MotoGP

Valencia MotoGP testing: Yamaha’s Vinales fastest on second day

Maverick Vinales topped the final day of Valencia 2020 pre-season MotoGP testing by 0.164 seconds from fellow Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo.

After a first hour without action, Honda’s Stefan Bradl took to the circuit as well as KTM trio Pol Espargaro, Iker Lecuona (Tech3) and Brad Binder.

Bradl was forced to park up after just a few corners after his 2020 Honda encountered a mechanical issue, with Marc Marquez also experiencing an issue with that bike later in the morning.

Espargaro set the early pace at 1m32.080s on the ’20 KTM, with Marquez taking over with a 1m30.950s on his first run on the ’19 RC213V.

As the second hour drew to a close, Petronas SRT’s Franco Morbidelli went fastest with a 1m30.803s – though would be deposed around 30 minutes later by Marquez on the 2020 Honda he wrecked in a crash on Tuesday.

Moments later, the session was brought to a brief halt when Andrea Iannone’s Aprilia caught fire on the way into Turn 1 and left fluid on the circuit.

Marquez’s 1m30.664s benchmark stood for almost an hour, before Tuesday pacesetter Fabio Quartararo assumed control of the timesheets with a 1m30.591s.

Quartararo further improved to a 1m30.013s an hour later, which would not be toppled until the final 70 minutes, when Vinales dipped into the 1m29s for the first time this week with a 1m29.849s as he continued to test Yamaha’s new engine and chassis.

As Quartararo packed up with an hour still to go, Vinales would come under no threat before the chequered flag.

Morbidelli was third to complete another Yamaha 1-2-3, while LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow brushed off a late fall to end the day fourth, having spent Wednesday comparing the current and prototype versions of the RC213V – including a new aerodynamic fairing.

Joan Mir led Suzuki team-mate Alex Rins in fifth, both putting more miles on the GSX-RR’s new engine, with Marquez seventh in the end with a 1m30.556s set on the 2020-spec Honda – on which he also tested a new aero package.

Pol Espargaro – who crashed at Turn 10 in the morning – the sister works Yamaha of Valentino Rossi and Pramac’s Jack Miller, who trialled a new seat unit amongst other small items on his Ducati, rounded out the top 10.

Andrea Dovizioso was Ducati’s top works rider in 11th, while team-mate Danilo Petrucci opted to sit out Wednesday’s running in order to recover from a shoulder issue that limited him to just 10 laps on Tuesday.

Honda’s new signing Alex Marquez enjoyed a less complicated second day on the LCR-run 2019-spec RC213V, improving his lap time from Tuesday by six tenths to a 1m32.235s to end the test 20th after logging 76 laps.

Fellow rookie Binder was last of the 22 riders present, some 2.5s off the pace, while Tech3 counterpart Lecuona once again led the debutants in 15th.

Wednesday times

Pos Driver Team Car Time Gap Laps
1 Maverick Vinales Yamaha Yamaha 1m29.849s 67
2 Fabio Quartararo Petronas Yamaha Yamaha 1m30.013s 0.164s 64
3 Franco Morbidelli Petronas Yamaha Yamaha 1m30.114s 0.265s 52
4 Cal Crutchlow LCR Honda Honda 1m30.316s 0.467s 73
5 Joan Mir Suzuki Suzuki 1m30.427s 0.578s 61
6 Alex Rins Suzuki Suzuki 1m30.503s 0.654s 57
7 Marc Marquez Honda Honda 1m30.556s 0.707s 71
8 Pol Espargaro KTM KTM 1m30.685s 0.836s 46
9 Valentino Rossi Yamaha Yamaha 1m30.781s 0.932s 68
10 Jack Miller Pramac Ducati Ducati 1m30.854s 1.005s 59
11 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Ducati 1m31.143s 1.294s 42
12 Tito Rabat Avintia Ducati Ducati 1m31.258s 1.409s 63
13 Michele Pirro Pramac Ducati Ducati 1m31.424s 1.575s 40
14 Dani Pedrosa Tech3 KTM KTM 1m31.470s 1.621s 48
15 Iker Lecuona Tech3 KTM KTM 1m31.515s 1.666s 57
16 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia Aprilia 1m31.526s 1.677s 43
17 Karel Abraham Avintia Ducati Ducati 1m31.597s 1.748s 59
18 Stefan Bradl Honda Honda 1m31.657s 1.808s 54
19 Andrea Iannone Aprilia Aprilia 1m31.800s 1.951s 38
20 Alex Marquez LCR Honda Honda 1m32.235s 2.386s 79
21 Bradley Smith Aprilia Aprilia 1m32.249s 2.400s 32
22 Brad Binder KTM KTM 1m32.367s 2.518s 66

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