FEATURE
P46
2016 MOTOGP TESTING AT VALENCIA
T
he end of season Valencia test was
watched closer than ever before in 2015,
with new tires, new electronics and new
riders all joining the fray for the 2016 season.
When all was said and done it was Repsol
Honda's Marc Marquez who stood atop the
time sheets, the former double world champion
stopping the clocks at 1:31.060. Marquez's lap
was under his race pace from the season clos-
ing Valencia MotoGP, and came after two days
testing the control ECU and Michelin tires. The
French firm will replace Bridgestone as the
sole tire next season in MotoGP, and has come
under intense scrutiny from the top four in this
year's championship after a spate of front-end
crashes across the Valencia test.
Marquez's time was only a fraction of a sec-
ond faster than the impressive Maverick Vina-
les, who used the 2015 Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR
to position himself second overall across the
two days of testing. Vinales headed Marquez's
Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, Suzu-
ki Ecstar's Aleix Espargaro and 2015 MotoGP
World Champion, Jorge Lorenzo.
Let's have a look at how the factory teams
fared.
Marc Marquez and Honda top the
timesheets at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit in
Valencia as new control electronics and
Michelin tires make their MotoGP debut.
BY RENNIE SCAYSBROOK
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
OUT WITH
THE OLD
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