Vinales tops Marquez on first of two days of testing at Valencia

Marc Marquez
Marc Marquez

Fresh from completing the 2018 Triple Crown at the season finale in Valencia, the Repsol Honda Team was back on track at the Ricardo Tormo Circuit today with its new line-up, which sees Jorge Lorenzo joining the squad alongside World Champion Marc Marquez for 2019.

After five days of almost uninterrupted rain showers, the sun finally made its appearance at Valencia today, but it took the whole morning for the asphalt to dry enough to offer good conditions for proper testing.

Lorenzo took to the track around 1 pm, Marc Marquez a few minutes later, and they continued until the rain again put a stop to the action around 3:30.

Lorenzo
Lorenzo

Marquez was immediately on the pace, finishing the day second-fastest with a best time of 1’31.718" after completing 25 laps. Lorenzo completed 30 laps, with a best time of 1’32.959", 18th overall on the day.

"We tried to make a step forward with the engine, and I just felt really good going out," said Vinales.

"We still need to amend the engine in terms of acceleration, because the engine is different from what we had during the 2018 season. We need to keep going and I'm really happy.

"Tomorrow we might have another engine with another step. Maybe we will try that, but I'm quite happy with what we have now, so I want to make laps and set up the electronics really well, because it changes a lot over the whole track and we didn't have time to do it today.

Teams tested a lot of new flairings
Vinales quickest. Teams tested a lot of new flairings

"I did my best lap with the new engine. I feel the direction we're going in is the right one, because I feel much better in the corners, which is where we needed to improve, so now we can focus on acceleration."

“Unfortunately, we weren’t able to try everything we had planned to, as the track was still half-and-half in the morning and it started raining again later in the afternoon," said Marquez.

"So we only did 25 laps. Anyway, we tried three different bikes, starting with the current one but moving immediately to two other bikes, each with slightly different specifications. It was a positive test; there’s still a lot of work to do but we’re on the right path and the first feeling is good.

"Tomorrow we’ll continue with the same plan, trying to understand the bike’s balance because it changed a bit, and we still have to test the other small modifications. Pre-season just started, so we look forward to improving step by step."

Day 1 Classification

Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Time Gap
1 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA Yamaha Factory Racing 1'31.416 0.000s
2 Marquez Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team 1'31.718 0.302
3 Rossi Valentino 46 ITA Yamaha Factory Racing 1'31.845 0.429
4 Dovizioso Andrea 4 ITA Ducati Team 1'31.846 0.430
5 Bradl Stefan 6 GER LCR Honda 1'32.015 0.599
6 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA Petronas Yamaha SRT 1'32.085 0.669
7 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1'32.095 0.679
8 Petrucci Danilo 9 ITA Ducati Team 1'32.100 0.684
9 Espargaro Pol 44 SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1'32.179 0.763
10 Pirro Michele 51 ITA Ducati Team 1'32.220 0.804
11 Bagnaia Francesco 63 ITA Alma Pramac Racing 1'32.396 0.980
12 Rins Alex 42 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar 1'32.402 0.986
13 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN LCR Honda 1'32.539 1.123
14 Miller Jack 43 AUS Alma Pramac Racing 1'32.555 1.139
15 Mir Joan 36 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar 1'32.787 1.371
16 Rabat Tito 53 SPA Reale Avintia Racing 1'32.834 1.418
17 Zarco Johann 5 FRA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1'32.835 1.419
18 Lorenzo Jorge 99 SPA Repsol Honda Team 1'32.959 1.543
19 Iannone Andrea 29 ITA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1'33.291 1.875
20 Abraham Karel 17 CZE Reale Avintia Racing 1'33.301 1.885
21 Smith Bradley 38 GBR Aprilia Racing Test Team 1'33.709 2.293
22 Folger Jonas 94 GER Yamaha Test Team 1'33.810 2.394
23 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA Petronas Yamaha SRT 1'33.850 2.434
24 Syahrin Hafizh 55 MAL Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1'34.233 2.817
25 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1'35.118 3.702