Paddock Girl, Gran Premio Generali de la Comunitat Valenciana

Valencia test commences with Lorenzo on top / Le Test de Valence ouvre la pré-saison MotoGP™ 2014

Lap times of course do not mean a great deal at this stage, with some riders swapping machinery, many tweaking set-up and some joining new teams, but Lorenzo set the standards again – with a 1’31.257 late in the day. That lap was quicker than anyone went in Sunday’s race and came on the 2013 YZR-M1, although Lorenzo also has a 2014 development Yamaha available this week.

 

On the other side of the Yamaha Factory Racing box Valentino Rossi spent the day working with new Crew Chief Silvano Galbusera. The Doctor’s best time of the day was just 0.093s off Lorenzo’s best, also coming on his 2013 bike, though he too is already using the 2014 development M1.

 

Repsol Honda’s new World Champion Marc Marquez and his colleague Dani Pedrosa were both at the circuit but did not test on Monday – though they are expected on track on Tuesday as the battle to stay ahead of Yamaha continues.

 

Stefan Bradl was the fastest Honda rider on track on Monday, using his RC213V from this season to set the third best time of the day – 0.5s off Lorenzo’s pace.

 

New Ducati recruit Cal Crutchlow has taken Italian Crew Chief Daniele Romagnoli with him from Tech 3 to the Italian factory Ducati and the pair were working alongside new Ducati Corse General Manager Gigi Dall’Igna for the first time on Monday. 

 

Crutchlow matched Ducati’s Sunday race pace, and was sixth overall just over 0.1s (check) behind new Ducati teammate Andrea Dovizioso who was fifth best. Dovizioso lapped in a similar pace to fourth fastest rider of the day, Andrea Iannone on the Pramac Racing Ducati.

 

Ducati Test Team rider Michele Pirro was 0.6s behind Crutchlow in seventh, just ahead of Yonny Hernandez – who was confirmed today to remain as Iannone’s teammate in the Pramac Racing Team permanently during the 2014 season.

 

Moto2 World Champion Pol Espargaro rode his first laps on his new Monster Yamaha Tech 3 MotoGP bike, in tenth spot on the timesheet, with a lap around two seconds off Lorenzo’s pace. His new teammate Bradley Smith sat things out and expects to get through all his test work for this week on Tuesday.

 

The new Honda RCV1000R was used for the first time by the GO&FUN Honda Gresini team as Scott Redding also got his 2014 MotoGP preparations underway, the Englishman ending up 11th overall. Cristian Gabarrini from HRC got Redding's initial feedback on the new prototype, which the teams will adapt to over the winter.

 

Hiroshi Aoyama officially joined the Power Electronics Aspar team on Monday, but with Aspar only having one of their new Hondas ready for today, Nicky Hayden will have to wait until Tuesday to ride it. Aoyama was ninth best on the timesheet, 1.8s down on Lorenzo’s P1 pace.

 

Mike di Meglio has not ridden since the Brno Moto2™ race due to serious injury, but he was back on track today testing with the Avintia Blusens team.

 

Randy de Puniet should be testing with the PBM team on Tuesday as they look to confirm direction for next season, with the 2014-spec ART being prepared for the Frenchman on Monday.

 

The testing action at the Ricardo Tormo circuit will continue on Tuesday and Wednesday (10am-5pm both days). Live video coverage will be available again through motogp.com on Tuesday (11am-2pm).

Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha Factory Racing) a signé le meilleur temps de la journée en 1’31.257, un chrono qui sera vraisemblablement battu mardi ou mercredi mais qui était néanmoins plus rapide que le meilleur tour de la course de dimanche, établi par Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) en 1’31.628. Son coéquipier Valentino Rossi accueillait de son côté du garage son nouveau chef mécanicien, Silvano Galbusera, et s’est classé à 0.093s du Champion du Monde sortant.

Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda), le nouveau Champion du Monde MotoGP™, et Pedrosa étaient tous les deux présents au circuit mais n’ont pas participé à cette première journée et devraient commencer leurs essais mardi.

Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda) a été le pilote Honda le plus rapide et s’est classé troisième, à une demi-seconde du temps de référence, sur son RC213V habituelle.

Cal Crutchlow, la nouvelle recrue de Ducati, et son chef mécanicien Daniele Romagnoli ont de leur côté pu découvrir la Desmosedici GP13 en compagnie du nouveau directeur général de Ducati Corse, Gigi Dall’Igna. Le Britannique a réussi à enregistrer des chronos similaires aux meilleurs temps réalisés par les Ducati dimanche en course et a fini en sixième position, juste derrière Andrea Dovizioso et Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing).

Michele Pirro était aussi en piste avec le Ducati Test Team, tout comme Yonny Hernández, qui venait d’être confirmé par Pramac Racing pour la saison 2014.

Chez Monster Yamaha Tech3, l’équipe d’Hervé Poncharal accueillait le Champion du Monde Moto2™ Pol Espargaró pour ses débuts sur YZR-M1. Le Catalan s’est classé dixième et semblait ravi ses premiers tours de roue en MotoGP™ tandis que son coéquipier Bradley Smith attendra la seconde journée du Test Officiel pour reprendre la piste.

Autre rookie issu de la catégorie Moto2™, Scott Redding faisait son arrivée chez GO&FUN Honda Gresini pour étrenner la nouvelle Honda RCV1000R et a enregistré le onzième temps. Le team Power Electronics Aspar disposait aussi de la RCV1000R mais n’avait qu’un seul exemplaire et l’a confié à Hiroshi Aoyama. Nicky Hayden devra quant à lui attendre mardi pour faire son retour sur Honda, avant que les deux pilotes ne roulent chacun leur tour mercredi. 

Privé de compétition depuis la fin août, et sa chute en Moto2™ à Brno, en raison d’une sérieuse blessure au bassin, Mike di Meglio faisait son retour en piste pour un test avec Avintia Blusens. Le Français a ainsi pu faire une bonne vingtaine de tours sur la FTR-Kawasaki, qu’il avait déjà testée avec le team espagnol l’an dernier.

Randy de Puniet devrait quant à lui prendre la piste mardi avec PBM afin d’essayer la version 2014 de la machine fournie par Aprilia et d’aider le team britannique à définir son projet pour l’an prochain.

Les essais continuent mardi et mercredi, de 10h à 17h, et seront à suivre en direct vidéo sur motogp.com le mardi de 11h à 14h.

Toyota Motorsport GmbH announces the GT86 CS-R3 rally car

Can compete in the World Rally Championship

Toyota Motorsport GmbH has announced plans to develop a new GT86 CS-R3 rally car.

Designed for customer racing teams, the GT86 CS-R3 will be built to meet R3 regulations and should be ready for the 2015 season.

Pricing and specifications will be announced in the coming months but TMG confirmed the model will have a six-speed sequential transmission, a limited slip differential and high-performance brakes. The company also said the engine will be upgraded to produce the "maximum level permitted within the regulations."

According to Nico Ehlert, Principal Engineer of Customer Motorsport, "The GT86 CS-R3 promises to be a thrilling car on the rally stages; with rear-wheel drive we can expect some dramatic action which is sure to be entertaining for drivers and fans alike." He went on to say the company will draw on their experience from the GT86 CS-V3 race car to create "a reliable, safe and high-performance car, plus all the required technical support, for our customers."

The GT86 CS-R3 will be eligible to compete in all FIA-sanctioned rallies including the World Rally Championship.

Source: Toyota Motorsport GmbH

NEED FOR SPEED: KEN BLOCK'S GYMKHANA SIX

Need for Speed and Ken Block present:  Gymkhana SIX:  The Ultimate Gymkhana Grid Course.  Need For Speed's Racing Advisor Ken Block built the ultimate Gymkhana GRID course -- a real-life playground to showcase the sheer speed, fun and exhilarating action of driving. This means all-new obstacles that help raise the difficulty for Block to master in his Ford Fiesta ST RX43 2013 racecar, including maneuvering around a moving wrecking ball and sliding through narrow opening cut into the sides of shipping containers. Block also added videogame elements from Need for Speed Rivals. Watch as he executes multiple jumps, drifts around Lamborghini Aventadors and evades the videogame-themed Redview County cops on Segways in his own unique style. You can almost smell the burn of the rubber as he tears up this incredible course. So sit back and enjoy the ride.