Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi returned to the scene of yesterday‘s Monster Energy Grand Prix České republiky for a one-day Official IRTA test. The team-mates secured 2nd and 6th place respectively.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team’s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi wrapped up a long weekend at the Automotodrom Brno today, succesfully completing the MotoGP Brno Test. Both riders were back on track for the eight-hour session, during which they had the chance to test prototype material.
The MotoGP Brno Test was the first opportunity for the Yamaha Factory Team to try a new engine spec, aimed at an increased top speed and improved rideability, as well as some other testing items, among them two new Michelin tyres and a medium rear with the existing casing and a new compound on the left-hand side.
Viñales, as usual, showed his hard-working nature, riding until the very end of the session and completing 74 laps in total. His best time of 1‘55.628s was set in the final stages, on lap 68, earning him second place, just 0.012s from first. Today‘s outing was overall successful for the Spaniard. He worked mainly on improving the 2019 bike‘s performance for the next races and is looking forward to stepping up to the challenge in the Austrian Grand Prix.
Rossi also had a very productive day of testing in Brno. He spent time trying the 2020 prototype “black bike”, as well as the standard 2019 YZR-M1. The Doctor completed 63 laps in total and really put his head down on the last stint. His final lap saw him move up to sixth place with a 1‘56.015s and a 0.399s gap to first. His time was 0.512s quicker than the Italian‘s best time set during the Czech GP weekend, giving him a confidence boost that he is working in the right direction.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI TEAM DIRECTOR
“After yesterday‘s race, it was good that we got extra time at the Brno track so we could get to work again. We had some slight rain in the afternoon, but there was enough dry track time to complete our testing schedule. Vale and Maverick made the most of it and tried new items, such as the new engine spec, as well as the tyres Michelin brought. They also tried the 2020 prototype bike. Valentino more so than Maverick, who preferred to concentrate on his 2019 bike. Overall, the rider feedback has been positive, so we can be satisfied with the progress, though it‘s just the first step. At the end of the day, all Yamahas are in the top-6 and the times are similar, indicating we are collectively heading in the right direction. We will go over all the data that we‘ve assembled here, both during today‘s test and the last GP weekend. The Yamaha engineers will prepare the next steps forward accordingly. Meanwhile, we now head to Spielberg for the next race with a positive mindset.”
2nd MAVERICK VIÑALES
1’55.628 / 74 LAPS
“Today I was working on improving the feeling on the bike that I had during the race. Luckily, this morning the grip of the track was very low, so this actually helped us to work pretty hard and we found a way to be better. But the tests are always great for us, so this is nothing new. We will keep trying to stay calm and stay focused in Austria. I tried the prototype for a few laps, but I preferred to concentrate on improving my 2019 bike for Austria. The laps on the 2020 bike were good though, they were good lap times, so we will see at the next test.”
6th VALENTINO ROSSI
1’56.015 / 63 LAPS
“It was a good day and a good test, because we worked quite a lot and we found something good. We also tried the prototype of the new bike, but sincerely we don‘t have a lot of changes, it‘s a different engine and a slightly different setting of the chassis. But these are just the first touches, and what we have is already good. After that we worked more with the standard 2019 bike. Some things on the 2020 prototype are good, some things need to be tested again in Misano. This is to be expected because it‘s just a trial run, and we might have something else at the next tests, later on this season.”
