Testing Continues for Movistar Yamaha MotoGP in Qatar

March 2, 2018 Michael Le Pard News Comments Off

Today the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team completed the second of the three test days at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. Riders Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi continued to prepare for the 2018 racing season and ended the day in 7th and 11th place respectively.

Viñales mentioned he was going to put in hard work throughout the Qatar MotoGP Official Test and he kept his word, completing 52 laps in total on Day 2.

The Spaniard used today’s session to make some improvements to the settings of his YZR-M1 to gain further corner stability and better the overall lap time. Though he suffered from a lack of grip, he wrapped up the second day with a best lap of 1’55.051s, set on lap 51, for seventh position, 0.465s from first.

Rossi also experienced some tyre issues but, similar to his teammate, still made steps throughout the day as he focused on bettering his bike’s set-up compared to yesterday.

Though an issue with the front tyre spoiled the Doctor’s time attack, he still managed to improve on his time from yesterday, thanks to the progress he made in today’s session testing small details of the set-up. He ended the day in 11th place with a fastest lap of 1’55.316s, set on lap 30 of 45 laps, 0.730s from the front.

As most riders improved on their times from yesterday, Viñales and Rossi also hold 7th and 11th position in the combined standings.

Maverick Viñales

Position: 7th – Time: 1’55.051 – Laps: 52

“For me it was a positive day, we tried many things. Compared to yesterday we lost a bit of grip. It’s the same feeling we had at every test: we have to work more and even harder. We improved our rhythm, but during the time attack I didn’t feel as good as I did yesterday, so I couldn’t improve a lot. But I think we have things clearer for tomorrow, so we are going to try to do at least one long run with a full tank, to see how the bike is working. For tomorrow we’re also going to focus on improving the feeling with the rear and improve the consistency of the bike.”

Valentino Rossi

Position: 11th – Time: 1’55.316 – Laps: 45

“The position is not so fantastic at the end, because during the time attack I had some problems with the front tyre, so I couldn’t do it. In the end, I’m quite a bit behind, but the pace is not so bad on average. We worked a lot today and tried to understand, because we had some issues, especially with the front tyre. After a few laps I started to lose some grip. It looks like, in these conditions, it will be difficult to finish the race with a good pace, so we still need to work tomorrow and try to improve this.”

Massimo Meregalli

Movistar Yamaha MotoGP – Team Director

“The second day of testing is over and we got a lot of work done, trying quite a few things. The riders didn’t have the same feeling as they had on Day 1. They suffered from a lack of grip, so this compromised their results during their time attack efforts. Nevertheless, both riders seem to be able to carry a consistent pace. We still have work to do tomorrow, because there are still areas where we want to improve. Tomorrow we also want to do some longer runs, to focus on the bikes’ handling with a full tank and better the tyre life.”

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