Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Marc Marquez fastest for Honda in Barcelona MotoGP testing

Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez set the pace in the post-Catalunya Grand Prix test at Barcelona, beating Maverick Vinales in the closing minutes

Other than Ducati, which won on Sunday with Andrea Dovizioso, and the satellite Aspar and Avintia outfits, all the teams stayed on at Barcelona for one day of official in-season testing.

Championship leader Vinales finished a perplexed 10th in the race, as Yamaha struggled, but looked set to bounce back with the fastest time with a 1m44.932s recorded early on Monday afternoon.

Yamaha has a pair of new frames to evaluate during two days of testing this week, having scrapped a plan to run at Aragon on Wednesday to instead remain at Barcelona on Tuesday.

In a shootout inside the final five minutes, Marquez turned a 1m44.340s to move from fifth to first, 0.592 seconds clear of Vinales.

Both riders improved again with, Marquez's 1m44.071s good enough to finish 0.366s faster than his fellow Spaniard.

Tech3 Yamaha rider Jonas Folger finished third ahead of the polesitter for Sunday's race, Dani Pedrosa, albeit both more than nine tenths adrift.

Aleix Espargaro set the fifth-fastest time for Aprilia, ahead of LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow, Folger's team-mate Johann Zarco, Scott Redding and Tito Rabat.

Valentino Rossi finished 10th with a 1m45.635s, 1.564s slower than Marquez.

Suzuki had three bikes in action, as rookie Alex Rins returned after breaking his left wrist in two places at Austin in April.

Rins set the 17th-fastest time, just ahead of his injury stand-in Sylvain Guintoli and three spots behind regular team-mate Andrea Iannone.

Suzuki will join Yamaha in testing at Barcelona on Tuesday, along with KTM, which is staying until Wednesday but without Bradley Smith due to the finger injury he sustained on Saturday.

MONDAY TESTING TIMES:

Pos Driver Team Time Gap Laps
1 Marc Marquez Honda 1m44.071s - 82
2 Maverick Vinales Yamaha 1m44.437s 0.366s 81
3 Jonas Folger Tech3 Yamaha 1m44.972s 0.901s 42
4 Dani Pedrosa Honda 1m45.003s 0.932s 53
5 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1m45.046s 0.975s 48
6 Cal Crutchlow LCR Honda 1m45.296s 1.225s 60
7 Johann Zarco Tech3 Yamaha 1m45.452s 1.381s 33
8 Scott Redding Pramac Ducati 1m45.565s 1.494s 59
9 Tito Rabat MVDS Honda 1m45.582s 1.511s 59
10 Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1m45.635s 1.564s 71
11 Danilo Petrucci Pramac Ducati 1m45.863s 1.792s 28
12 Jack Miller MVDS Honda 1m45.897s 1.826s 52
13 Pol Espargaro KTM 1m46.107s 2.036s 75
14 Andrea Iannone Suzuki 1m46.130s 2.059s 78
15 Sam Lowes Aprilia 1m46.389s 2.318s 43
16 Mika Kallio KTM 1m46.405s 2.334s 61
17 Alex Rins Suzuki 1m46.490s 2.419s 62
18 Sylvain Guintoli Suzuki 1m47.055s 2.984s 55


Be part of the Autosport community

Join the conversation
Previous article Latest Aprilia MotoGP failures leave Aleix Espargaro 'pissed off'
Next article Cal Crutchlow gets new Honda MotoGP deal for 2018, stays at LCR

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe