MotoGP: Maverick Vinales ends Jerez Test on top

Maverick Viñales mastered the hot conditions at Jerez to end the final pre-season test at the top of the standings. 

With track temperatures reaching over 50 degrees, including a reported high of 57 degrees, lap-times were not expected to match those set in the morning session. However, the Yamaha reacted well to the sun and Viñales set the quickest lap-time of the day, a 1:37.793.

The only other rider to drop into the 1:37s during the afternoon session was Fabio Quartararo on the Petronas Yamaha. The Frenchman was only +0.118s slower than Viñales. 

Marc Marquez’s quick time from this morning was enough to keep him third overall. Meanwhile, Alex Rins was fourth ahead of Valentino Rossi and an impressive Aleix Espargaro on the Aprilia. All three riders posted their quickest time in this morning’s session, as did Cal Crutchlow in seventh and Jack Miller in eighth. The Australian ended the day as the quickest Ducati overall.

Joan Mir and Francesco Bagnaia complete the top 10 after improving in the afternoon. Bagnaia was the quickest Ducati in the second session. 

Miguel Oliveira finished a respectable 11th overall on the Tech3 KTM, whilst Johann Zarco moved up to 12th after a positive afternoon. The Frenchman was as high as fifth at one stage. 

Andrea Dovizioso improved on the timing sheets in the afternoon but overall the Ducati rider was only 15th. Of course, the Italian is still recovering from surgery after breaking his collarbone two weeks ago. 

A red flag caused a long delay early in the second session. Aleix Espargaro’s Aprilia had dropped oil on the circuit, causing Danilo Petrucci and Alex Marquez to hit the deck. Petrucci headed to the medical centre and did not return to the track. 

Top 10 Combined Times
1. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – 1:37.793
2. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) + 0.118
3. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.148
4. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.400
5. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.429
6. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 0.492
7. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Castrol Honda) + 0.520
8. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) + 0.555
9. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.587
10. Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) + 0.624

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MotoGP: Marc Marquez tops competitive opening session at the Jerez Test

First published: 15 July 2020 by Josh Close

After four long months MotoGP bikes returned to action this morning at the Jerez Test, with Marc Marquez firing an early warning to his title rivals.

The reigning champion, appearing to be back to full fitness, topped the morning session with a lap-time of 1:37.941. That’s quicker than Marquez’s own race lap record at Jerez, a time of 1:38.051, which was set last year. 

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In a competitive session, all six manufacturers were represented inside the top eight positions. The entire field was covered by 1.618s. 

Alex Rins and Valentino Rossi moved up into the top three in the closing stages, with +0.281 covering the first three riders. Aleix Espargaro picked up where he left off on the new Aprilia, ending the session fourth overall. Espargaro was leading the session at one stage. 

Fabio Quartararo completed the top five, just ahead of Cal Crutchlow and Ducati’s Jack Miller. Miguel Oliveira was the quickest KTM rider in eighth, on the Tech3 machine. Franco Morbidelli and Francesco Bagnaia were ninth and 10th respectively. 

Further down the order, the factory Ducat duo of Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci could only manage 19th and 20th. Maverick Vinales also had a quiet session in terms of lap-times, with the Spaniard finishing 13th overall. 

The quickest rookie in the opening session was Iker Lecuona on the second Tech3 KTM, finishing the session 16th overall. Alex Marquez was 18th, whilst Brad Binder was 21st. 

The second, and final, MotoGP session at the Jerez Test gets underway at 1pm UK time.