VOL. 56 ISSUE 6 FEBRUARY 12, 2019 P33
all within one second of the
leader.
Aleix Espargaro had an en-
couraging first acquaintance
with the 2019 Aprilia RS-GP,
seventh fastest, and hailing a
big improvement after a lot of
missed targets in 2018.
New satellite Petronas Ya-
maha rider Franco Morbidelli
was eighth; then Takaaki Na-
kagami (LCR Honda) ahead
of a "half-happy" Valentino
Rossi's Monster Yamaha;
Marquez's Repsol Honda,
and 12th-fastest Alex Rins
(Ecstar Suzuki). Rins had
been second-fastest on the
first two days, and was another
working on race pace rather than
single lap times.
New KTM rider Johann Zarco
was 17th, with teammate Pol
Espargaro and rookie satellite
team rider Miguel Oliveira taking
the next two slots. But Zarco was
encouraged, having cut better
than 1.5 seconds from his first-
day time as he gets used to the
machine.
While last year there
were two further three-day
tests, this year there is just
the one, at Qatar, starting
on February 23.
Aerodynamic upgrades
were universal, with fac-
tories still allowed at this
stage to experiment with
different choices. Designs
will be frozen after the first
race.
Ducati had a new aero
fairing with three double-
wings on each side, eclips-
ing new bodywork from all
manufacturers—although Ya-
maha's staggered double-loops
gave the latest bikes a striking
new look.
But Ducati's tests were incon-
clusive. Only and Miller tried the
latest fairing, and each crashed
early in their runs.
"The new fairing is interesting.
It's a shame I wrecked it," said a
rueful Miller.
More restrictive regulations
govern the overall size of each
fairing, with bikes required to
pass through a physical template.
Last year, alterations to wing-
lets were allowed within the
overall outer dimensions. This
freedom has been removed for
2019. However, manufacturers
will be allowed one upgrade
per rider during the season. We
have a full breakdown of how
each manufacturer performed at
Sepang, which you can view by
clicking here.
Michael Scott
Remember the name:
Francesco Bagnaia was hugely
impressive at Sepang, going
second fastest.
The Aprilias in flying
formation. Aleix Espargaro
(41) was extremely happy.
