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After Jerez last week, it was Valencia hosting a few of the Moto2 and Moto3 riders for some tests. The weather conditions were favourable and the teams were able to take advantage of the first of the two available days.
We’ll begin straight away with the best times and tell you that in Moto2 Nakagami was the fastest, whereas in Moto3 it was Bastianini.
MOTO2: TAKAAKI UNCATCHABLE, BAGNAIA 3rd - As mentioned above, Nakagami was the fastest in Moto2 but we did not point out just how fast. The Japanese rider lapped at 1’34”761, in other words, a tenth of a second better than the pole position time for the GP, which was also the fastest lap ever at Valencia (1’34”879 set by Zarco).
With a time like that, Takaaki literally opened up the throttle and Vierge, 2nd for the day, was more than a second behind. In any case, Xavi was a pleasant surprise on the Tech3 after a season that was less than easy. The surprises do not end here, however, and with the 3rd best time, Francesco Bagnaia also made an impression. On his third day astride a Moto2 bike, the rider on Valentino’s team defended himself respectably, finishing less than one and a half seconds behind the best time.
Behind him was the rookie on the KTM, which Oliveira managed to ride to 4th position ahead of Pons. Another two rookies followed the Spaniard in the standings: Quartararo and Moto3 world champion, Binder (also astride a KTM).
The Top Ten also included Odendaal, Gardner (on the Tech3 bike) and Hernandez, back in Moto2 from MotoGP. There were a lot of rookies in the medium class, such as Pawi in 13th ahead of Manzi (Team Sky) and Navarro (Team Gresini), whereas Bassani finished 17th.
MOTO3: ENEA IN THE LEAD, ANTONELLI 3rd - The standings in Moto3 were much tighter, where it was Bastianini (astride a Honda, but one managed by Alzamora’s team) setting the pace. The rider from Emilia Romagna lapped at 1’39”762, not a super-fast time (Canet’s pole position for the GP was 1’39”261) but enough to leave all his rivals behind.
Beginning with Bansneyder, just 57 thousandths behind, and moving on to Antonelli, riding for Team Ajo KTM. Niccolò is less than 2 tenths of a second behind Enea and he is ahead of Asian Talent Cup winner, Sasaki.
The fifth best time went to Romano Fenati (Team Ongetta managed Honda) ahead of Canet and the team Gresini duo made up of Di Giannantonio and Martin. Ninth place went to Bezzecchi.
The complete rankings are listed below. Tomorrow will be the last day of tests.
FINAL TIMES
