PETRONAS Yamaha Sepang Racing Team’s MotoGP riders were straight back to work today, as they took part in a one-day test at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. Franco Morbidelli and Valentino Rossi ended the day eighth and tenth respectively on the final timesheets.
Opting to condense his testing into just the morning session, to limit the stress on his recovering knee, Morbidelli completed 29 laps in his hours on track. The main focus for the Italian was to improve the feeling from Sunday’s race. In addition, he tested a new rear tyre, along with new brake discs. Franco was the fastest rider for a portion of the morning but at the lunch break, when he chose to conclude his day, was third on the timing screen with a 1min 40.022secs lap. With no afternoon running, this became eighth when the chequered flag waved at the end of the eight hours.
Rossi started his day’s work just after Morbidelli, completing 33 laps in the morning session and 39 laps after his lunch break. Like his teammate, one of the main aims for the Italian today was to understand the feeling of the bike from yesterday’s race, as he did not have the grip that he expected. Valentino also tested a new rear tyre, brake discs and a new setting for the rear shock during today’s test session. Rossi’s fastest lap of the 72 he completed – 1min 40.050secs – was the tenth quickest time of the day.
The MotoGP duo will now enjoy a short break ahead of the next two back-to-back races, which will start with the Grand Prix Deutschland at Sachsenring (18-20 June).
