Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi enjoyed a positive second day of testing at the Sepang International Circuit. Despite the soaring hot track conditions, the team-mates put in numerous laps and took first and sixth place respectively in today‘s timesheets.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP‘s Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi were back on track today at the Sepang International Circuit for a second day of testing. They continued to work through a number of different materials and made positive progress, taking first and sixth place respectively in today‘s rankings.Yesterday Viñales was one of just four riders to drop under the 2‘00s-mark, but today the pressure was on, with practically everyone improving their pace. The Spaniard again used the somewhat cooler morning hours to find a good rhythm and chip away at his time. He set a 1‘59.597s around 12:30 (GMT+8), which put him in third place, a position he held until the final stages of the session.
In the afternoon the no.12 rider continued to perfect his bike‘s set-up whilst also testing new items. The pace picked up in the final minutes of the test, when the temperatures dropped again. Viñales was moved back to fourth place, but he had a trick up his sleeve. He quickly headed out too and produced the only result under the 1‘59s-mark on lap 62/63, a stunning 1‘58.897s. He signed off the day firmly at the top of the timesheets with a 0.527s margin to his closest rival.
After a solid first day of testing, Rossi was raring to get back to work this morning. Like his team-mate, it didn‘t take him long to improve on his time from yesterday, bettering it by nearly half a second. He posted a superb 1‘59.625s on lap 8/51, which initially put him in first place with a 0.165 margin to second.
After posting the red-hot lap, he concerned himself with improving his bike‘s performance. He tested new items and compared the data between various setting options. His morning time allowed him to hold fourth position for the majority of the day. The Italian was only pushed back to sixth place, 0.728s from first, at the very end, when several riders put in a time-attack.
Maverick Vinales - Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP - P1 - 1'58.897
“Honestly, we tried to work really hard today on the race pace. We were always using the spec for the race. I felt good and around midday we made good lap times especially during the race simulation when it was hot, without grip, so I'm actually really happy how we worked today. We made a good improvement on the bike, so we need to try to do this again tomorrow.”
“Honestly, we tried to work really hard today on the race pace. We were always using the spec for the race. I felt good and around midday we made good lap times especially during the race simulation when it was hot, without grip, so I'm actually really happy how we worked today. We made a good improvement on the bike, so we need to try to do this again tomorrow.”
Valentino Rossi - Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP - P6 - 1'59.625
“We continued to work because we had some other items to improve and also today was not so bad. We found something that improved the performance and I think we did a good job. At the end my pace was always quite strong. So, it was a quite positive second day and we still have something to test tomorrow. We will try to continue to work and we'll see what our situation is like at the end of the three days.”
“We continued to work because we had some other items to improve and also today was not so bad. We found something that improved the performance and I think we did a good job. At the end my pace was always quite strong. So, it was a quite positive second day and we still have something to test tomorrow. We will try to continue to work and we'll see what our situation is like at the end of the three days.”
Quartararo and Morbidelli Make More Progress at Sepang
Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team riders continue with their work programme at Sepang International Circuit and both finish inside top fifteen, with the rookie Fabio Quartararo in 14th and Franco Morbidelli in 15th.Intense heat again welcomed the MotoGP teams and riders to the second day of a three-day test at Sepang. With track temperatures reaching 59ºC, the Petronas Yamaha SRT riders continued working alongside their respective engineers on the set-up of their new Yamaha YZR-M1 machines. With close lap times throughout the field, Fabio Quartararo ended the day in fourteenth position, just one place and 0.043 seconds ahead of his teammate Franco Morbidelli.
The French Petronas Yamaha SRT rider was first out onto the track, taking advantage of the cooler morning conditions to set three consecutive fast laps and improve on his best time from yesterday. Quartararo was also able to work on the electronics set-up and on the front suspension as he looked to improve under braking. Fabio finished the day in fourteenth position, with a best time of 2’00.108 set on his 11th lap of 58.
Franco Morbidelli had the misfortune of crashing in turn 1 after exiting pitlane during the first hour of the day, meaning he missed out on the ideal track conditions for a time attack. Despite the setback, the Italian continued to make progress and managed to improve on his best time from yesterday, clocking a 2’00.151 on his 56th of 58 laps. Morbidelli also worked with his team on braking and was satisfied with the notable improvements made in this area.
The Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team will be back on track tomorrow for the third and final day of the test, from 10am until 6pm Malaysian time.
Fabio Quartararo - Petronas Yamaha SRT - P14 - 2'00.108
“The second day here at Sepang International Circuit has been very positive. This morning we set some good lap times on the new tyres and made the most of the track conditions to make a time attack, which I was really happy with. This afternoon we tried to improve but it wasn’t possible. We worked a lot on the setting of the bike, especially under braking, where we managed to improve the feeling. This evening we will analyse the data and come back tomorrow to try and improve the lap time and make more progress under braking, which is the area we have most room to improve.”
“The second day here at Sepang International Circuit has been very positive. This morning we set some good lap times on the new tyres and made the most of the track conditions to make a time attack, which I was really happy with. This afternoon we tried to improve but it wasn’t possible. We worked a lot on the setting of the bike, especially under braking, where we managed to improve the feeling. This evening we will analyse the data and come back tomorrow to try and improve the lap time and make more progress under braking, which is the area we have most room to improve.”
Franco Morbidelli - Petronas Yamaha SRT - P15 - 2'00.151
“Today we focused on improving grip and trying to set a good pace on used tyres. I am happy with the work we have done and with the progress we made on both tyre compounds. It was a shame to crash so early because we missed out on the coolest part of the day and the chance to make a good time attack. In general, we have improved the feeling from yesterday so I am happy. We are showing some good form in the test but we still have a lot of work to do. Tomorrow we will continue working, try to improve our performance and make more progress overall. We will keep pushing to the maximum.”
“Today we focused on improving grip and trying to set a good pace on used tyres. I am happy with the work we have done and with the progress we made on both tyre compounds. It was a shame to crash so early because we missed out on the coolest part of the day and the chance to make a good time attack. In general, we have improved the feeling from yesterday so I am happy. We are showing some good form in the test but we still have a lot of work to do. Tomorrow we will continue working, try to improve our performance and make more progress overall. We will keep pushing to the maximum.”