Sepang MotoGP Winter Test 2017 – Day 2: Suzuki’s Andrea Iannone Fastest

ByPhilip Chong Reading Time: 4 minutes

Day 2 of the Sepang Winter Test 2017 saw Team Suzuki Ecstar's Andrea Iannone to set the best chrono of the day, leading today’s classification by 0.406s with the best lap of 1’59.452 as the Italian rider exploited the closing minutes and track conditions to put in a positive series of laps, being in the top part of the screen in every run.

Big improvements were also made by rookie teammate Alex Rins, who is getting more and more familiar with his GSX-RR, and was able to get into the 2’00 bracket and climb the classification to 13th place with a best chrono of 2’00.877. His work is focusing in learning the electronic management of the bike, but he also tried the new 2017 spec of the engine, as this is one of the priorities for the definition of future development.

As heavy rain hit the track yesterday evening, the teams had to delay the working schedule for today awaiting the track to dry and get better grip, finally being forced to squeeze all the working schedule into a few hours in the late afternoon. Finally, the engineers could get important information, crucial as this was the day for the introduction of the most important 2017 configurations on the machines, in particular in the set-up and engine. Some steps forward have also been made in the electronics.

“I’m very happy with today, although we had a short time due to the track conditions, we could do much work and, most importantly, made a step forward. In the early runs we started with some configurations that didn’t make me feel totally comfortable, then when we tried some changes I found much more confidence and the lap times got a huge benefit. They were not radical changes, more small improvements, but they proved to be very effective. We are working very well, I am finding an excellent feeling with my team, they are working very hard and very professionally and this gives me a positive attitude that allows me to ride with confidence. Today is a result of this, we improved a lot since yesterday and it is important for us to have found positive improvements.”

Heavy overnight rain left a damp track today at Sepang and kept the riders in the pits for more than half of the second day of testing. Temperatures also were slightly cooler than usual in Malaysia, with a max of 30° C air, 38° ground.

Reigning World Champion Marc Marquez and teammate Dani Pedrosa took to the track as soon as it was dry enough, after 2 p.m. They continued their development work on their RC213V machines, both of which were equipped with the same engine’s new configurations. Tests of the Michelin tyres also continued for both.

Marquez’s fastest time of 2’00.531” (lap 27 of 33) placed him 10th for the day. Pedrosa finished in 14th place with his time of 2’00.886” (lap 38 of 44). The test will conclude tomorrow.

Pos No Rider Bike Time Diff Prev
1 29 Andrea Iannone Suzuki GSX-RR 1:59.452
2 25 Maverick Viñales Yamaha M1 1:59.859 0.407 0.407
3 19 Alvaro Bautista Ducati GP16 2:00.219 0.767 0.360
4 46 Valentino Rossi Yamaha M1 2:00.254 0.802 0.035
5 5 Johann Zarco Yamaha M1 2:00.343 0.891 0.089
6 8 Hector Barbera Ducati GP16 2:00.351 0.899 0.008
7 4 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati GP17 2:00.441 0.989 0.090
8 99 Jorge Lorenzo Ducati GP17 2:00.484 1.032 0.043
9 94 Jonas Folger Yamaha M1 2:00.495 1.043 0.011
10 93 Marc Marquez Honda RC213V 2:00.531 1.079 0.036
11 41 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia RS-GP 2:00.609 1.157 0.078
12 35 Cal Crutchlow Honda RC213V 2:00.692 1.240 0.083
13 42 Alex Rins Suzuki GSX-RR 2:00.877 1.425 0.185
14 26 Dani Pedrosa Honda RC213V 2:00.886 1.434 0.009
15 45 Scott Redding Ducati GP16 2:00.972 1.520 0.086
16 17 Karel Abraham Ducati GP15 2:00.981 1.529 0.009
17 9 Danilo Petrucci Ducati GP17 2:01.124 1.672 0.143
18 76 Loris Baz Ducati GP15 2:01.227 1.775 0.103
19 51 Michele Pirro Ducati GP17 2:01.383 1.931 0.156
20 44 Pol Espargaro KTM RC16 2:01.525 2.073 0.142
21 43 Jack Miller Honda RC213V 2:01.557 2.105 0.032
22 22 Sam Lowes Aprilia RS-GP 2:02.058 2.606 0.501
23 53 Tito Rabat Honda RC213V 2:02.190 2.738 0.132
24 12 Takuya Tsuda Suzuki GSX-RR 2:02.266 2.814 0.076
25 38 Bradley Smith KTM RC16 2:02.517 3.065 0.251
26 21 Katsuyuki Nakasuga Yamaha M1 2:02.893 3.441 0.376
27 31 Kouta Nozane Yamaha M1 2:03.052 3.600 0.159
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