IN
THE
WIND
P44
est—showed that not everybody
was going for a fast lap time, but
concentrating on testing chassis,
tire and even engine choices.
The long and sinuous Phillip
Island circuit is too complicated
to be regarded as a level playing
field.
But the omens for Vinales and
his new Movistar Yamaha were
good, as he defeated first-day
leader (and one-time pre-teen
minibike rival) Marc Marquez
(Repsol Honda) by almost three-
tenths of a second.
Second Repsol Honda rider
Dani Pedrosa, back after missing
the previous morning fighting a
fever, was a close third, with lap
times close from then on, and a
shade over a second covering
from second to 17th place, held
by Pol Espargaro on the brand
new and clearly promising Red
Bull KTM.
Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda)
was fast again, as the 2016 Phil-
lip Island winner placed fifth.
Then came class rookie Alex
Rins (Ecstar Suzuki), and then
the factory Ducati pairing of
Iannone, Dovizioso and Jorge
Lorenzo. This was a significant
improvement for Lorenzo, who
said, "Today we made an impor-
tant step to better understanding
the bike, just like on the final day
at Sepang."
Had he been able to use the
soft tire in the morning, he would
have been able to challenge the
top three, he opined.
Jack Miller (VDS Honda) and
Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) com-
pleted the top 10.
Vinales' teammate Valentino
Rossi was 12th, nine-tenths down
on the Spaniard. Both Yamaha
riders were still wavering between
the "standard" chassis and an
updated version aimed at reduc-
ing tire wear for stronger race
finishes compared with last year.
"The difference is small. We
are not decided yet," said Vina-
les's crew chief Ramon Forcada,
formerly filling the same role for
Lorenzo.
Rossi, in the same position,
told press he was "not very
happy" after slipping down from
second on the first day.
"We have to find something
else at the next test," he contin-
ued.
Rossi named Marquez as a
more realistic rival for the title
than Vinales, citing his sustained
pace in long race-simulation
runs.
Analysis by Crash.net bore
him out. Averaging lap times for
riders who had completed more
than 10-lap runs put Marquez
fastest at 1:29.125, three-tenths
faster than Crutchlow, Vinales,
Iannone and Folger. This com-
pared well with Vinales' best
single-lap of 1:28.549.
Three more days of testing at
Qatar precede the opening of
the MotoGP season at the same
circuit on March 26.
Michael Scott
Marc Marquez—despite not matching Vinales single-lap
pace—showed more consistency at Phillip Island.
Jorge Lorenzo is chipping away, step by step, to get
closer to the front-runners.
