HONDA’S DANI PEDROSA SETS FASTEST EVER BURIRAM LAP

Dani Pedrosa set fastest ever lap time of Thailand’s Buriram Circuit – Photo: Supplied

Dani Pedrosa has set the fastest ever lap time of Thailand’s Buriram Circuit during the second round of MotoGP preseason testing.

Honda topped all three days of the test at the new for 2018 MotoGP venue. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) set the pace on Day 1, before Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) became the first person to drop into the 1:29s on Day 2.

Pedrosa went on to set the quickest overall time with a 1:29.781 on the final day ahead of Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) who was second overall.

Marquez, known for his super saves, suffered a small crash on Day 3, but the six-time Champion worked through another huge workload of laps. One innovation spotted on Sunday was a carbon swingarm, which was also used in Sepang and Valencia, but the biggest headline for the Japanese factory was the incredible pace.

Johann Zarco was fastest most of the final day – Photo: Supplied

Zarco looked set to interupt the Honda party at the top and was fastest until near the end of the final days running. The Frenchman broke the 1:30 barrier on Day 3 twice, with his fastest effort a 1:29.867 before he called it a day some time before the end of the test, work completed.

Fellow sophomore Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) made it a clean sweep of impressive performances on Day 3, as the Spaniard ended the test in fifth overall. Despite a crash, Rins did another 66 laps on Sunday. Teammate Andrea Iannone also ended the test positive but a little further down in P15 overall, finding it hard to unlock better pace on new tyres. The Hamamatsu factory brought a number of things to the test, including a previous aero fairing and two iterations of a new aero fairing, as well as chassis updates.

Aussie Jack Miller finished the test in sixth – Photo: Supplied

Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) was once again a star attraction on Sunday, and finished the test in P6 overall – only 0.007 off Rins ahead of him. The Australian has settled in incredibly quickly on the GP17, and teammate Danilo Petrucci on the GP18 and Ducati test duty made it both Alma Pramac Racing machines in the top ten as he slotted into P9 on combined timesheets.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) finished early on Day 3, with the track having proven more useful than expected during the hotter parts of the day and the Italian getting through the programme. He finished the Thai Test with 58 laps on Day 3, P7 on combined timesheets after trying three aero fairings and comparing chassis updates. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo was P16 on combined times after a more difficult test than his domination of Sepang with a record lap, comparing the GP18 and GP17 on the final day in Thailand.

Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) ended Thailand in eighth overall, with a lap set on Saturday – when the Spaniard said the afternoon had seen them take a big step forward. But on Sunday, teammate Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) was quicker, P10 compared to Viñales’ twelfth place on the Day 3 timesheets. Rossi’s Sunday best was a 1:30.511 and the ‘Doctor’ set it on lap 69 of 70, but was P12 overall.

Rookie Takaaki Nakagami impressed during the test – Photo: Supplied

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) was a big headline at the conclusion of the Thai Test. The Japanese rookie put in a 1:30.456 and took a stunning tenth overall – moving forward throughout the sessions and keeping himself top debutant. But Franco Morbidelli (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) surged forward on the chase, moving up to P13 overall and just two tenths off. His teammate Tom Lüthi improved on Sunday too, having missed the available tracktime at the end of 2017, and did a 1:31.354.

Tito Rabat (Reale Avinta Racing) took P11 overall as he was another who is settling into life on a Ducati well, just ahead of Rossi and Morbidelli. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) was fourteenth and top Noale factory machine, with the timesheets incredibly tight, as teammate Scott Redding also moved forward on Day 3.

Bradley Smith (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and KTM test rider Mika Kallio also made progress with their pace on Sunday, but with so much to test, timeattacks weren’t high on the agenda. One headline-grabber for the Austrian factory on the final day was a new aero fairing, and Smith fulfilled the target of getting into the 1:30 bracket with a 1:30.921.

MotoGP Pre-season Testing – Buriram: Day 3

The MotoGP field now heads to Losail International Circuit in Qatar for the final test before the opening round of the season at the same venue.

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