RideFast Dec 2019

2020 MotoGP Valencia Testing.
Quartararo heads
Yamaha trio after Day 1
With plenty of new riders
and motorcycles to keep an
eye on, this was the start
of the 2020 season and the
first opportunity to see new
parts featured across the
manufacturers. Ending the
day on top of the pile, Fabio
Quartararo was just ahead
of Maverick Viñales, whilst
Franco Morbidelli made it a
Yamaha 1-2-3.
After a phenomenal rookie
season, Fabio Quartararo set
76 laps on his way to the top
of the timesheets, but it wasn’t
without drama. Testing a new
carbon swingarm along with
chassis parts, Quartararo
crashed at speed at the
infamous Turn 10. Shaken but
not stirred and only suffering
from dull rib injuries, he was
back on track for the final hour
before ending the day on top.
Also testing new parts from
Yamaha was Franco Morbidelli,
who completed a Yamaha
1-2-3 and spent most of the day
inside the top five.
Splitting the two Petronas
Yamaha SRT machines was
Maverick Viñales, who spent
most of the day on the 2020
bike, after completing a first
run on the 2019 machine.
Viñales was frequenting
the top of the timesheets
throughout the opening day of
testing for 2020, finishing just
over a tenth-and-a-half behind
Quartararo. Valentino Rossi
completed a solid day of work
and was inside the top ten
throughout. The 40-year-old
Italian, along with Viñales, was
testing the 2020 bike which
featured a new air intake and a
third evolution of 2020 engine
and finished ninth overall.
Over at the Ducati Team, Danilo
Petrucci was testing a brandnew
chassis ahead of 2020,
before calling it a day early on
after a shoulder injury picked
up during the race weekend.
For Andrea Dovizioso, it was
a productive day as he led the
Maverick Vinales with
his new Aero fairing.
fight to Yamaha. Like Petrucci, he
was testing the new bike which
featured a new chassis, as well
as new parts for the engine and
electronics. Between them, the
pair racked up more than 70 laps
to garner valuable data to take
forward in their development
for the new season. At Pramac
Racing, Jack Miller was also
trying new parts and completed
43 laps on his way to completing
the top ten. Francesco Bagnaia
is absent from the test after his
broken wrist from Saturday, but
present was Michele Pirro, who
finished the day in 18th as he
leads the development for 2020.
After an eventful weekend for
the Repsol Honda Team, the
drama continued in the second
half of the day. With a little under
four hours to go, Marc Marquez
crashed his 2020 bike on the
out-lap at Turn 13. Setting his
fastest lap on his 33rd out of 56,
the eight-time World Champion
was fifth overall on the bike
that he had already tested on
at Misano. New teammate and
brother Alex Marquez finished
23rd on his full-time debut,
recovering well from his crash
in the first half of the day. Stefan
Bradl finished 22nd on another
chassis, different to that of
Marquez’. Cal Crutchlow was 11th
as he continued to test the new
2020-spec machine.
A new engine helped Suzuki
to climb the top speed charts
in the afternoon, although a
technical problem for Joan Mir
halted the Spaniard’s progress.
Mir was top Suzuki after day one
in sixth place, whilst teammate
Alex Rins was just a tenth-anda-half
behind in seventh. Both
Suzuki riders set a strong pace
throughout the day.
It was a positive first day of 2020
for KTM, who were sporting
a completely new chassis.
Constructed differently but
remaining tubular and steel,
Pol Espargaro made it five
manufacturers inside the top
eight. Espargaro set 58 laps
and achieved his fastest exactly
halfway through. His new
teammate Brad Binder was 21st
and continued his adaptation to
MotoGP. Test rider Dani Pedrosa
was 17th as he worked away
whilst Mika Kallio didn’t take
to the circuit. Iker Lecuona was
sensational at the end of day one
at the Valencia Test, up in 13th
place and less than a secondand-a-half
off the top slot.
Whilst there was no new bike
for Aprilia, Andrea Iannone was
14th and just over a secondand-a-half
from the best time.
Two places further back was
teammate Aleix Espargaro,
whilst test rider Bradley Smith
was up 20th and within two
seconds of Quartararo at the
top. Smith suffered a nasty
crash at Turn 9 earlier in the day,
bringing out the red flags but
the hard-working Brit was soon
back out on track and was the
last rider to return to the pits at
the end of the day.
Viñales fastest to turn
the tables on Day 2
Maverick Viñales topped Day 2
and it was once again a Yamaha
1-2-3, with the trio at the top
within three tenths. Viñales
was the only rider in the 1:29s –
true of Fabio Quartararo at the
weekend – and the number 12
narrowly beat the Frenchman’s
pole time on the Wednesday.
Quartararo was 0.164 in arrears,
with Franco Morbidelli within
0.265 of the top. Honda’s Cal
Crutchlow was the only other
man within half a second…
Viñales fastest was set on the
‘new’ bike – with a different
chassis and new engine – and
the Spaniard put in 67 laps on
the final day of testing, topping
the timesheets with his 56th.
Teammate Valentino Rossi
Pic by GP Fever.de
was once again ninth, and
‘The Doctor’ did 68 laps on the
Wednesday. He was within
0.968 of the top and suffered
a mechanical problem in the
afternoon, but got back out.
Quartararo and Morbidelli,
meanwhile, didn’t say much
about what they were working
on – “some small things” and
the Frenchman said it was more
a day of riding than testing as
yet. For a man only just starting
his second season, the 64
laps were doubtlessly useful,
however, and Morbidelli added
another 52 to the team’s count.
For Crutchlow it was a
mammoth day of work. The Brit
headed out on the ‘2020’ bike,
suffered a crash but managed
to prove Yamaha’s closest
competitor on the timesheets
and improve his laptime from
the weekend after 73 laps.
Speaking of the number 73,
Alex Marquez, on the other side
of the LCR Honda garage, was
the only man to do more laps.
The rookie did 79 on his second
day as an HRC MotoGP rider,
shaving six tenths off his time
from Tuesday.
Reigning Champion Marc
Marquez made some more
Honda headlines, however.
The number 93 premiered the
aero seen on Crutchlow the day
before, with the all-black Honda
breaking cover bearing a 93 in
the afternoon, and he ended the
day in seventh after 71 laps. He
also suffered a failed getaway
earlier in the day, and his
teammate for the test – in the
garage at least – also suffered
an issue on the Wednesday as
Stefan Bradl ground to a halt.
Nevertheless the German was
able to complete 53 laps by the
end of play.
Team Suzuki Ecstar were fifth
and sixth on Wednesday. The
new engine previously having
been put through its paces by
test rider Sylvain Guintoli was
a big focus for the Hamamatsu
factory as they look for a step
forward in terms of outright
speed, and Joan Mir was the
quickest Suzuki on Day 2. He
put in a 1:30.427 and did 61 laps,
teammate Alex Rins was just
0.076 off and did 47 laps. They
plan to continue testing the
The new 2020 KTM chassis
looking good with Pol...
engine at the Jerez test.
KTM stole a few headlines on
Day 2. For their speed – Pol
Espargaro’s impressive showing
and that of Red Bull KTM Tech
3’s Iker Lecuona – and they had
the new kids on the block, Brad
Binder and Lecuona, taking some
tips from the veterans. But there
were also a few crashes, with
each of the three racers all going
down. Espargaro first, Lecuona
later and Binder even later in
the day. Espargaro’s crash,
however, led to his fastest lap
as he was then forced to switch
bike to another new chassis –
and found immediate positives.
He was eighth and did 46 laps,
Pedrosa 14th after 48 laps and
Lecuona just 0.045 off the threetime
World Champion by the
end of play. Binder did 66 laps
on Day 2.
Marc Marquez with the new
‘Hammer Head’ aero package
ahead of his brother and new
team-mate Alex Marquez.
The Ducati Team’s Andrea
Dovizioso, meanwhile, was
focused on gathering more
information on what they
tested on Day 1, one big thing
of note being a new chassis.
Some sensors were spotted on
the rear of the Borgo Panigale
machine too on the Wednesday,
and the ‘salad box’ was back.
Danilo Petrucci, however, was
not back. The Italian remained
sidelined by his bothersome
shoulder, although Michele
Pirro was once again on track
to put the laps in – 40 of
them – and Jack Miller was all
action stations too. The Aussie
explained he’d been doing
back to back comparisons with
the first version of the 2020
machines because the number
09 was ruled out. Miller was
fastest Ducati in 10th, just
ahead of Dovizioso. Tito Rabat
was 12th, ahead of Pirro.
For Aprilia, it was another day
of track action working with
their 2019 machines. Aleix
Espargaro was 16th after 43
laps, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini
teammate Andrea Iannone in
19th. Espargaro crashed at the
final corner, and Iannone ran on
at Turn 1 with the RS-GP then
catching alight – rider ok. Test
rider Bradley Smith was also
on track and did another 32
laps to add to the informationgathering
tally.