Late-Braking MotoGP

Here are the results from the first day of testing, courtesy of Crash.net:

1. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) 1m 31.257s (Lap 46/48)
2. Valentino Rossi ITA Yamaha Factory Racing (YZR-M1) 1m 31.350s (41/42)
3. Stefan Bradl GER LCR Honda MotoGP (RC213V) 1m 31.751s (25/40)
4. Andrea Iannone ITA Energy T.I. Pramac Racing (GP13) 1m 31.925s (46/49)
5. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (GP13) 1m 31.943s (30/36)
6. Cal Crutchlow GBR Ducati Team (GP13) 1m 32.054s (36/39)
7. Michele Pirro ITA Ducati Test Team (GP13) 1m 32.698s (26/32)
8. Yonny Hernandez COL Ignite Pramac Racing (GP13) 1m 32.745s (33/37)
9. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Power Electronics Aspar (RCV1000R) 1m 33.020s (38/38)
10. Pol Espargaro ESP Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1) 1m 33.187s (32/45)
11. Scott Redding GBR Go&Fun Honda Gresini (RCV1000R) 1m 34.195s (31/34)
12. Michael Laverty GBR Paul Bird Motorsport (PBM-ART CRT) 1m 34.378s (16/17)
13. Martin Bauer AUT Remus Racing Team (S&B Suter-BMW CRT) 1m 35.115s (22/27)
14. Mike Di Meglio FRA Avintia Racing (FTR-Kawasaki) 1m 36.304s (19/26)

We should not assume that Mike Di Meglio will be riding the #2 bike for Avintia Racing next year.  Perhaps the Frenchman just had some time on his hands today.

Hector Barbera has reportedly signed with the team for two more years of second-rate performance, telling OmniCorse.it, ” We are very happy to have renewed with the team Avintia, a sign of great confidence that comes on both sides. With a two year contract, I will have the peace of mind and the desire to continue to work to do well. There is an interesting project and we will do everything to bring it to fruition . ”  I didn’t realize finishing 17th was so exhilarating.  And what is “fruition?”  13th?

Cal Crutchlow, after his first day on the factory Ducati, observed, “”I’m not familiar with Ducati motorcycles. After three years (with Tech 3), a different manufacturer will always feel alien, but I enjoyed it and it was fun. Working with the Ducati crew is also different than the usual but still good, so we enthusiastically await the coming days. ”  Trust me, Cal–this is the only time in the next two years your name and the word “alien” will ever appear in the same sentence.

More tomorrow.

This entry was posted on November 11, 2013 at 6:42 pm and is filed under Moto. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.