Submitted by David Emmett on
Marc Marquez has ended the second day of testing at Sepang on top of the timesheets, after cracking under the two minute barrier in the relative cool of the morning. With temperatures a little lower than yesterday, times were quicker, with both Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo managing to get under the two minute mark. The Ducati GP15 performed well, the two Andreas taking 3rd and 4th spots. Dovizioso set his time in the morning, while Iannone leapt ahead of his teammate in the last few minutes with lap that got him to within two tenths of Marc Marquez.
Dani Pedrosa took 5th spot, ahead of Valentino Rossi, the Honda and Yamaha riders posting fast times at the start of the day, and concentrating on testing for the rest of the day. Bradley Smith and Cal Crutchlow posted their fast times at the end of the session, Smith having moved up t 7th from 13th spot, while Crutchlow had already set a quick lap in the morning. Aleix Espargaro set the 9th quickest time in the morning, the Suzuki proving to be quick, and beat his brother, Tech 3 Yamaha rider Pol, into 10th.
The lower temperatures and lack of rain meant more productive time for the field, and faster times on track. More time to test produced a much closer field, the top eight all within half a second, and less than a second covering the top thirteen. The weather is set to continue for Wednesday, the final day of the official test.
Times at the end of the second day:
Pos | No | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda RC213V | 1:59.844 | ||
2 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha M1 | 1:59.902 | 0.058 | 0.058 |
3 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Ducati GP15/GP14.3 | 2:00.098 | 0.254 | 0.196 |
4 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati GP15/GP14.3 | 2:00.250 | 0.406 | 0.152 |
5 | 26 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda RC213V | 2:00.275 | 0.431 | 0.025 |
6 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha M1 | 2:00.308 | 0.464 | 0.033 |
7 | 38 | Bradley Smith | Yamaha M1 | 2:00.329 | 0.485 | 0.021 |
8 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda RC213V | 2:00.333 | 0.489 | 0.004 |
9 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki GSX-RR | 2:00.409 | 0.565 | 0.076 |
10 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | Yamaha M1 | 2:00.689 | 0.845 | 0.280 |
11 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati GP14 | 2:00.713 | 0.869 | 0.024 |
12 | 25 | Maverick Viñales | Suzuki GSX-RR | 2:00.731 | 0.887 | 0.018 |
13 | 45 | Scott Redding | Honda RC213V | 2:00.762 | 0.918 | 0.031 |
14 | 8 | Hector Barbera | Ducati GP14 Open | 2:00.847 | 1.003 | 0.085 |
15 | 68 | Yonny Hernandez | Ducati GP14.2 | 2:01.012 | 1.168 | 0.165 |
16 | 6 | Stefan Bradl | Forward Yamaha | 2:01.131 | 1.287 | 0.119 |
17 | 69 | Nicky Hayden | Honda RC213V-RS | 2:01.633 | 1.789 | 0.502 |
18 | 51 | Michele Pirro | Ducati GP14.2 | 2:01.897 | 2.053 | 0.264 |
19 | 50 | Eugene Laverty | Honda RC213V-RS | 2:01.944 | 2.100 | 0.047 |
20 | 17 | Karel Abraham | Honda RC213V-RS | 2:01.945 | 2.101 | 0.001 |
21 | 43 | Jack Miller | Honda RC213V-RS | 2:01.968 | 2.124 | 0.023 |
22 | 63 | Mike Di Meglio | Ducati GP14 Open | 2:02.006 | 2.162 | 0.038 |
23 | 19 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia | 2:02.221 | 2.377 | 0.215 |
24 | 76 | Loris Baz | Forward Yamaha | 2:02.426 | 2.582 | 0.205 |
25 | 15 | Alex De Angelis | Aprilia ART | 2:03.499 | 3.655 | 1.073 |
26 | T1 | Katsuyuki Nakasuga | Yamaha M1 Test | 2:03.755 | 3.911 | 0.256 |
27 | 33 | Marco Melandri | Aprilia | 2:04.313 | 4.469 | 0.558 |
Comments
Melandri
is very slow
He needs
to see a sports psychologist ;)
Yeah, I suspect Marco doesn't
Yeah, I suspect Marco doesn't very much want to be there. I think he'd rather be on superbikes, and I don't think he's busting himself to go fast...
Impressive effort by the GP15s. Was that on the 'Ducatis go fast on super soft tyres' rubber?
What are the Differences...
David and co. What are the differences between the honda 213V and the 213V-RS? Cal is doing a decent job so far as is Redding! But what the heck is going on with the Open Hondas? starting with Hayden? They have HRC techs in their garages, right?!
Differences
AFAIK, the main differences are:
1) they are using last years factory engine
2) no seamless gearbox
3) they use open software?
4) have the greater fuel allowance
5) softer rear tire available
Will Melandri even start the season??
I wonder will Melandri even start the season proper.
He clearly doesn't want to be there.
There must be lots of gnashing of teeth in the Aprilia boardroom at present!!
Melandri on Michelins
Actually, I'm quite curious to see whether his performance is going to change or not once he's testing the Michelins. Unfortunately, we won't know because there will be no official timing, right?
Because I'm still wondering how much of Melandri's lack of performance is him not wanting to be there and how much of it is due to the obvious huge difference in tires between WSBK and MotoGP
35<15
Cry, Crutchlow, cry.....What a mistake to make. He missed out on the oportunity to be a real contender. On a satelite Honda it is not goin to happen. Now he is on a second-grade motor. He will not be impressive enough to get in to Repsol. I don't think there is a way to get back in to the first league
It is incredibly easy to comment from the armchair, but, I believe that he sould trust Dallig'na. He was a part of a true factory team. No more.
I can't say I agree...
Less than half a second down on Marquez in testing isn't too shabby? We all know testing bears little resemblence to reality - well, if you take MM93 out of the equation - so it might be best to wait a race or two to see how Crutchlow and the Honda gel, or not.
About Melandri
To put his laptime in perspective, he did a qualifying laptime of 2:03.9 in WSBK just a few months ago. Whichever way you look at it, this bike should be a lot faster than the WSBK bike last year with its restrictions and yet he's four tenths SLOWER after 2 full days on the MotoGP bike.
Source : http://resources.worldsbk.com/files/results/2014/MAS/SBK/Q2A/CLA/Results...
Things look really bleak, HOWEVER, I feel it's just the matter of getting to the first race weekend. When the lights go out in Qatar, all demons would be exorcised in an instant. He should at least be running competitive pace, or so I hope.
Didn't see that coming.
Boom! Ducati are back.
This time last week who was expecting the Ducatis to be there?
I think the opposition should be very pleased that they are not allowed to use the hard tyre. Is it 2016 yet? Hang on, Ducati just has to bag a few wins and they have to go factory, or do they just lose the super soft and fuel allowance? In which case they would have the choice of one tyre. I expect Dorna hasn't planned that far ahead, so they will just make a new rule that Ducati is never allowed to use the hard option.
They are all testing parts
They are all testing parts and setups but poor Cal. Dumbest move in recent memory. Right up there with Valentino going to Ducati.
Now it's easy to say that Cal
Now it's easy to say that Cal made a "dumb move." But if you had been given the choice to continue riding what I guess we can now call an abnormal bike with only the promise of better things to come or a factory spec RC213V, are you honestly going to say you would have chosen the Duc?
Didn't he do just that last
Didn't he do just that last season? Traded a fairly sorted M1 for the $$$$$.....excuse me....GP14
Poor Cal
he should trade bikes with Nicky, right right? who's with me, anybody? Oh wait he is timed in 8th..
no kidding... Cal is within 0.05 seconds of Rossi and Pedrosa.
clearly there is nothing wrong with his bike.
Hayden on the other hand... should have accepted the transfer to the second Ducati team as even their bikes will be better than the low spec Honda he's on.
Yes yes, just testing, but...
Big winners:
1) Gigi (IT ISN'T SORTED YET...THIS IS A SHAKEDOWN! WOW!)
2) Jorge "half a tenth" Lorenzo
3) Yamaha's gearbox (good for 2+ tenths maybe?)
4) #29 and #4, and everyone who has a GP15 in their future
5) A.Espargaro "beating my brother is a win" = "beating him on a Suzuki is a double win." But is the power deficit showing here? I don't know enough about it.
6) Hector "thank GOD I am mid pack again" Barbera
7) Smith and Crutchlow as neck in neck for top satellite and getting to focus on riding instead of hanging in there with a job. Yep, Crutchlow I n the winners list. If there was a loses list he would be on it too. Hindsight is 20-20 and it looks like the Gigi express should have been boarded NOW, but...
8) Melandri. Like "shooting the moon" in hearts, he is legitimately failing here now, and he is on his way back to WSBK where he should be. You can't ride well with a gun to your head. This is a match made in hell, mistake Aprilia.
9) Dorna execs who's rule changes and CRT gambit has gelled and we have ourselves a good field of bikes again. Sure, with Doohan er I mean Marquez domination in place, but we have a GP season to enjoy my friends. That super soft tire is good for 5 tenths maybe, and will get GP15's on the front row, but they still have to make it past half race distance. There will be a track and conditions in which #29 or #4 are challenging a win, I can see it in the crystal ball that Crutchlow didn't have.
;)
10) US fans.
Cal again...
We still have a long way to go, and the Duke has a lot of unknowns to suss out before it's a winner. Crutchlow had lost faith, confidence and enthusiasm last year, so a move was by far the best thing
Let's see where the Honda and the Ducati are mid-season, then decide if it was a smart move or not. Nobody wins on the first lap...
Honda RC213V-RS
Still a second+ off the pace! If you go on last year of Redding and Nicky being about equal, then look at the times of the satellite Honda's not even the full factory ones, then yep, still not acceptable