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Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Conclude Thailand Testing

Valentino Rossi

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales ended the third and final day of MotoGP testing in Buriram, Thailand, securing 10th and 12th place respectively in today’s rankings.

Using his time from yesterday as a benchmark, Rossi had a clear target whilst completing his testing schedule. He tried some tyre specs, evaluated various settings and worked on the electronics, so by the end of the day his pace was noticeably quicker on the final run.

The Italian completed 70 laps in total and wrapped up the third day of testing in tenth place, posting a best time of 1’30.511s on lap 69, 0.730s off the front. This result put him in 12th position in the combined timesheets.

Viñales started the session again as soon as the green light at the end of pit lane went on. He was eager to try out the new setting he found yesterday, as well as making some final decisions on the engine and the chassis. However, he was unable to find the same feeling he had the day before.

Though he was unable to beat his time from yesterday, the Spaniard went the extra mile to provide feedback, completing 69 laps in total. His best effort, a 1’30.590s set on lap 66, put him in 12th place in today’s testing results, 0.809s from the top. His best Day-2 time, a 1’30.274s, earned him eighth place in the combined Day 1-2-3 standings.

Valentino Rossi

Position: 10th – Time: 1’30.511 – Laps: 70

“I think that we improved today. I rode a 1’30.5s, but unfortunately I made a mistake at the end of a really good lap, else I could have done a 1’30.2s, and we’re all very close. Like last year, it’s difficult to understand where we stand. A lot of people were strong in Malaysia and here they struggled, and also the opposite. We have to improve, because we didn’t make much progress compared to last year, especially when it comes to the electronics. We have a lot of work to do and at this moment we have to get through it – but that’s today, maybe in Qatar it will be better.”

Maverick Viñales

Position: 12th – Time: 1’30.590 – Laps: 69

“It’s been a difficult test, like it was in Malaysia. We are working hard trying to figure out what the problem is – right now mostly on braking, but we have to improve in all areas. We have to continue working, trying to find out how to improve. The race days are coming up fast and we only have the three days in Qatar left. I will keep working and I will be 100% ready, and when the bike is ready I will push.”

Massimo Meregalli

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Team Director

“Instead of focusing on the time attack, we rode many laps with used tyres and tried to make them run properly. We tried many solutions, some were good, some didn’t work. At the end, we came a few hours short, because we wanted to do a hot lap, but couldn’t fit that in anymore. However, we still got a lot of things done here. It was fundamental for us to decide on the engine and chassis at this test, and the package has been confirmed. Now we will need to keep working on the electronics, because there’s still room for improvement there. In Qatar we have three more days of testing and we’ll put in a lot of effort, and work as much as we can to solve it.”

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