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We have said it so often that by now it sounds like a mantra: the only reliable judge in motorcycle racing is the clock. This is true, but it is not enough, because the data it provides is objective, but you also need to know how to interpret it. Especially in the case of tests, like the ones that just ended at Sepang, where each rider plans out the work as they see fit or as needed.
In spite of everything, the time sheet is always a very interesting piece of paper and it says much more than just the essential list of best times. We had a look at the ones from the last day of testing in Malaysia, the day when many riders tried, not only for the best performance, but where they also wanted to assess their pace.
At the bottom of this article, you will find the lap times. We highlighted the 2’00” laps in blue and the 1’59” laps in red.
VIÑALES, A… STEP AHEAD - We will begin straight away with a consideration: the 59”368 made by Viñales was not the result of the classic breakneck flying lap. To the contrary, Maverick was the only one who easily dropped below the 2 minute mark, managing to do so no less than 10 times. He added another 20 laps in the 2’00” range to this result. It is true that he did not do a race simulation or even any real long runs, but maintaining a benchmark pace for 4 or 5 laps is not a problem.
The first logical comparison is with his teammate and Valentino was not as irresistible: only one lap at 59” and 17 at 2’00”. It would seem, however, that something went awry in the race simulation, which he stopped after 9 laps. Officially, Rossi stated that it was because of a wrong choice for the rear compound - the soft tyre - but looking at the time sheets, this explanation is not entirely convincing. Also considering a mistake on the 4th lap (the 56th on the time sheets), the times seem too high, especially with a soft tyre.
To conclude with Yamaha, we also had a look at the rookie Zarco, a pleasant surprise in these tests. The time sheets show some interesting data: Johann is already able to be competitive on the flying lap, but not on a long run of about 10 laps. This is a sign that it is fairly “simple” (using the term with a very relative meaning) to take a MotoGP bike to its limits for one lap, but rather demanding to successfully exploit it consistently.
MARQUEZ DROPS HIS MASK - In these tests, much has been said about Honda and their difficulties. Valentino, speaking about Marquez on Tuesday, had warned: “I think he is holding back”. The times done by the world champion on Wednesday proved him right. Marc did not do a race simulation, but he demonstrated great ease in maintaining a nice pace (39 laps out of a total of 85 at 2’00”). Most striking is his last outing of 11 laps where he never went above 2’00”500.
Less convincing was Pedrosa’s performance, especially in terms of pace, quite unexpected. We could say something similar about Crutchlow. The Englishman does not too badly on the fast lap (he dropped below 2 minutes 4 times), but he did not demonstrate great pace.
DUCATI: LORENZO GOOD… BUT BAUTISTA BETTER - At the end of the Sepang tests, Alvaro deserves a round of applause, but his results should not be too much of a surprise. As he humbly acknowledged: “For the GP16 I just need to add petrol and adjust the suspension. Development has already been done.” However, the team Aspar Spaniard is riding it quite well and the pace he managed to maintain is also rather respectable, with 25 laps done at 2’00”.
Let’s move on to Lorenzo, who managed to transform a test that had begun as a nightmare into a dream. Jorge was the only rider to complete a race simulation on the GP17 with all the latest evolutions. Any comparison of his times to those of his rivals would have very little value, but it is interesting to note how Jorge was very consistent even with the Ducati.
Dovizioso completed a different job, always taking very brief outings and managing to stay at the 2’00” mark 11 times.
IANNONE HAS PACE - We will end this brief examination with Iannone, extremely fast on Tuesday. On Wednesday he did not try a time attack, focusing on other tests, although two crashes cost him a bit of time. In any case, Andrea showed that he is at ease on the Suzuki and in his last outing he did 7 laps, 6 of which at the 2’00” mark.
These are the first indications that we have from Sepang, although there are plenty of unknowns that may have had an impact on the performance of the various riders. However, we already have a few answers and for the rest, we will have to wait for Phillip Island in a couple of weeks.
