2016 MotoGP Season.

[Tiny]

Well the first of the teams has had their launch to show the bikes, team & sponsors.
I'll try & see if there are any other team launches.

Latest news is Jack Miller broke his leg in a training accident, see end of post.

Yamaha is first off with a YT that is long, however interesting to watch/listen to for the technical side of dealing with the new Michelin control tyres & the control ECU (Engine Control Unit).

The Michelin tyres obviously have different properties from the Bridgestones & therefore impacts on suspension, frame geometry & general base setup. This will effect every rider & team in different ways at the start of the season & should make for some excellent racing.

The ECU according to the Yamaha technician, is not so bad as it has plenty of scope in the parameters, so will be interesting to see how this effects all the other teams or not.

Can't wait for the season to start.

Anyway here is the Yamaha video, I enjoyed it.

It's showing a lock so I wont try to embed it; you have to watch at the link on YT.

or there is a transcript with pics at


From MotoGP.com.

The factory Yamaha team gathered in Barcelona to show off what their 2016 bikes will look like as they aim to repeat their 2015 success.
The factory Yamaha team gathered in Barcelona to show off what their 2016 bikes will look like as they aim to repeat their 2015 success.
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP revealed their 2016 MotoGP™ World Championship machine on Monday in Barcelona. The factory Yamaha team were the first to show off their new bike as the build up to 2016 continues. It is a year of changes for MotoGP™ riders and teams as new technical regulations are introduced, including common software and a change to Michelin tyres.


After an incredible 2015 season where the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team finished a near perfect first and second in the championship, Yamaha’s Lin Jarvis remained adamant that nothing will change and the focus will remain the same: “There’s no reason to put a wall in the garage. One of our strengths is the fact that the team work really well together, the riders are individual competitors against themselves but the team of mechanics and engineers all work really well together. If we put a barrier between them it will be to the deficit of the team, the riders and the engineers. This is a thing of the past and as I said last year, we understand both riders are competing against each other. As Jorge said, if Valentino is his main competitor for the championship then it’s a good thing, it means Yamaha are at the front. That’s our main goal: to beat our competitors.”


The changes in software and tyres present manufacturers in the MotoGP™ World Championship with a big challenge, factories are working tirelessly to prepare the bikes for the first race of the season in Qatar. Yamaha's MotoGP™ group leader, Kouichi Tsuji, was clear on the challenges during the factory team’s launch: “We always develop the bike to win races. Now, we work and develop the bike to make the tyre perform as well as possible. That means the biggest challenge will be the common software and the tyre, how we can setup both together to make the tyre perform as much as possible, that’s a new challenge for us.”


MotoGP™ World Champion Jorge Lorenzo elected to retain his iconic number 99, ready to face the new season and defend his crown. Having completed only a handful of laps with the new tyres and electronics, Lorenzo is cautiously optimistic: “Well I’ve been lucky that in 2008 I had my first year in MotoGP on the Michelin, I don’t remember so much how the feeling was. But I understand the way of riding these tyres is quite different to riding the Bridgestone. You have to anticipate the braking, release the brake a little bit sooner. Theoretically it can be a little bit better for me, but until we practice in more tracks and pass more time we won’t know. We ask Yamaha for the electronics and for Michelin to improve the front tyre a little bit. We ask Yamaha to understand the electronics a little bit more, investigate how to create electronics that are as close as possible to last year’s.”


Meanwhile, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP's Valentino Rossi is still hunting for his tenth title after missing out in the final race of the year in 2015. As the most experienced rider on the MotoGP™ grid, Rossi is well aware of what needs to be done to fight for the world title in 2016: “The Michelin are very different compared to the Bridgestone, especially about setting. Like we saw in the past when we came from Michelin to Bridgestone, we modified the setting of the bike a lot. We need a bit of time to arrive at the right balance and I think during the winter this work will be important to try and understand how to use the Michelin tyre at the best and try to improve the feeling with the front. We need to understand our level with these tyres compared to other manufacturers because last year our bike was very good with the Bridgestone as it was well balanced. Now it will be hard work to make the same with Michelin.”


The team and riders now begin their final preparations for the first test of 2016, held at the Sepang International Circuit on the first of February. Tests will also be held in Philip Island and in Qatar before the season kicks off on the 20th of March under the floodlights.

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Pramac Ducati show off new livery in their launch.

The Ducati satellite team held their launch at Pramac’s headquarters in Italy on Wednesday as they prepare for their 15th season in MotoGP™.
On Wednesday 20th January Pramac celebrated 15 years of competing in the MotoGP™ World Championship. The celebration took place at Pramac’s headquarters in Casole d’Elsa, Siena, where it all began back in 2002. After having experienced Formula One, Pramac turned towards the two-wheeled world and in their first season entrusted Tetsuya Harada with the Honda NSR 500.


The first major success for the team came in 2003 when Makoto Tamada took third place at the Brazilian Grand Prix, and the following season he took Pramac Racing and Bridgestone to the top spot of the podium by winning the Japanese GP.


In 2005, Pramac Racing signed an agreement with Ducati, and in 2007 Alex Barros claimed third place at Mugello.


The hero of the 2008 season was Toni Elias, who took two consecutive podiums, the first at Brno (second place) then at Misano (third place).


Last season, Danilo Petrucci was chosen to replace Andrea Iannone (Pramac’s MotoGP™ ambassador) who was called up to the Factory team after a great year. Petrucci enjoyed a superb season and managed to secure another podium for the Pramac Racing team by finishing second at Silverstone.


During the celebratory event hosted by Sandro Donato Grosso from Sky, the new liveries for Octo Pramac Yakhnich’s two Ducati Desmosedici GP’s were presented. They team achieved positive results at a test in Jerez at the end of 2015 and Danilo Petrucci and Scott Redding form the team line up for the 2016 season.


Several riders took to the Octo Pramac Yakhnich stage after Paolo Campinoti’s opening remarks, which retraced the 15 years of Pramac’s MotoGP™ history. In an entertaining video, some riders also recounted their favourite moments from the team’s history. These included Alex Barros, Toni Elias, Max Biaggi, Loris Capirossi, Andrea Iannone, and surprise guest Carmelo Ezpeleta, who wished Paolo Campinoti and the team good luck in the upcoming 2016 season.


Paolo Campinoti (CEO Pramac and Principal of Pramac Racing Team): “It is a special day for all of us. We are about to start the 15th Pramac Racing MotoGP season and to celebrate we have returned to the place where it all began. In 2002, the presentation of the first team was held here and we are proud to be at Pramac once again to reaffirm, if there was ever a need, the strong bond between our company and the Team. We are coming from a season rich with accomplishments, the highlight being the podium won by Petrux at Silverstone. But Pramac is ambitious. The company is ambitious and the team should be as well. Therefore, we are looking forward to doing even better in 2016 with Danilo and the newest team member, Scott Redding, in whom we have great trust.


Once again, we will also have OCTO by our side, who enthusiastically joined us for the 2015 season and celebrated our fantastic victory at the podium of the OCTO British GP. We would like to welcome Yakhnich, and thank all of our partners who continue to put their trust in us. We consider them friends before sponsors.We are prepared to do our best this upcoming season, a season which I hope – and I am certain – will be exciting thanks to the Desmosedici GP, which Danilo and Scott already feel at home on. Pramac Racing is part of the Ducati family and 2016 marks the 12th consecutive season of this relationship which began in 2005, and which I hope will be stronger and more rewarding.”


Francesco Guidotti (Team Manager Octo Pramac Yakhnich): “This is an evening charged with emotion for me. To celebrate 15 years of Pramac Racing after already experiencing 5 years is a really wonderful feeling. I have lived a third of Pramac Racing history. We are coming from a season filled with accomplishments.Thanks to Danilo, the team reached the podium for the first time since 2008, but our goal is to do even better. The only person who cannot do better is the person who wins. Technical regulations have shuffled the cards, so we are talking about an important breakthrough. We have to work hard for this. But we are starting with great enthusiasm because a great challenge lies ahead of us. How much we can improve is difficult to say. Last year we bet on Danilo and we were right. This year we are betting on Scott and relaunching Danilo. It will be a season with many new opportunities, but we are ready to face new challenges and we can’t wait to get on the racetrack and battle it out.”


Danilo Petrucci: “I am very pleased to be here, and be a part of the Pramac family for the second year in a row. I am especially happy because I have found a close-knit group that has not changed. The great relationship I have with Daniele Romagnoli and all of the guys on the team reinforces the trust between us. I can’t wait to begin because there is so much to do, especially in light of the new regulations. I have a great desire to do better. The tests went very well, especially at Jerez where we made great strides forward compared to Valencia. I would like to thank the sports group Fiamme Oro, and those who have spent these last months with me: my trainer Marco Baglioni and my friends Tommaso and Filippo, with whom spent I spent a great week in Sardegna. This retreat recharged me and gave me strength. And then I would like to thank my family. I am ready to do my best for my fans and supporters. Rest assured, I will give my all!”


Scott Redding: “I am very excited. I got a fantastic feeling riding the bike during the first round of tests at Valencia. I immediately felt comfortable on the Ducati and it was a great sensation. I have to say that when I entered the box and met my new team in Valencia, the atmosphere was very friendly and welcoming. The guys welcomed me and I felt a desire to do my best. I feel that they have high expectations for me, but at the same time they do not put pressure on me. During the tests, my conversations with Giacomo Guidotti and the crew went perfectly, we immediately clicked. And then, as I said, the bike is insane. The weather wasn’t excellent in Valencia, but the main goal was to work. And, in fact, at Jerez we did an amazing job. I would like to thank Pramac and Ducati for choosing me and I can promise all of my fans and fans of the team that I will do everything I can to accomplish great things in 2016.”

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Jack Miller. oops!!

Jack Miller suffered a broken right tibia and fibula while training on Sunday, undergoing an operation in Barcelona on Tuesday.
Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider, Jack Miller, was injured in a training accident at the Bellpuig motocross track on Sunday.


Following a detailed examination and x-rays at the Hospital University Quirón Dexeus in Barcelona, Doctor Xavier Mir confirmed that Miller had sustained fractures to both the tibia and fibula in his right leg in the accident.


The 21-year-old Australian had surgery this morning to stabilise the two fractures with compression plates and screws. Doctor Eugenio Gimeno carried out the procedure and the postoperative x-rays confirmed that the surgery had been successful.


Miller will remain under observation in the Hospital University Quirón Dexeus for the next 48 hours as he recovers from the surgery.


A decision as to whether Miller will participate in the first MotoGP™ test in Malaysia will be taken nearer the time, in conjunction with the rider and his medical team.


Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“Jack was unfortunate to sustain an injury so close to the start of pre-season testing, but riders need to train and there is always some risk when you train on the MX bike. The good news is that the injury is not quite as severe as we first thought and that the surgery was successful. For a normal person the recovery period after such an injury would be long, but racers aren’t normal people and I’m sure Jack is keen to get back on a bike as soon as possible. What is important now is that we monitor his recovery and that he rides again only when he is fit enough to do so, even if that means him missing the first of the MotoGP pre-season tests in Sepang.”

Latest quote from Jack 21/1/16

2016 season happy to be leaving hospital today op went great got some awesome hardware in there now! Focused for the rehab of it to be perfect for Phillip island test thanks everyone for the well wishes

[ol' boy]

Nice one Tiny, i missed this thread being started

Anyway, 3 Days of Testing begins today at Sepang
Live coverage is available on MotoGP website via VideoPass
(now there is a Stream that should be on Kodi)

MotoGP T1 starts at 1pm EST

[LeroyPatrol]

Great to see CS back on the Ducati over the weekend. Going to be an interesting season.

Leroy

[Tiny]

Thanks for reminding me of the tests guys, forgot all about them with the drama's going on here.

Stoner's, best lap time in testing is not too shabby - 2'02.1.

Only ~3 seconds off the Pole lap record of 1'59.053 from last year by Pedrosa.
Only ~1.5 seconds off the fastest race lap & circuit record lap from last year by Lorenzo of 2'00.606


Will be an interesting couple of days.

Ducati test riders Casey Stoner and Michele Pirro were on track ahead of the official MotoGP™ test.
Casey Stoner was back on track with the Ducati Desmosedici GP for the first time since the Valencia GP in 2010. The 2007 and 2011 World Champion completed 54 laps of the Sepang circuit, temperatures reaching about 40°C. The Australia ran on the GP15 as he acquainted himself with the new machine as well as the vastly different Michelin tyres and spec ECU. He reportedly set a best time of 2’02.1 during his last stint of the day. With the change in technical rules and tyre supplier, there are no other times to compare Stoner’s lap to around the Malaysian track.


While much of the attention was on Stoner, Michele Pirro debuted the GP16 with a focus on testing fuel consumption.


Casey Stoner: “It was a great experience today with the Ducati Team. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, but the whole team was fantastic: I was welcomed in the best way and we worked well together. I still need a little more time to return to a competitive level and find the right feeling because I haven’t ridden a MotoGP bike for a year and haven’t been on a race bike for six months. But it was a positive first day, we immediately found a good feeling with the bikes and tyres, quicker than I would have expected. We have many things to try and I still have to get used to the bike, but overall I’m happy. The Desmosedici GP has great potential and I hope to be able to give the right feedback to Gigi and the Ducati engineers to help the two Andreas get some good results this year. I’m happy and a bit surprised with my lap time and I hope to improve it further tomorrow. It was great to be working with Gabriel Conti again together with Marco Palmerini and Gigi Dall’Igna, who have all proven true professionals today.”


Michele Pirro: “Today I only did a few laps because the program was focused on testing electrical components and fuel consumption, once my work was finished the team focused on the debut of Casey. Tomorrow we will do some finishing touches before the three-day official test on Monday. The sensation was good and already on Wednesday we were able to do a good job. I am convinced that we can achieve good results and Iannone and Dovizioso are confident too, despite the track conditions not being optimal.”

source:

[ol' boy]

Day 2 Testing

1. = Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Yakhnich (Desmosedici GP15) 2m 0.095s [Lap 9/46]
2. ˄ Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 2m 0.155s +0.060s [31/32]
3. ˅ Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 2m 0.387s +0.292s [6/32]
4. = Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 2m 0.843s +0.748s [5/52]
5. ˄ Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 2m 0.899s +0.804s [53/55]
6. ˄ Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 2m 1.021s +0.926s [47/54]
7. ˅ Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Yakhnich (Desmosedici GP15) 2m 1.049s +0.954s [3/42]
8. ˅ Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15/16) 2m 1.052s +0.957s [9/39]
9. ˄ Casey Stoner AUS Ducati Test Rider (Desmosedici GP15) 2m 1.103s +1.008s [37/45]
10. ˄ Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 2m 1.107s +1.012s [58/59]
11. ˅ Maverick Viñales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 2m 1.421s +1.326s [4/59]
12. ˅ Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 2m 1.475s +1.380s [4/36]
13. ˅ Yonny Hernandez COL Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP14.2) 2m 1.644s +1.549s [7/41]
14. ˅ Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15/16) 2m 1.723s +1.628s [12/35]
15. ˅ Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 2m 1.992s +1.897s [6/32]
16. ˄ Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 2m 2.092s +1.997s [34/39]
17. ˅ Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)* 2m 2.328s +2.233s [5/54]
18. ˅ Stefan Bradl GER Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 2m 2.372s +2.277s [4/45]
19. ˅ Loris Baz FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 2m 2.611s +2.516s [12/26]
20. ˅ Katsuyuki Nakasuga JPN Yamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1) 2m 2.691s +2.596s [35/43]
21. = Alvaro Bautista ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 2m 2.876s +2.781s [4/52]

But what about Loris Baz crashing at 290k's, being spat over the bars at the end of the main straight.
Only suffered a bruised elbow.

[Tiny]

Those times are interesting, however they were set by mixed tyre availability as the soft tyre was withdrawn after Baz had his fall.

A fast fall for Loris Baz halted action and forced the soft tyre to be withdrawn, as Danilo Petrucci tops the timesheets.The second day of the Sepang test got off to a steady start as riders slowly made their way out onto the Malaysian circuit after a day of reacquainting themselves with their machines. A flurry of fast laps soon came with Danilo Petrucci setting a 2’00.095 to lead early in the day and go over half a second faster than Jorge Lorenzo’s best time from Monday. This time would go unbeaten.


This early time attack was halted as Loris Baz suffered a heavy fall on his Avintia Racing Ducati, the Frenchman falling down the main straight at 290 kilometres per hour. The cause of the crash is still unclear, but Baz reportedly heard a sound come from his bike in the final corner before the fall, the rear of his GP14.2 destroyed. Michelin and the safety committee at the track held the red flag for over an hour as an extensive assessment was made to make sure no other riders would be at risk of a similar fall. As a safety precaution the soft tyre was withdrawn for the remainder of the test. Baz was able to return to the track after his fall, but unable to better his time and ended 19th.


With riders searching for a fast time there were unfortunately several falls. Pol Espargaro, who set a 2’01.992 to end the day 15th, fell twice at Turn 5, frustrated but unhurt. Jorge Lorenzo also suffered a fast fall at Turn 5 midway through the day, his Movistar Yamaha MotoGP machine suffering extensive damage on the left hand side. Fortunately the Spaniard escaped injury. Tito Rabat, the only rookie in the MotoGP™ World Championship in 2016, suffered a harmless low side at Turn 15. Rabat improved from a 2’03.463 on Monday to a 2’02.328 as action came to a close, good enough for 17th.


Dani Pedrosa joined Espargaro and Jorge Lorenzo in falling at Turn five, Pedrosa again walking away unhurt. It was a lacklustre 12th on Tuesday for Pedrosa, although he did improve on his Monday time. Several of the falls occurred in the closing hour of the session as riders pushed for a fast final lap. Despite his fall Lorenzo was able to set a 2’00.155 in the closing thirty minutes of the session, improving his Monday time and ending just 0.060s slower than Petrucci.


Rounding out the top three was Hector Barbera, the Avintia Ducati rider making perfect use of the soft tyres before his teammate’s fall. There were also major improvements for Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez, able to get within 0.750s of Petrucci’s best. It was another Honda rider who rounded out the top five, Cal Crutchlow setting a 2’00.899 towards the end of the day on the harder option.


Movistar Yamaha MotoGP’s Valentino Rossi achieved his goal of getting within a second of teammate Lorenzo, ending the day in sixth. Just behind the Italian was Scott Redding; with Petrucci leading the day the satellite Ducati outfit can certainly be satisfied with their initial pace.


Andrea Iannone was the leading factory Ducati machine, spending the entire day on the GP16 bike and achieving a best time of 2’01.052. Aside from the developing situation with the tyres and Baz, much of the attention was on Casey Stoner who was out on track with the rest of the MotoGP™ World Championship grid for the first time since 2012. The 2007 and 2011 World Champion set a credible 2’01.103 to end ninth and ahead of Andrea Dovizioso, who was 14th.


A late charge from Bradley Smith saw the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 man pull himself into tenth, 0.314s clear of Maverick Viñales. The pair completed 59 laps each on Tuesday. Meanwhile Viñales’ Team Suzuki Ecstar teammate, Aleix Espargaro, was 16th and over half a second off the pace of the 2015 MotoGP™ Rookie of the Year.


Towards the end of the day there was a small crash for Yonny Hernandez, the Colombian walking away unharmed and ending 13th. His teammate, Eugene Laverty, fell heavily on Monday and although initial reports suggested a broken right hand, it was later revealed to be a heavy sprain. Although he didn’t take to the track on Tuesday, Laverty is hopefully of testing his fitness on Wednesday.


Both Stefan Bradl and Alvaro Bautista were able to improve their Monday times, Bradl ending as the top Aprilia rider with a 2’02.372 which saw him finish 18th. Bautista ended 21st.




The final day of testing in Sepang gets underway Wednesday at 10am Local Time. motogp.com will once again have coverage and analysis throughout the day.


Full results and times can be found .

[Tiny]

Well the final day results are up. Very interesting & from reading lots of rider comments, almost everyone appears happy or at least satisfied except perhaps Marquez & Dovisioso.

Stoner was very happy about being on the pace on the old bike.

Jorge Lorenzo backed up his 2015 MotoGP™ World Championship by dominating the first test of 2016.
A damp track early on Wednesday morning delayed track action for over two hours on the final day of the Sepang test. It was Yamaha test rider Katsuyki Nakasuga who was the first out on track, testing conditions for the rest of the field. Slowly more and more riders joined the action and with just over five hours of testing remaining the majority of the field were on track. Andrea Iannone was an early leader as the conditions continued to improve. The Italian suffered a small fall and was unhurt.


The first benchmark lap came from Jorge Lorenzo, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP rider one of the last to join the action on track but setting a 2’00.882 on just his fourth lap. With five hours to go Lorenzo led from Casey Stoner, the Australian impressing many as he continued to test the GP15 for Ducati.


As Jorge Lorenzo improved his time to a 2’00.016, Valentino Rossi also improved to a 2’00.556 to make it a Movistar Yamaha one two, the pair split by 0.540s. Third was Marc Marquez, just over a second slower than Lorenzo.


During this period of dry conditions there were falls for Yonny Hernandez at Turn 1 and an off for Tito Rabat at Turn 5, his Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS machine suffering damage but the rookie walking away unhurt. After a an stellar Tuesday, Wednesday proved to be more difficult for Octo Pramac Yakhnich’s Danilo Petrucci as the Italian suffered an engine freeze when shifting from fourth to first at T9. This forced his team to change the engine, a process taking two hours.


With over three and a half hours of testing remaining rain started to fall yet again, quickly sending riders into the pits. The rain would eventually lift and the final hour saw a flurry of activity as riders pushed for one last quick lap. It was Jorge Lorenzo who topped the Sepang test with an incredible 1’59.580 set on a hard rear and new Michelin front, the factory Yamaha rider dipping under the 2’00 barrier with two laps in the 1’59s. This was not only the fastest lap of the day but of the test as a whole, over half a second clear of anyone else.


Second on combined times was Petrucci, with his 2’00.095 set on the soft tyre on Tuesday. Avintia Ducati’s Hector Barbera was another to benefit from an early soft tyre run on Tuesday, ending the three-day event in third and just over 0.8s off Lorenzo’s time. As with Lorenzo, Rossi’s best time came on the hard tyre on Wednesday as the Italian cemented the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP team well inside the top five on combined times and ended 0.976s back on his teammate. Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez completed the combined top five, his 2’00.843 the fastest lap by a Honda rider.


Interestingly, all of Lorenzo’s best times from each of the three days would have placed him inside the combined top five.


Sixth overall was LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow thanks to his 2’00.899. It was the Ducati of Scott Redding who ended the test seventh overall, his fastest time coming on Tuesday, although the Brit showed solid pace in the closing half hour of Wednesday. Andrea Iannone was only 0.003s behind the satellite rider and was the leading factory Ducat, his best time coming on the new 2016 Ducati. Meanwhile Casey Stoner made it three Ducatis in a row as the Australian set a 2’01.070 on the final day and ended ninth.


With over 150 laps across the three days of testing, Bradley Smith leaves satisfied and inside the top ten, 1.5 seconds behind Lorenzo’s lap and ahead of Dani Pedrosa, the Repsol Honda rider having a mixed test overall. Maverick Viñales led the Suzuki pair in 12th with Aleix Espargaro just behind. Team Suzuki Ecstar are planning to debut their fully seamless gearbox in Australia with their test team before the Spanish duo get their hands on it in Qatar.


Yonny Hernandez impressed in 14th, ahead of Andrea Dovizioso who set a best time of 2’01.675. Pol Espargaro had suffered two crashes on Tuesday at Turn 5 but was able to improve his time on the final day, placing him 16th overall as the flag came out. MotoGP™ rookie, Tito Rabat, ended his second official MotoGP™ test in 17th and within three seconds of the top. Despite not having access to a new bike or new parts, Stefan Bradl managed a respectable 18th.


After falling at 290km/h on Tuesday, Loris Baz improved his time on Wednesday to end the test inside the top 20 and ahead of Yamaha test rider Katsuyuki Nakasuga. Alvaro Bautista was 21st with a 2’02.876 as he prepares to debut the new Aprilia during a private outing in Qatar. Eugene Laverty was also back on track on Wednesday, missing Tuesday due to a heavily sprained right wrist suffered in a Monday crash and ending just behind Michele Pirro.


The MotoGP™ World Championship return to action on the 17th of February in Phillip Island.

MotoGP Sepang Test 2016

Session 3 as of 03/02/2016

Pos		Rider	Team	Fastest lap	Lead. Gap	Prev. Gap	Laps	Last lap
1		LORENZO, Jorge	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	1:59.580			34 / 36
2		ROSSI, Valentino	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	2:00.556	0.976	0.976	13 / 38
3		MARQUEZ, Marc	Repsol Honda Team	2:00.883	1.303	0.327	44 / 45
4		CRUTCHLOW, Cal	LCR Honda	2:00.992	1.412	0.109	40 / 42
5		STONER, Casey	Ducati Team	2:01.070	1.490	0.078	30 / 30
6		PEDROSA, Dani	Repsol Honda Team	2:01.161	1.581	0.091	35 / 48
7		PETRUCCI, Danilo	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	2:01.217	1.637	0.056	15 / 18
8		IANNONE, Andrea	Ducati Team	2:01.223	1.643	0.006	17 / 38
9		REDDING, Scott	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	2:01.229	1.649	0.006	40 / 42
10		VIÑALES, Maverick	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	2:01.244	1.664	0.015	49 / 51
11		BARBERA, Hector	Avintia Racing	2:01.434	1.854	0.190	11 / 30
12		ESPARGARO, Aleix	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	2:01.623	2.043	0.189	7 / 44
13		DOVIZIOSO, Andrea	Ducati Team	2:01.675	2.095	0.052	18 / 34
14		HERNANDEZ, Yonny	Aspar MotoGP Team	2:01.774	2.194	0.099	20 / 40
15		ESPARGARO, Pol	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	2:01.870	2.290	0.096	26 / 44
16		SMITH, Bradley	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	2:01.918	2.338	0.048	49 / 65
17		BAZ, Loris	Avintia Racing	2:02.541	2.961	0.623	14 / 33
18		BRADL, Stefan	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	2:02.792	3.212	0.251	8 / 44
19		NAKASUGA, Katsuyuki	Yamaha Test Team	2:02.940	3.360	0.148	10 / 27
20		RABAT, Tito	EG 0.0 Marc VDS	2:03.012	3.432	0.072	49 / 57
21		BAUTISTA, Alvaro	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	2:03.183	3.603	0.171	16 / 46
22		LAVERTY, Eugene	Aspar MotoGP Team	2:03.519	3.939	0.336	16 / 25

Session 2 - 02/02/2016

Pos		Rider	Team	Fastest lap	Lead. Gap	Prev. Gap	Laps	Last lap
1		PETRUCCI, Danilo	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	2:00.095			9 / 46
2		LORENZO, Jorge	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	2:00.155	0.060	0.060	31 / 32
3		BARBERA, Hector	Avintia Racing	2:00.387	0.292	0.232	6 / 32
4		MARQUEZ, Marc	Repsol Honda Team	2:00.843	0.748	0.456	5 / 52
5		CRUTCHLOW, Cal	LCR Honda	2:00.899	0.804	0.056	53 / 55
6		ROSSI, Valentino	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	2:01.021	0.926	0.122	47 / 54
7		REDDING, Scott	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	2:01.049	0.954	0.028	3 / 42
8		IANNONE, Andrea	Ducati Team	2:01.052	0.957	0.003	9 / 39
9		STONER, Casey	Ducati Team	2:01.103	1.008	0.051	37 / 45
10		SMITH, Bradley	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	2:01.107	1.012	0.004	58 / 59
11		VIÑALES, Maverick	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	2:01.421	1.326	0.314	4 / 59
12		PEDROSA, Dani	Repsol Honda Team	2:01.475	1.380	0.054	4 / 36
13		HERNANDEZ, Yonny	Aspar MotoGP Team	2:01.644	1.549	0.169	7 / 41
14		DOVIZIOSO, Andrea	Ducati Team	2:01.723	1.628	0.079	12 / 35
15		ESPARGARO, Pol	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	2:01.992	1.897	0.269	6 / 32
16		ESPARGARO, Aleix	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	2:02.092	1.997	0.100	34 / 39
17		RABAT, Tito	EG 0.0 Marc VDS	2:02.328	2.233	0.236	5 / 54
18		BRADL, Stefan	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	2:02.372	2.277	0.044	4 / 45
19		BAZ, Loris	Avintia Racing	2:02.611	2.516	0.239	12 / 26
20		NAKASUGA, Katsuyuki	Yamaha Test Team	2:02.691	2.596	0.080	35 / 43
21		BAUTISTA, Alvaro	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	2:02.876	2.781	0.185	4 / 52

Session 1 - 01/02/2016

Pos		Rider	Team	Fastest lap	Lead. Gap	Prev. Gap	Laps	Last lap
1		LORENZO, Jorge	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	2:00.684			32 / 37
2		ROSSI, Valentino	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	2:01.717	1.033	1.033	52 / 55
3		PEDROSA, Dani	Repsol Honda Team	2:01.780	1.096	0.063	23 / 34
4		PETRUCCI, Danilo	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	2:01.811	1.127	0.031	29 / 43
5		IANNONE, Andrea	Ducati Team	2:01.912	1.228	0.101	33 / 49
6		BARBERA, Hector	Avintia Racing	2:02.002	1.318	0.090	54 / 59
7		MARQUEZ, Marc	Repsol Honda Team	2:02.278	1.594	0.276	32 / 50
8		REDDING, Scott	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	2:02.338	1.654	0.060	30 / 46
9		ESPARGARO, Aleix	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	2:02.539	1.855	0.201	22 / 42
10		CRUTCHLOW, Cal	LCR Honda	2:02.586	1.902	0.047	36 / 42
11		VIÑALES, Maverick	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	2:02.645	1.961	0.059	39 / 40
12		ESPARGARO, Pol	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	2:02.646	1.962	0.001	27 / 42
13		DOVIZIOSO, Andrea	Ducati Team	2:02.650	1.966	0.004	31 / 40
14		HERNANDEZ, Yonny	Aspar MotoGP Team	2:02.916	2.232	0.266	14 / 44
15		SMITH, Bradley	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	2:03.026	2.342	0.110	54 / 55
16		PIRRO, Michele	Ducati Team	2:03.203	2.519	0.177	26 / 32
17		BAZ, Loris	Avintia Racing	2:03.204	2.520	0.001	57 / 58
18		RABAT, Tito	EG 0.0 Marc VDS	2:03.463	2.779	0.259	26 / 53
19		LAVERTY, Eugene	Aspar MotoGP Team	2:03.565	2.881	0.102	20 / 27
20		BRADL, Stefan	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	2:03.978	3.294	0.413	12 / 39
21		BAUTISTA, Alvaro	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	2:04.075	3.391	0.097	33 / 34

[ol' boy]

Well, a big congratulations for Stoner, i'll take my hat off for that.
Out of the game for ages now, on an older bike and he rips off times like those!
That is what Naturally Gifted looks like.

To think he has been off fishing, over in the States having a White Christmas, playing at the snowfields and he flys to Sepang and is faster than our current Aussie MotoGP hopeful Jack Miller and most of the international MotoGP field.
Its a shame they don't give Wild Card entries to retired MotoGP races, cos he would be worth seeing at Philip Island again.
Then again, it was at Sepang Stoner was noticed by Honda and they wanted to sign him up.

Also interesting where Dani Pedrosa is positioned, as he loves Sepang, he can do some seriously fast lap times there.
I'd have thought Tito Rabit would have been a little further up too.

[Tiny]

Miller wasn't riding; still recovering from broken leg, expected to be at Philip Island test.

Pedrosa seems happy with how things went & says the results don't show the potential he feels.

The Sepang Test ends with Dani Pedrosa down in 11th, but he’s adamant there’s more to come.
A rain hit third day of the Sepang test saw teams and riders make the most of the time they had on track, the Sepang circuit damp in the morning and suffering a mid-session shower. Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa was able to get in several laps between the damp spells, able to return to the track from 4:30 Local Time till the test ended. Over the three days Pedrosa was able to run through a variety of parts and settings with particular focus on the new ‘evo’ engine and electronics, Honda aiming to improve an overly aggressive engine. Pedrosa’s best time of the day, and the test as a whole, was a 2’01.161, putting him sixth. Overall this time put Pedrosa in 11th.


Dani Pedrosa: “It's been a hard test, because we had to do a lot of work and maybe this isn't reflected in the results; they don't show the potential that is there. At the end of the day we went out on track with the best combination we have found, we tried out some tyres and we were able to improve our times a little. The good point is that, step by step, we are growing and are doing our best to be ready for the first race.”

Interesting looking at the combined fastest times from the test.

[LeroyPatrol]

Well, a big congratulations for Stoner, i'll take my hat off for that.
Out of the game for ages now, on an older bike and he rips off times like those!
That is what Naturally Gifted looks like.

To think he has been off fishing, over in the States having a White Christmas, playing at the snowfields and he flys to Sepang and is faster than our current Aussie MotoGP hopeful Jack Miller and most of the international MotoGP field.
Its a shame they don't give Wild Card entries to retired MotoGP races, cos he would be worth seeing at Philip Island again.
Then again, it was at Sepang Stoner was noticed by Honda and they wanted to sign him up.

Also interesting where Dani Pedrosa is positioned, as he loves Sepang, he can do some seriously fast lap times there.
I'd have thought Tito Rabit would have been a little further up too.

Stoner is in a different league to Miller.

What's great to see is CS whipping his team mates asses on last years ride lol. Apparently Ducati left him out there to show the other teams what is possible and to also show up his team mates to make them work harder lol

[ol' boy]

Miller wasn't riding; still recovering from broken leg, expected to be at Philip Island test.

Yes, knew that, point was, he was never going to be that far up the time sheets

[ol' boy]

Here some footage from Sepang 2016 Testing, Day 1
(Day 2 and Day 3 are linked from first video)

[ol' boy]

2016 MotoGP Calendar

Round / Date / Grand Prix Venue

1 20/03 Qatar* Losail International Circuit
2 03/04 Argentina Termas de Río Hondo
3 10/04 Americas Circuit Of The Americas
4 24/04 Spain Circuito de Jerez
5 08/05 France Le Mans
6 22/05 Italy Autodromo del Mugello
7 05/06 Catalunya Barcelona-Catalunya
8 26/06 Netherlands TT Circuit Assen
9 17/07 Germany Sachsenring
10 14/08 Austria Red Bull Ring - Spielberg
11 21/08 Czech Republic Automotodrom Brno
12 04/09 Great Britain Silverstone Circuit
13 11/09 San Marino e della Riviera di Rimini Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
14 25/09 Aragon MotorLand Aragon
15 16/10 Japan Twin Ring Motegi
16 23/10 Australia Phillip Island
17 30/10 Malaysia Sepang International Circuit
18 13/11 Valencia Comunitat Valenciana - Ricardo Tormo
* Evening race

Tags:
MotoGP, 2016

[ol' boy]

How is the Telemetry from Loris Baz's 290k crash in pratcice
Near 30g's of impact. Shows how good their suits are.

[ol' boy]

Day 2 Testing 2016 Philip Island

1. ˄ Maverick Viñales ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 29.131s [Lap 63/64]
2. ˄ Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 29.292s +0.161s [78/79]
3. ˅ Jorge Lorenzo ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 29.357s +0.226s [65/80]
4. ˅ Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 29.404s +0.273s [52/71]
5. ˄ Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 29.671s +0.540s [57/61]
6. ˅ Hector Barbera ESP Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 1m 29.854s +0.723s [35/54]
7. ˅ Andrea Iannone ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15/16) 1m 29.857s +0.726s [69/76]
8. ˅ Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 29.917s +0.786s [38/55]
9. = Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Yakhnich (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 29.941s +0.810s [59/60]
10. ˄ Bradley Smith GBR Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 1m 29.992s +0.861s [75/75]
11. ˄ Loris Baz FRA Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP14.2) 1m 30.134s +1.003s [53/54]
12. ˅ Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP15/16) 1m 30.142s +1.011s [73/88]
13. ˅ Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 1m 30.154s +1.023s [63/65]
14. ˄ Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Yakhnich (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 30.156s +1.025s [61/63]
15. ˅ Aleix Espargaro ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 30.385s +1.254s [39/53]
16. ˅ Yonny Hernandez COL Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP14.2) 1m 30.509s +1.378s [41/56]
17. = Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 30.514s +1.383s [57/58]
18. ˅ Eugene Laverty IRL Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP14.2) 1m 30.617s +1.486s [46/52]
19. = Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)* 1m 30.650s +1.519s [81/81]
20. = Takuya Tsuda JPN Suzuki Test Rider (GSX-RR) 1m 32.599s +3.468s [45/48]

Testing concludes at the end of today

[Tiny]

MotoGP Phillip Island Test 2016

Session 3 as of 19/02/2016

Pos		Rider	Team	Fastest lap	Lead. Gap	Prev. Gap	Laps	Last lap
1		MARQUEZ, Marc	Repsol Honda Team	1:29.158			48 / 64
2		VIÑALES, Maverick	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	1:29.299	0.141	0.141	11 / 39
3		CRUTCHLOW, Cal	LCR Honda	1:29.348	0.190	0.049	58 / 58
4		BARBERA, Hector	Avintia Racing	1:29.361	0.203	0.013	57 / 65
5		ROSSI, Valentino	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	1:29.435	0.277	0.074	43 / 56
6		BAZ, Loris	Avintia Racing	1:29.583	0.425	0.148	11 / 54
7		PEDROSA, Dani	Repsol Honda Team	1:29.606	0.448	0.023	37 / 42
8		ESPARGARO, Pol	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1:29.718	0.560	0.112	43 / 44
9		LORENZO, Jorge	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	1:29.760	0.602	0.042	16 / 41
10		DOVIZIOSO, Andrea	Ducati Team	1:29.860	0.702	0.100	49 / 65
11		REDDING, Scott	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	1:29.922	0.764	0.062	57 / 61
12		IANNONE, Andrea	Ducati Team	1:29.932	0.774	0.010	39 / 53
13		PETRUCCI, Danilo	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	1:29.995	0.837	0.063	53 / 57
14		MILLER, Jack	EG 0.0 Marc VDS	1:30.023	0.865	0.028	37 / 37
15		RABAT, Tito	EG 0.0 Marc VDS	1:30.119	0.961	0.096	56 / 56
16		SMITH, Bradley	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1:30.188	1.030	0.069	43 / 45
17		ESPARGARO, Aleix	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	1:30.198	1.040	0.010	34 / 38
18		HERNANDEZ, Yonny	Aspar MotoGP Team	1:30.492	1.334	0.294	48 / 54
19		LAVERTY, Eugene	Aspar MotoGP Team	1:31.055	1.897	0.563	25 / 45
20		TSUDA, Takuya	Suzuki Test Team	1:33.532	4.374	2.477	32 / 46

[Tiny]

Combined times of 3 days, hmmm, very interesting.

The Phillip Island Test comes to a close with Marquez topping Friday times but Viñales holding the top spot.

The final morning of testing at Phillip Island got off to the best start of the three-day test with clear conditions allowing riders to immediately get out on track. Although clouds loomed in the distance, the top seven riders were able to get below the 1’30 barrier within just a handful of laps. Loris Baz saw one of the biggest improvements, the Avintia Racing rider’s early time already half a second faster than his best from Thursday.
As riders pushed harder and harder to improve their times a number of falls occurred. Tito Rabat was the first, the MotoGP™ rookie falling at the incredibly fast Turn 1 before being taken to the medical centre for checks on his left wrist. No injuries were reported for Rabat, but in the meantime his Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS teammate, Jack Miller, suffered a fall at Turn 6 with Thursday leader, Maverick Viñales unfortunately following soon after. Both were unharmed, but Viñales’ Team Suzuki Ecstar GSX-RR sustained heavy damage. There was also a fall at Turn 2 from Pol Espargaro, the Spaniard was unharmed and was the fourth fall in the first two hours of the day.
Difficulties continued for the Suzuki team as Aleix Espargaro also fell at Turn 6 and although he was unharmed, rain soon set in on the circuit and limited his track time again. The weather caused a delay of over two hours to proceedings with Scott Redding the first rider to head out as the track began to dry, the Brit returning to the pits immediately. With just a few hours of the final day of testing in Australia remaining, the circuit was suitable for action once more.
Yet more falls followed as Tito Rabat had his second crash of the day, this time at Turn 4. Again he was uninjured. Aleix Espargaro also had a second crash at Turn 4, with Bradley Smith sliding off at the tight corner and reporting some discomfort in his shoulder after. Turn 4 continued to claim victims throughout the afternoon with LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow coming off.
Late in the day there was a brief red flag as Danilo Petrucci crashed at Turn 8, the Italian heading to the medical centre with right wrist pain. The Italian was later diagnosed with multiple fractures in his right hand. Fellow Ducati rider Eugene Laverty crashed with 45 minutes remaining, the Aspar MotoGP Team man avoiding any serious injuries having only just returned to full fitness after his Sepang crash.
With just over half an hour remaining, Jorge Lorenzo suffered a fall at Turn 10, suffering no major injuries and walking back to the pits. Marc Marquez also suffered a fall without consequence in the final minutes of the test.
Leading the timesheets on Friday was Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez who was 0.141s clear of overall leader Maverick Viñales. A late charge put Cal Crutchlow third in the dying minutes of the test. One of the most impressive results of the day came from Hector Barbera in fourth with a 1’29.361s, he and his teammate Baz, in sixth, were split by Valentino Rossi. In seventh, Dani Pedrosa made steady improvements throughout the day to end ahead of Pol Espargaro and Jorge Lorenzo, Andrea Dovizioso rounded out the top ten on Friday and was 0.702s back on Marquez’s best time.
Thanks to his stunning 1’29.131 on Thursday, Maverick Viñales leaves the test as the overall fastest rider ahead of Marc Marquez. With less than 18 minutes to go on the final day, LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow set the third fastest time of the test.

Despite a difficult third day, Lorenzo leaves Australia as the fourth fastest rider just 0.004s ahead of Hector Barbera who proved that the GP14.2 is still competitive despite being several generations behind the factory bikes. Rossi’ s 1’29.404 from Thursday sees him end the test in sixth, continuing the strong form the factory Yamaha team have shown in recent tests.
The second fastest Ducati at the end of the Phillip Island test was Loris Baz on the Avintia Ducati, a new seat unit allowing him to get comfortable on the bike and end the test seventh overall. Dani Pedrosa ends the three days with a best time of 1’29.606, 0.023s back on Baz .
Rounding out the top ten on combined times, Pol Espargaro and Andrea Iannone both completed significant distance on their machines over the three days. Iannone was closely followed by Ducati Team teammate Andrea Dovizioso with Octo Pramac Yakhnich’s Scott Redding just behind.

Fellow Brit Bradley Smith leaves Phillip Island in 13th ahead of Wednesday’s leader Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller, the Australian rounding out the top fifteen on his return from injury. Tito Rabat ends the test in 16th but within a second of the fastest time while Aleix Espargaro finished a disappointing 17th ahead of Aspar MotoGP Team duo Yonny Hernandez and Eugene Laverty. Takuya Tsuda rounded out the top 20.
MotoGP™ riders and teams will be back on track on the second of March for their final pre-season test in Qatar.

[ol' boy]

Look like they got the Honda's electric's sorted out.
And wow!!!! Maverick Vinales!

[Tiny]

Testing, Testing, 1,2,3.

Qatar testing results;
Yamaha, Ducati & Suzuki looking strong.
Honda not looking right up there yet, however not too bad.
Pedrosa struggling; I wonder if he is hiding an injury.
Team Aprilia seem to be running with the open bikes Thought they would do better this year.

MotoGP Qatar Test 2016

Session 3 as of 04/03/2016

Pos		Rider	Team	Fastest lap	Lead. Gap	Prev. Gap	Laps	Last lap
1		LORENZO, Jorge	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	1:54.810			11 / 51
2		REDDING, Scott	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	1:55.326	0.516	0.516	43 / 55
3		VIÑALES, Maverick	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	1:55.333	0.523	0.007	29 / 48
4		MARQUEZ, Marc	Repsol Honda Team	1:55.402	0.592	0.069	52 / 52
5		ROSSI, Valentino	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	1:55.429	0.619	0.027	36 / 55
6		IANNONE, Andrea	Ducati Team	1:55.535	0.725	0.106	5 / 52
7		CRUTCHLOW, Cal	LCR Honda	1:55.592	0.782	0.057	37 / 46
8		DOVIZIOSO, Andrea	Ducati Team	1:55.700	0.890	0.108	47 / 47
9		BARBERA, Hector	Avintia Racing	1:55.733	0.923	0.033	8 / 23
10		ESPARGARO, Pol	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1:55.882	1.072	0.149	35 / 40
11		HERNANDEZ, Yonny	Aspar MotoGP Team	1:55.894	1.084	0.012	17 / 18
12		SMITH, Bradley	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1:55.966	1.156	0.072	39 / 62
13		BAZ, Loris	Avintia Racing	1:56.057	1.247	0.091	20 / 27
14		PEDROSA, Dani	Repsol Honda Team	1:56.142	1.332	0.085	27 / 30
15		ESPARGARO, Aleix	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	1:56.419	1.609	0.277	28 / 32
16		PIRRO, Michele	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	1:56.591	1.781	0.172	30 / 63
17		RABAT, Tito	EG 0.0 Marc VDS	1:57.027	2.217	0.436	7 / 29
18		BAUTISTA, Alvaro	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	1:57.043	2.233	0.016	50 / 52
19		MILLER, Jack	EG 0.0 Marc VDS	1:57.046	2.236	0.003	31 / 40
20		LAVERTY, Eugene	Aspar MotoGP Team	1:57.146	2.336	0.100	35 / 51
21		BRADL, Stefan	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	1:57.340	2.530	0.194	41 / 61
22		TSUDA, Takuya	Suzuki Test Team	2:00.291	5.481	2.951	18 / 20

Session 2 - 03/03/2016

Pos		Rider	Team	Fastest lap	Lead. Gap	Prev. Gap	Laps	Last lap
1		VIÑALES, Maverick	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	1:55.436			28 / 42
2		IANNONE, Andrea	Ducati Team	1:55.508	0.072	0.072	25 / 41
3		LORENZO, Jorge	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	1:55.535	0.099	0.027	14 / 48
4		REDDING, Scott	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	1:55.677	0.241	0.142	32 / 43
5		BARBERA, Hector	Avintia Racing	1:55.815	0.379	0.138	20 / 35
6		DOVIZIOSO, Andrea	Ducati Team	1:55.856	0.420	0.041	40 / 46
7		PEDROSA, Dani	Repsol Honda Team	1:55.857	0.421	0.001	42 / 42
8		ROSSI, Valentino	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	1:55.947	0.511	0.090	24 / 56
9		MARQUEZ, Marc	Repsol Honda Team	1:56.046	0.610	0.099	4 / 42
10		ESPARGARO, Aleix	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	1:56.126	0.690	0.080	20 / 32
11		ESPARGARO, Pol	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1:56.173	0.737	0.047	16 / 30
12		BAZ, Loris	Avintia Racing	1:56.427	0.991	0.254	27 / 45
13		CRUTCHLOW, Cal	LCR Honda	1:56.584	1.148	0.157	48 / 50
14		HERNANDEZ, Yonny	Aspar MotoGP Team	1:56.667	1.231	0.083	13 / 38
15		RABAT, Tito	EG 0.0 Marc VDS	1:57.263	1.827	0.596	29 / 49
16		SMITH, Bradley	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1:57.267	1.831	0.004	7 / 14
17		LAVERTY, Eugene	Aspar MotoGP Team	1:57.670	2.234	0.403	25 / 41
18		BAUTISTA, Alvaro	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	1:57.721	2.285	0.051	28 / 36
19		MILLER, Jack	EG 0.0 Marc VDS	1:57.789	2.353	0.068	4 / 20
20		PIRRO, Michele	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	1:58.113	2.677	0.324	16 / 21
21		AOYAMA, Hiroshi	HRC Test Team	1:58.347	2.911	0.234	60 / 62
22		BRADL, Stefan	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	1:58.418	2.982	0.071	8 / 16

Session 1 - 02/03/2016

Pos		Rider	Team	Fastest lap	Lead. Gap	Prev. Gap	Laps	Last lap
1		LORENZO, Jorge	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	1:55.452			23 / 36
2		VIÑALES, Maverick	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	1:55.880	0.428	0.428	28 / 44
3		ROSSI, Valentino	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	1:55.894	0.442	0.014	31 / 33
4		IANNONE, Andrea	Ducati Team	1:56.119	0.667	0.225	53 / 53
5		REDDING, Scott	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	1:56.213	0.761	0.094	27 / 46
6		BARBERA, Hector	Avintia Racing	1:56.320	0.868	0.107	27 / 27
7		DOVIZIOSO, Andrea	Ducati Team	1:56.388	0.936	0.068	46 / 52
8		CRUTCHLOW, Cal	LCR Honda	1:56.510	1.058	0.122	21 / 36
9		SMITH, Bradley	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1:56.517	1.065	0.007	23 / 38
10		MARQUEZ, Marc	Repsol Honda Team	1:56.523	1.071	0.006	29 / 45
11		ESPARGARO, Aleix	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	1:56.552	1.100	0.029	25 / 35
12		ESPARGARO, Pol	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	1:56.747	1.295	0.195	34 / 43
13		PEDROSA, Dani	Repsol Honda Team	1:56.910	1.458	0.163	26 / 27
14		HERNANDEZ, Yonny	Aspar MotoGP Team	1:57.021	1.569	0.111	39 / 40
15		BAZ, Loris	Avintia Racing	1:57.121	1.669	0.100	31 / 32
16		MILLER, Jack	EG 0.0 Marc VDS	1:57.850	2.398	0.729	33 / 37
17		PIRRO, Michele	Octo Pramac Yakhnich	1:57.891	2.439	0.041	48 / 50
18		RABAT, Tito	EG 0.0 Marc VDS	1:58.016	2.564	0.125	36 / 38
19		BRADL, Stefan	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	1:58.066	2.614	0.050	14 / 26
20		LAVERTY, Eugene	Aspar MotoGP Team	1:58.269	2.817	0.203	32 / 34
21		AOYAMA, Hiroshi	HRC Test Team	1:58.744	3.292	0.475	28 / 52
22		BAUTISTA, Alvaro	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	1:58.753	3.301	0.009	16 / 16
23		TSUDA, Takuya	Suzuki Test Team	2:00.578	5.126	1.825	35 / 45

Oh no!! They're breeding, more bikes joining the winglet brigade.

[Tiny]

Yippee!! Qatar this weekend, don't forget live times are all in the early AM.

» MotoGP Qatar: Rossi: No risk of Senna/Prost rivalry with Marquez


16 March 2016
'I think nothing particularly special will happen and on track I think everything will be the same. Everybody will try to give the maximum to try to be in front without something more 'special'' - Valentino Rossi.

Valentino Rossi has ruled out the possibility of developing a rivalry with Marc Marquez similar to the fierce on-track opposition that developed between ex-Formula 1 greats Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna.

Rossi and Marquez famously clashed last season during the Malaysian Grand Prix, which left the Repsol Honda rider sprawled on the ground and saw Rossi hit with a last place grid start for the final race at Valencia, effectively ending his chances of winning the world crowd.

A war of words erupted between the pair in the aftermath but as they came face to face in the same room for the first time on Wednesday at the official press conference for this weekend's Qatar MotoGP, Rossi said 'nothing particularly special' would happen this season as a result of their bitter fall-out.

The 37-year-old Italian said: First of all I'm happy to hear my name close to Agostini/Hailwood and Senna/Prost – it is something extra for motorsport, but I think nothing particularly special will happen and on track I think everything will be the same.

“Everybody will try to give the maximum to try to be in front without something more 'special'.”

Reflecting on the massive interest in the final MotoGP World Championship round at Valencia last year, Rossi admitted that the outcome could have been different, but added that he had moved on and was focused on launching another title assault in 2016.

“I think the last races of last year added something different compared to normal. Personally speaking, the finish can be different and better and I prefer to win than lose,” he said.

“But it is like this and it is past and the good thing is that we are here and we will try to have another good fight in this season.”

Marquez brushed off the question on whether the pair's rivalry would intensify and said he would use the experience he gained in 2015 from the first race to the last.

“We saw in the past in MotoGP, you always try to beat your opponent, but in the end I have 20 opponents and I must fight against each one for try to win the championship and that is my target,” he said.

“This year will be an interesting season because everything looks closer. We will try to fight for the championship and use the experience from last year from the beginning of the season to the end and fight again for the title until Valencia.”

Dani Pedrosa – who finished a close third behind Jorge Lorenzo and Marquez in the Valencia MotoGP last year when the Honda duo came in for criticism, with suggestions they held back from challenging their fellow countryman for the race victory – said the drama had helped raise the profile of the sport around the world.

“I think it was a big moment for MotoGP, maybe not like everybody thinks, but there was a lot of fans and the track was super crowded,” he said.

“They had to put up extra grandstands and sell extra tickets, this was a positive thing and the result affects part of the show but overall we can say that MotoGP is trying to grow and that is what we look for, to put on a good show.”


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