MotoGP Day 1 Valencia 2012 test - a washout

Today’s first day of post-season testing at Valencia was almost a total washout and looking at the below results and comparing the gap differences would be useless, because of the rain and the changing track conditions.

The conditions were dry for the first few minutes when the pitlane opened at 10:am and Alvaro Bautista showing off his new sponsor Go & Fun livery was able to get in five laps and post the best time of the day in 1.35.926 but he then skeddadled back to his garage when it started drizzling and stopped for the rest of the day leaving the new parts that HRC brought for him until tomorrow and he’s testing Ohlins suspensions instead of the usual Showa.

2012 Rookie of the year Stefan Bradl was the second fastest and he too stopped riding after just five laps with his 2012 bike, but he also has the 2013 version to test.

The Valencia test also saw the return of Valentino Rossi to Yamaha. While reigning World Champion Jorge Lorenzo sat out the entire day, his new team mate did three different runs in the wet totalling 28 laps, progressively lowering his lap times until he stopping the clock in 1’43″736 on his penultimate lap. Yamaha has decided to pack up and move to Aragon to continue testing hoping to find better weather and they’ll also be sharing the track with World Superbike teams Kawasaki, Ducati Alstare, BMW Italia and Pata Honda who had previously booked the circuit for their tests.

Everyone was waiting for Moto2 sensation Marc Marquez to also debut, but the reigning Moto2 World Champion showed up with splendid white and red leathers, but he didn’t turn a wheel and neither did Valencia race winner Dani Pedrosa. Repsol Honda is staying at Valencia tomorrow, but Marquez will get an extra three days of testing at Sepang later this month.

Andrea Dovizioso also made his highly anticipated debut on the Ducati he posted his fastest lap on slicks at the start of the day and that put him in the top three, but in the wet and with 41 laps to his name and he was faster than his weekend lap time on the Yamaha M1.

Ducati’s Nicky Hayden waited for the afternoon session to work on suspensions and a new chassis and he was fifth fastest and actually the fastest rider in the wet. Andrea Iannone also debuted today with Pramac Ducati doing 40 laps and he was 13th fastest in the wet, while Michele Pirro began his new job as Ducati’s test rider and he was 7th on the timesheets.

Karel Abraham has switched from a Ducati satellite bike to a CRT ART, Colin Edwards and Claudio Corti did some comparison testing between the current BMW Suter and the Kawasaki -FTR machines that they intend to use in the upcoming season.

MotoGP Valencia Test Day 1 results:

01- Alvaro Bautista – Go & Fun Honda Gresini – Honda RC213V – 1’35.936
02- Stefan Bradl – LCR Honda MotoGP – Honda RC213V – + 0.262
03- Andrea Dovizioso – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP12 – + 3.932
04- Hiroshi Aoyama – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 6.303
05- Nicky Hayden – Ducati Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP12 – + 6.635
06- Valentino Rossi – Yamaha Factory Racing – Yamaha YZR M1 – + 7.800
07- Michele Pirro – Pramac Racing Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP12 – + 8.361
08- Claudio Corti – NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR Kawasaki – + 9.878
09- Randy De Puniet – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP12 – + 10.109
10- Aleix Espargaro – Power Electronics Aspar – ART GP12 – + 10.124
11- Colin Edwards – NGM Mobile Forward Racing – FTR Kawasaki – + 10.490
12- Karel Abraham – Cardion AB Motoracing – ART GP12 – + 11.056
13- Andrea Iannone – Pramac Racing Team – Ducati Desmosedici GP12 – + 11.836
14- Hector Barbera – Avintia Blusens – BQR FTR – + 13.521

from TWOWHEELSBLOG