One day after the Monster Energy Grand Prix Ceské republiky race, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi was back on the Automotodrom Brno circuit for a one-day official IRTA test.
Teammate Maverick Viñales opted not to join today’s 8-hour long session, in an effort to fully recover from yesterday’s crash in time for the eyetime Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich, held this weekend.
Being the only rider out on track for the Yamaha Factory Racing team, Rossi spent a productive day trying new items, testing various setting details, and providing feedback on the prototype 2019 Michelin front tyre.
The Doctor started just before eleven and was one of the last riders to call it a day at six o’clock, riding 51 laps in total. The result of his hard work during the test was positive overall. Though not really pushing to put in a strong time-attack, the Italian still ended the day in seventh place with a best lap of 1’55.918s, 0.709s from the top.
The Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team will now travel to the Red Bull Ring – Spielberg for the next round of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship and will resume track action this Friday.
Valentino Rossi
Position: 7th – Time: 1’55.918 – Laps: 51
“It was a good test, because we had very hot conditions – similar to those we had during the GP weekend – so we could try something else. We worked on acceleration on the first touch of the throttle and also on trying to save the tyres during the races. We tried different things and found that some things were good, but we have to put them all together. Unfortunately we weren’t able to improve the performance from yesterday, so I think for Austria the situation will be the same.”
Massimo Meregalli
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Team Director
“It’s always good to test after the race, because it helps us draw an immediate comparison and allows riders to give clear feedback. We focused on the electronics today, it was our main objective, with the aim to improve drivability of the bike, especially on the first touch of the throttle. We also tried the new Michelin front tyre and at the end of the day we were able to test a new fairing. It’s a shame that Maverick couldn’t join us, as we would have valued his input very much, but we also put high importance on his well-being. We hope he no longer feels sore from yesterday’s crash when we start riding again in Austria on the Friday. Though today’s testing had to be done with one rider, it was still a positive day overall.”
Zarco and Syahrin Stay on Track for One Day Test in Brno
Following a successful Monster Energy Grand Prix Ceske Republiky the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team was back in action today at the Automotodrom Brno in order to find improvements for the remaining nine rounds of 2018. Thereby, Johann Zarco did some fine tuning on his Yamaha YZR-M1 and eventually did a best lap of 1’55.342 minutes, which put him in a superb second position as the best Yamaha rider of the field.
On the other side of the Monster Yamaha Tech3 garage, Hafizh Syahrin was working intensely with his crew, lapping the 5.403-kilometer circuit 65 times while working on his riding style. The MotoGP rookie completed the day in 10th, just 0.690 seconds behind his teammate. Now the entire paddock is leaving straight to Spielberg for the Austrian GP this weekend.
Johann Zarco
Position: 2nd – Time: 1’55.342 – Laps: 71
“This test here in Brno has been quite ok. We’ve got nothing new to test, but just tried some different settings on the bike to find a better setup in order to feel more comfortable on it, obviously with the experience I got in the race yesterday. I think we did some decent work, had some good laps and now I’m getting the right feeling. I believe my comments were much better today to find very small things that we hope will give us a better pace for the next races. We were offered to test a new tyre, but we didn’t use it. In the end, we just did a lot of laps and I enjoyed to be on the bike.”
Hafizh Syahrin
Position: 10th – Time: 1’56.032 – Laps: 65
“It has been an intense test today because I really wanted to work with the bike. We did many laps and I feel very good with the bike now. We understand little by little, especially with the electronic. We tried different things on the front to help me for turning. We found many good points today, so I’m truly happy with the test. I ride calmer and I think I do the same time like my best during the weekend, but I ride more relaxed, which is great. Before I was fighting with the bike and now I understand it a lot better. I think we can continue like that in Austria.”
