***Top rider in the Sepang test- Maverick Viñales #25
The 2017 MotoGP season has officially started with this pre season testing at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) as riders who switched teams were seen in their new leathers. Every manufacturer tested their new upgraded parts and fairings for the upcoming season and collected some important live data for further improvements before the first race at Losail, Qatar. Here is a quick overview of the factory teams and riders performance during this three day test.
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP :Yamaha factory riders Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales were seen together in Blue leathers for the first time on the track as Official teammates. Maverick was the top rider in combined timesheets of the 3 day test, proving to be a quick learner. Valentino finished on top 5 overall, collecting some important data for the engineers in R&D. On the first day, both Vale and Mav started off with the bikes used in post season testing last year, along with minor changes in electronics. On day 2, Yamaha made a huge leap in terms of Aerodynamics as an all new fairing with integrated finlets was tested. The fairing had an unusual bulk, which incorporated the finlets.
***Fairing of the Yamaha YZR M1 with internal winglets
Valentino started off his morning with the new fairing while Maverick used it in the later part of the day. Though the first two days were affected by rain, Day 3 had mostly dry conditions. On Day 3, Viñales set a benchmark lap of 1:59.364 going on the top of the timesheets. Valentino Rossi finished at P5 with a laptime of 1:59.589. Viñales and Rossi made the most in dry conditions of Day 3, putting in 72 and 62 laps respectively. Other than the two factory riders, there were two test riders for Yamaha - Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Kohta Nozane making some laps for feedback.
Repsol Honda Team :
The Repsol Honda riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa came out on their 2017 RC213V with a longer exhaust pipe, courtesy SC Project - their new exhaust system provider. Honda is likely to continue with the same Big bang firing order configuration from 2016.
***Marc's RC213V with the newly designed Exhaust canister
Reigning World Champion Marc Marquez was the only rider close to Maverick in the timesheets. Marquez quoted that he worked towards the bikes setup and a lot on the electronics side. Pedrosa said that the hot conditions made the testing tiring, yet he had a pretty positive test at the end. Marquez finished Day 3 at P2 with a lap time of 1:59.506 while Pedrosa was seen at P4 with 1:59.578.
Ducati Corse : Ducati Test rider Casey Stoner stunned everyone on Day 1 with a stunning pace, eventually topping the time sheets at the end of the day. Casey posted a time of 1:59.680 proving to be still quick enough, for racing a GP.
Factory rider Andrea Dovizioso was close to Stoner on Day 1 with 1:59.797. Jorge Lorenzo struggled very much with his new Ducati Desmosedici GP17 on Day 1 and ended deep at P17, worser than the new riders from Moto2. On day 2 Jorge bettered his time a bit by moving into the top 10, a fraction behind his teammate Andrea Dovizioso. As Day 3 was completely dry, both Dovi and Lorenzo were able to put more number of laps making the Borgo Panigale factory happy about the progress. Lorenzo ended the session seven tenths quicker than his previous best with a lap time of 1:59.767 at P9.
***The unusual LUNCH BOX at the rear end
The Desmosedici GP17 has a redesigned tail and exhaust, as there is a new large "Lunch Box" at the rear. It is speculated that Ducati has moved all of its electronic systems to the back to give the bike more stability and even out the weight distribution.
Team Ecstar Suzuki :Ecstar Suzuki riders for 2017 Andrea Iannone and Alex Rins were seen together on the new Suzuki GSX-RR machines. Andrea Iannone surprised everyone on Day 2 by surpassing Stoners lap time to come on top with 1:59.452. Suzuki seemed to be tight lipped about the stuffs they tested, but they confirmed that the new engine has more power and is updated to overcome the drawbacks in acceleration. Alex Rins had a pretty good outing with the GP bike and ended up Day 3 at P12 which is not so bad considering his Moto2 background.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing :The new comers for 2017 MotoGP World Championship - KTM had a positive three day testing. The new teammates Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro headed the test on the all new KTM RC16 GP machine. The only team with a Steel tubular frame, KTM tested various other components in the 3 day test. Bradley Smith ended Day 3 at P21, 1.970 seconds behind the leader and Pol Espargaro finished at P23. Under 2 seconds from the front runner isn't that bad for a manufacturer competing in MotoGP for the very first time.
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini :The new riders Aleix Espargaro and Sam Lowes tested Aprilias new engine on the RS-GP along with various other components. Aprilia has no big changes in their bike apart from the engine, and a few tweaks on the chassis. Aleix ended Day at P13 under seven tenths from Maverick Viñales. Rookie Sam Lowes ended up at P22 2 seconds behind Mav.
The MotoGP grid now moves to Phillip Island, Australia to continue with the Pre season testing. Stay tuned to BikesIndia for further updates on the 2017 MotoGP World Championship.
Pictures Courtesy: Motorsport.com
By: Aravind Rb