VOL. 55 ISSUE 4 JANUARY 30, 2018 P29
PEDROSA, VINALES TOP OPENING
TWO SEPANG TEST DAYS
R
epsol Honda's Dani Pedrosa
and Movistar Yamaha's
Maverick Vinales have topped
the first two days of testing at
Sepang in Malaysia as the 2018
MotoGP preseason gets under-
way.
Pedrosa shot to the top of the
timesheets on day one, putting
in 56 laps to score a best time
of 1:59.427, 0.343 faster than
2017 championship runner-up
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati) and
0.375 quicker than Jorge Lo-
renzo (Ducati) in third.
Day one proved to be a solid
one for the Ducati factory, with
the satellite Pramac Racing team
of Danilo Petrucci and Jack
Miller completing the top five,
0.696 and 0.751, respectively,
behind Pedrosa.
Day two, however, was all Ya-
maha as Vinales shot to the front
of the timesheets after languish-
ing down in 13th on day one. Vi-
nales topped the session with a
1:59.355 lap ahead of teammate
and nine-time World Champion
Valentino Rossi (1:59.390), with
LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow
third after clocking a 1:59.443
time.
Lorenzo was, once again, in
the top five on a 1:59.498 from
impressive Australian Miller,
who again finished fifth with a
1:59.509 time.
Current World Champion
Marc Marquez has endured a
somewhat quiet start to 2018,
finishing the first and second
days in seventh place, although
he was able to join the 1:59 club
on day two with a 1:59.702.
For the full wrap of day one
click here, and day two click
here. CN
Maverick Vinales' has
found the confidence
with his new 2018
chassis.
