Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi successfully concluded the one-day MotoGP test in Jerez today, finishing first and second in today’s session times.
After a brilliant race from Jorge Lorenzo yesterday, that saw him take the 55th victory of his career and teammate Valentino Rossi claim his 200th career podium, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team returned to the Circuito de Jerez de la Frontera today for an official MotoGP test. Lorenzo and Rossi spent the extra track time usefully and were able to improve their set-ups to finish first and second in today’s session times.
Still elated from his stunning victory, Lorenzo had every reason to smile today as it was also his 28th birthday. Despite the fact that he was focusing on improving the set up of his YZR-M1, it wasn’t long after he hit the track that he moved into second place. He concluded his morning stint by topping the timesheets with a 1’38.516 lap, which remained unbeaten for the rest of the day by all but himself.
During his afternoon outing he dropped another fastest time of 1’38,508, which only his teammate got close to.
Rossi also made strides today. Similar to his teammate he steadily booked progress as he focused on improving his setting compared to yesterday. Though he was satisfied with his third place in the race, the Doctor is always looking for improvement and spent most of today’s session testing small details of the set-up he hadn’t been able to try during last weekend. He ended the day in second place with a fastest lap of 1’38,550, 0,042s off his teammate’s time.
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP will analyse the gained data in preparation for the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France, held at the Le Mans Bugatti Grand Prix race circuit in two weeks time.
Jorge Lorenzo
1st / 1’38,508 / 52 laps
I’m quite happy after scoring the first victory of the season for me and also because I turned 28 today. I could feel the heartwarming response from so many people. I’m back in the groove and I returned to the podium, so now I hope to keep this momentum going in the coming races like Le Mans, Mugello and Montmeló. Today we tested as usual here in Jerez, but we were only focused on different set ups with the bike. We had nothing special to test, but we fixed the basis of the bike for the future. I think we found out how we can take profit of some adjustments, so we are quite confident for the next Grand Prix!
Valentino Rossi
2nd / 1’38,550 / 66 laps
This testing day was positive. We didn’t have many things to try, just some small detail of set up. We focused on improving the bike compared to yesterday and I am very happy because we could also improve the time we did in qualifying. I was happy with the podium in Jerez, it was a positive weekend, but we could have done better, so today we focused on the bike’s set-up. We tried some solutions that we couldn’t try during the race weekend. The results of these tests were interesting. In two weeks we will be at Le Mans and we have to do a good weekend. I like the track a lot, but first I need a few days off!
Massimo Meregalli – Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team Director
Today was a good day, especially after a good weekend for us. Jerez left us a good feeling with both riders and we are glad Jorge is back on form. Also Vale did a good job despite having a few little problems finding the perfect set up for the race yesterday. We were able to achieve a very valuable double podium, which is very important, also in terms of the constructor and team championships. Today we worked mainly on comparing different set-ups with both riders based on yesterday’s results and also focusing on the next race. We’re all looking forward to Le Mans!
Smith continues positive momentum at Jerez test
Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team rider Bradley Smith completed a successful and productive post race test at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain today by finishing in 6th position and accomplishing his test schedule. After battling to 8th in yesterday’s 27 lap race, the young British rider undertook an in depth test and focused on solving the issues that he was experiencing during the weekend as well as sampling new suspension forks and alternative electronic settings. The 23 year old rider finished the session under the Andalusian sun with a best time of 1’39.339 after completing a total of 41 laps around the 4.4 kilometre circuit which he set on his final lap of the day. After the positive test, Smith now looks optimistically towards the Monster Energy Grand Prix de France and is fully confident of challenging for the leading satellite rider position.
Meanwhile, Pol Espargaro concluded the Jerez test in 10th position as he undertook work on the electronics settings of his Yamaha YZR-M1 whilst intending to make further steps forward after his strong result of 5th in the MotoGP race yesterday. The young Spaniard got straight to work today and pushed hard to complete a total of 45 laps around the Circuito de Jerez. The 2014 MotoGP rookie of the year unfortunately fell at turn 7 in the morning but did not suffer any injuries. Nevertheless, he jumped straight back on the Yamaha and set his quickest time of 1’39.654 on his 6th lap. Despite this, Espargaro can confidently anticipate the next MotoGP rounds in Europe where he intends to clinch some further top results.
Bradley Smith
6th / 1’39.339 / 41 laps
“Overall, the test was very productive for us today. After the weekend that we had, we did a great job to fix the issues we were experiencing. The day started in a great way as we found the answer to solve 75% of our troubles straight away during our first run. Yet, at the same time, it’s a bit frustrating that we didn’t find this solution earlier in the week. However, that’s what technical meetings are for and we had a long one on Sunday night. It wasn’t until after the race that we thought about this specific idea and after having a look into the data, we put it straight on the bike and it worked. We were also able to try a new set of front suspension forks today which gave me a better feeling in the areas that I was struggling in and that caused me to fall in the practice sessions. All in all, it was a short test as we only did 41 laps, yet we accomplished everything that we set out to do, with electronics and suspension. Now, I look confidently towards the Monster Yamaha Tech3 Team’s home race at Le Mans.”
Pol Espargaro
10th / 1’39.654 / 45 laps
“On the whole, the outcome of today was positive and we have some new useful information that we can use in the future races. However, we were also a little bit unlucky because I fell on the second lap in the morning. It was a fast crash and honestly, we didn’t expect this to occur as we didn’t change any of the electronics from yesterday. We checked what happened on the data and the results are inconclusive as to what made me fall. Nevertheless, I am fine and not injured so there is not a major problem. Today we basically tested the electronic systems that we didn’t test in Malaysia because we didn’t have enough time during the opening tests of the season. We finally assessed them here and the outcome is positive. However, everything has been good this weekend, as we had a strong race and solid pace with the bike, so I am leaving Jerez satisfied and confident for the upcoming races.”
Hard day of work for Bradl and Baz at Jerez
In the aftermath of the Spanish Grand Prix the riders of the Athinà Forward Racing team were able to take full advantage of a day of testing at the Andalusian circuit together with the other MotoGP teams.
After a difficult weekend, this was an opportunity for Bradl and Baz to test new solutions for the race in Le Mans. At the end of a weekend affected by lack of grip on the rear, both riders focused on the electronics and on the set-up to improve the feeling with their bikes and be competitive again in France.
Bradl was the quickest rider in the Open class as he finished in 12th position with a time of 1’39.887. Baz was 16th with 59 laps and a personal best lap of 1’40.186.
Stefan Bradl
12th / 1’39.887 / 52 laps
Despite my condition not being at a 100% yet, I’m already happy to be back on track. It was a tough weekend and it was important to go back to work and further develop the bike. We focused on the electronics and set-up. I am satisfied. We go to Le Mans convinced that we can fight with the other Open for the lead.”
Loris Baz
16th / 1’40.186 / 59 laps
“I am very happy with the work done today. Over the weekend we struggled to find rear grip and today we focused on it to get ready for Le Mans. We tried several new solutions and the feeling is getting better.”
Jerez Test Results
1. Jorge Lorenzo, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, 1:38.508
2. Valentino Rossi, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, 1:38.550
3. Cal Crutchlow, CWM LCR Honda, 1:38.814
4. Aleix Espargaro, Team Suzuki ECSTAR, 1:38.890
5. Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team, 1:38.968
6. Bradley Smith, Monster Yamaha Tech 3, 1:39.339
7. Yonny Hernandez, Pramac Racing, 1:39.357
8. Scott Redding, EG 0.0 Marc VDS, 1:39.370
9. Maverick Viñales, Team Suzuki ECSTAR, 1:39.475
10. Pol Espargaro, Monster Yamaha Tech 3, 1:39.654
11. Alvaro Bautista, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini, 1:39.766
12. Stefan Bradl, Athina Forward Racing, 1:39.887
16. Loris Baz, Athina Forward Racing, 1:40.186
