Movistar Yamaha’s Jorge Lorenzo started his final weekend with the Japanese manufacturer on top of the times sheets in the first free practice session, blitzing his race record time from 2015.
After nine years, Lorenzo will depart Yamaha for Ducati next season and has his sights set on ending a very prosperous partnership with one last victory in blue. The Spaniard was untouchable in FP1, setting a 1m31.045s late on to go four tenths of a second clear at the top and three tenths quicker than his race record time from last season.
Valentino Rossi comes into this weekend with second place in the championship secure after finishing second last time out in Malaysia. The Italian’s morning didn’t get off to the best of starts, an error message on his dashboard forcing him to make a rather unconventional journey back his box via the paddock. However, he was quickly back out on track and ends the morning second fastest from Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez.
Andrea Dovizioso became MotoGP’s ninth different winner in 2016 two weeks ago, and comes into the season finale brimming with confidence. He was top Ducati rider in FP1 in fourth spot ahead of Pol Espargaro, who along with teammate Bradley Smith, makes his final Tech 3 appearance this weekend before switching to KTM in 2017. Incidentally, the British rider ended the morning down in 18th place.
Suzuki’s Maverick Vinales begins his final round on the GSX-RR sixth on the time sheets, two hundredths of a second ahead of teammate Aleix Espargaro, who himself is leaving Suzuki at the end of the year. Assen race winner Jack Miller was a decent eighth ahead of Scott Redding, who is locked in a fight with Pramac teammate Danilo Petrucci for a GP17 next season. Andrea Iannone rounded out the top 10 as he begins his final MotoGP event in Ducati colours.
Hector Barbera kicked off what he described as his most ‘anticipated race of the season’ down in 11th ahead of Dani Pedrosa, the Honda rider making his comeback from a collarbone and leg fracture after three races on the sidelines. Danilo Petrucci headed the battered and bruised Cal Crutchlow, with Tito Rabat rounding out the top 15 in front of his home fans.
Twitter: How about this, turn the volume up & listen to ＠KTM_Racing’s RC16 down the home straight!
#ValenciaGP https://t.co/IL2mwGkcnA (@MotoGP)
The big news from this morning’s session was the full factory debut of KTM, their first appearance in MotoGP since a short-lived engine supply deal with Team Roberts in 2005. The Austrian manufacturer has conducted an extensive testing programme with the RC-16 since the back-end of the 2015, confirming a wild-card appearance for the Valencia Grand Prix back in July. Finnish rider Mika Kallio, who makes his MotoGP return after six years, ended the session last on the time sheets and a respectable 2.1 seconds off the pace. KTM opted to run with the same set of tyres for the entire 45-minute session, so expect a leap in lap time this afternoon.
Comments.
Loading comments…