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Vinales ends Valencia MotoGP test on top

Maverick Vinales topped the final day of MotoGP testing at Valencia by 0.164s from fellow Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo.

Maverick Vinales, Yamaha Factory Racing

Maverick Vinales, Yamaha Factory Racing

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

After an action-less first hour, Honda’s Stefan Bradl took to the circuit as well as KTM trio Pol Espargaro, Iker Lecuona (Tech 3) and Brad Binder.

Bradl was forced to park up after just a few corners after his ’20 Honda encountered a mechanical issue, with Marc Marquez also experiencing an issue with that bike later in the morning.

Espargaro set the early pace at 1m32.080s on the ’20 KTM, with Marquez taking over with a 1m30.950s on his first run on the ’19 RC213V.

As the second hour drew to a close, Petronas SRT’s Franco Morbidelli went fastest with a 1m30.803s – though would be deposed about 30 minutes later by Marquez on the ’20 Honda he wrecked in a crash yesterday.

Moments later, the session was brought to a brief halt when Andrea Iannone’s Aprilia caught fire on the way into Turn 1 and left fluid on the circuit.

Marquez’s 1m30.664s benchmark stood for almost an hour, before Tuesday pace-setter Fabio Quartararo assumed control of the timesheets with a 1m30.591s.

Quartararo further improved to a 1m30.013s an hour later, which wouldn’t be toppled until the final 70 minutes, when Vinales dipped into the 1m29s for the first time this week with a 1m29.849s as he continued to test Yamaha’s new engine and chassis.

As Quartararo packed up with an hour still to go, Vinales would come under no threat through to the chequered flag.

Morbidelli was third to complete another Yamaha 1-2-3, while LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow brushed off a late fall to end the day fourth, having spent Wednesday comparing the current and prototype versions of the RC213V – including a new aerodynamic fairing.

Joan Mir led Suzuki teammate Alex Rins in fifth, both putting more miles on the GSX-RR’s new engine, with Marquez seventh in the end with a 1m30.556s set on the ’20-spec Honda – on which he also tested a new aero package.

Eighth-placed Pol Espargaro – who crashed at Turn 10 in the morning - led the sister works Yamaha of Valentino Rossi and Pramac’s Jack Miller, who trialled a new seat unit amongst other small items on his Ducati.

Andrea Dovizioso was top works team Ducati rider in 11th, while teammate Danilo Petrucci opted to sit out Wednesday’s running in order to recover from a shoulder issue which limited him to just 10 laps on Tuesday.

Honda’s new signing Alex Marquez enjoyed a less complicated second day on the LCR-run ’19-spec RC213V, improving his laptime from Tuesday by six tenths to a 1m32.235s to end the test 20th after logging 76 laps.

Fellow rookie Binder was last of the 22 riders present, some 2.5s off the pace, while Tech3 counterpart Lecuona once again led the debutants in 15th.

Session results

Pos. # Rider Bike Time Gap Laps
1 12 Maverick Vinales Yamaha 1'29.849   67
2 20 Fabio Quartararo Yamaha 1'30.013 0.164 64
3 21 Franco Morbidelli Yamaha 1'30.114 0.265 52
4 35 Cal Crutchlow Honda 1'30.316 0.467 73
5 36 Joan Mir Suzuki 1'30.427 0.578 61
6 42 Alex Rins
Suzuki 1'30.503 0.654 57
7 93 Marc Marquez Honda 1'30.556 0.707 71
8 44 Pol Espargaro KTM 1'30.685 0.836 46
9 46 Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1'30.781 0.932 68
10 43 Jack Miller Ducati 1'30.854 1.005 59
11 4 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati 1'31.143 1.294 42
12 53 Tito Rabat Ducati 1'31.258 1.409 63
13 51 Michele Pirro Ducati 1'31.424 1.575 40
14 26 Dani Pedrosa KTM 1'31.470 1.621 48
15 27 Iker Lecuona KTM 1'31.515 1.666 57
16 41 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1'31.526 1.677 43
17 17 Karel Abraham Ducati 1'31.597 1.748 59
18 6 Stefan Bradl Honda 1'31.657 1.808 54
19 29 Andrea Iannone Aprilia 1'31.800 1.951 38
20 73 Alex Marquez Honda 1'32.235 2.386 79
21 38 Bradley Smith Aprilia 1'32.249 2.400 32
22 33 Brad Binder KTM 1'32.367 2.518 66

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