IN
THE
WIND
P24
Vinales Tops Final MotoGP Testing
Y
amaha came out on top during
the last two days of MotoGP
testing before the winter break, No-
vember 25-26, but changing and
worsening weather limited opportu-
nities, and meant that lap times re-
mained slightly short of those set at
May's race at the Jerez circuit, and
results, as always, inconclusive.
While almost all factories had
new parts, and in some cases new
combinations of parts to test, all
were at an early prototype stage.
But with cold conditions at both
test venues, Valencia and Jerez,
and rain at the latter, neither track
allowed the MotoGP bikes to
stretch their legs and test out ulti-
mate speeds.
Best of the two days was Mav-
erick Vinales (Monster Energy
Yamaha), whose initial time of
1:37.135 was less than half a sec-
ond off Fabio Quartararo's all-time
pole record of 1:36.880. It was
good enough to keep him on top
on the following day, though he
placed fourth on the second day at
1:37.964, with Marc Marquez (Rep-
sol Honda) taking the day's honors
at 1:37.820, and then the Ecstar
Suzukis of Alex Rins and Joan Mir.
