VOLUME ISSUE FEBRUARY , P101
OVERALL (Top 5)
1. Alex Marquez (Duc) 1:56.402
2. Marco Bezzecchi (Apr) 1:56.526
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Duc)
1:56.785
4. Marc Marquez (Duc) 1:56.789
5. Joan Mir (Hon) 1:56.874
Positives were in short sup-
ply when Alex Rins, Miller and
Razgatlioglu eventually made it
back on track on Thursday. They
were consistently the slowest
bikes through the speed trap,
some seven mph down on their
rivals. Chassis and swingarm
changes were still considerable
between runs.
Plus, Razgatlioglu's struggles
were concerning. The winner of 21
WorldSBK races was 19th overall,
1.9 seconds from the top. "My
feeling with the [Michelin] front is
good; I'm strong on the brakes," he
said. "But I still can't understand
the rear. It's so sensitive, and I'm
struggling in long corners."
Motivation was "going down" on
the final day when he was unable
to lower his time. "In Superbike,
I rode aggressive. Here I need
to be much smoother." This was
certainly a baptism of fire. CN
(Above) A disaster would almost
be too nice to describe Yamaha's
test. They are in serious trouble
with the new V4, and now Fabio
Quartararo has a busted finger
after his engine let go. (Left)
Toprak Razgatlioglu had his back
to the wall and even tried various
seats with no aero appendages in
an effort to get comfortable on the
M1. Nineteenth place was not what
he expected at the end of the test.
