on track working on his feeling and race pace at the circuit close to Montmeló. The Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider was working with some setting changes and eventually managed to complete 72 laps, concluding the test as the fastest Yamaha rider in a fine fourth position.
In the meantime, Hafizh Syahrin was working on his riding style aboard the Yamaha YZR-M1. Overall, the Malaysian rookie did 42 laps with a fastest time of 1’40.108 minutes, just one second from the top and confirmed his great performance of the Grand Prix weekend. Yet, Syahrin is highly motivated to come back strong in eleven days in Assen.
Johann Zarco
Position: 5th – Time: 1’39.534 – Laps: 72
“Today in Catalunya we mainly worked on improving our feeling on the bike, playing with a different setup and can always better understand the bike. We did a few exits in the morning to warming up the body and then I did long runs to have a better feeling than what I got during the race on Sunday. We found a few things, me also while riding, which is all I need to have a good race in Assen in a few weeks.”
Hafizh Syahrin
Position: 13th – Time: 1’40.108 – Laps: 42
“We just tried a new tyre from Michelin today, plus I was working on my riding style. I changed the braking to brake harder initially in order to stop the bike easier. We made a good step. After the crash yesterday, I don’t feel 100 percent fit, so we stopped a bit earlier today. Anyway, we are on a very good way and try to keep working further in this direction. I hope, that I can continue like last weekend when we are in Assen, being strong from the first Free Practice on.”
