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There were great expectations in Sepang for the first tests of the new season. Viñales and Iannone played the starring roles, Rossi confirmed Yamaha’s competitiveness, his fitness – not so much, as he himself admitted. As for Ducati, Lorenzo managed to chase away the nightmares of the first day, while Honda did an about-face thanks to the usual Marquez. The electronics package is certainly still the priority that needs to be solved for the Japanese team.
Here is what happened in this opening event according to the watchful eye of our Carlo Pernat.
“The title could be: “The new that advances”. Over the three days at Sepang, we discovered two new contenders - Iannone and Viñales. Andrea is at the centre of the project, plus Suzuki works well and fast. Among other things, they turned up here in Malaysia with no less than 3 bikes. The impact was positive on both the flying lap and pace.”
And what opinion did you form of Viñales?
“Maverick reconfirmed his value. We can define him as a clone of Lorenzo. He is a grinder – when he gets away at the front he is uncatchable, but he still struggles a bit in head-to-head conflicts. He will certainly be in the mix to win races.”
There were great expectations for Ducati.
“They worked well. Lorenzo is getting closer and closer to the best. They are on the right path, both with Pirro and Dovi. For Andrea this could be the best year of his life.”
Did Yamaha demonstrate that they have something more?
“It is probably the best bike and Viñales’ times are significant. I am sure that Valentino will also be in the running for 2017.”
At a certain point, Marquez seemed to have been revisited by the ghosts of a year ago.
“There are some problems with the Honda engine. They should light a candle for Marquez, in the hopes that he stays with them forever, because he is the one that makes the difference.”
Once again, the track demonstrated its limits with the water.
“This track needs to be resurfaced. It is unthinkable that the evening rain conditions the events of the next day. I hope they can patch things up in August, when it will be resurfaced with a particular material. A circuit like Sepang, that passed up F1 for MotoGP, certainly cannot afford to have problems like this.”
