Keep your engines running –
MotoGP™ gets back in business
History was made in 2016 with nine different winners, and engines are now preparing to fire up for 2017 as the first Official Test gets underway on Monday at Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. With Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team the first to have launched their 2017 campaign recently as Maverick Viñales gears up to partner Valentino Rossi, Ducati followed the day after as they unveiled new their line-up of Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso – and next are Team Suzuki Ecstar, set to present their team in Sepang on Sunday.
The prospect of five-time World Champion Lorenzo at Ducati is one of the talking points of the year, and following a good first test in Valencia that saw Lorenzo high up the timesheets with positive feedback, all eyes will be on the number 99 machine as the winter test ban lifts. Teammate Andrea Dovizioso will be testing alongside the Mallorcan from Monday, and the Italian squad continue to call on the talents of their test team – GP winner Michele Pirro and two-time MotoGP™ World Champion Casey Stoner. Stoner and Pirro have also, along with the test teams of other factories, tested privately at Sepang during the week before the race riders arrive. With aerodynamic winglets banned for 2017, the paddock will also be eager to see how that change affects the manufacturer that has pioneered their use.
Viñales in at Yamaha is another top-flight prospect ahead of 2017. Fast in public in Valencia first time out and having gained more experience of the bike at Sepang in a private test attended by Movistar Yamaha and Monster Yamaha Tech 3 late last year, the stage seems set for Viñales to crank it up a notch. With nine time World Champion and legendary Italian Valentino Rossi on the other side of the garage, however, the path to glory will not be easy. With good feedback from Viñales and Rossi playing his cards closer to his chest, the Spaniard has big shoes to fill after replacing Lorenzo. Add in the pressure of defending the team title – won by Movistar Yamaha in 2016 – and there will be another interesting dynamic as Viñales settles in.
Repsol Honda want that team title back, and reigning MotoGP™ World Champion Marc Marquez is also searching for another back-to-back crown; title number six. After a tough pre-season last year, the tables seem to have turned for the outfit with both positive timesheets and feedback from Marquez, and three-time World Champion Dani Pedrosa. Honda have tested at Sepang with Hiroshi Aoyama mid-January, and again with the Japanese rider alongside other teams in a private test ahead of the arrival of Marquez and Pedrosa on Monday. Preparation seems to be very much on-track for the manufacturer as 2017 looms and they prepare for their team launch on February 3rd.
Launching just ahead of the first Official Test at Sepang, Team Suzuki Ecstar have a whole new line-up in 2017. Andrea Iannone arrives from Ducati and a stunning maiden win in the Austrian GP, to be partnered by Moto2™ graduate Alex Rins. Iannone impressed and was impressed on first contact in Valencia, despite some crashes, although teammate Rins suffered an incident on the second day of that test and injured his back. Having then focused on recovery and a more gentle return to training, the Spaniard should be back fully fit at the Sepang test – ready to ride his MotoGP™ machine around the imposing track for the first time.
Aprilia Racing Team Gresini fielded Mike Di Meglio during the private test at Sepang recently, as they hope to continue their impressive progress in MotoGP™. With a spate of top ten results and direct entries into Q2 in 2016, a new line up of MotoGP™ podium sitter Aleix Espargaro and Moto2™ title contender Sam Lowes are those now on duty for the Noale factory in the premier class – with Espargaro’s initial contact with the bike very positive.
Another key change for 2017 sees KTM change from wildcard to full time, with riders Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro at Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. After test rider and former Moto2™ title contender Mika Kallio rode the all-new RC16 against the competition for the first time at the Valencia GP, a long program of testing should start to come to fruition in Sepang as the Austrian factory share the track and timesheets with their competitors. With a tubular steel chassis marking one of the most striking differences between the KTM and their competition for 2017, interest is high – as is ambition.
The winter break is long and the time has come for the curtain to go up on 2017. With so many rider changes, some new regulations – such as the lack of winglets – and a history-making 2016 to live up to, it’s sure to get off to an incredible start at Sepang International Circuit, from 30th January to 1st February.
More, from a press release issued by KTM:
KTM ON THE ROAD TO QATAR WITH FIRST MOTOGP TESTS AT SEPANG
MotoGP IRTA Test 2017 – Sepang (MAL)
Now on the very cusp of their entry into the premiere class of MotoGP, the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team have been conducting private tests with test rider Mika Kallio and the support team at the Malaysian circuit of Sepang. The first official IRTA test for the 2017 season follows at the same venue this week when factory riders Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro will be on the track with the KTM MotoGP machine to fine-tune ahead of the opening Grand Prix in Qatar on March 26.
The tests are the first for the team where all its material had to be air freighted in the middle of January from KTM Motorsports in Munderfing, Austria, to the Malaysian circuit. Sepang is a new track for the team and the new bike. Conditions have been in line with the typical local monsoon season – hot temperatures and humidity, and also periods of heavy rain.
Mike Leitner (Team Manager MotoGP): “Since the tests in Valencia we had information that was in detail a bit different from what we previously had from Mika, so for the first time we tried to prepare for the Sepang test according to the questions that the factory riders put to us. The private tests here with Mika were quite positive and we were able to prepare better, but we will only see if this has been positive in the next three days. I believe that for us, the time between here and Doha is probably very important. We have prepared a lot of things – chassis, electronics, motors – and we now need to calmly try them out, so when we go to the Doha race weekend we take with us the best of what the company has put together for us. It’s clear that we are competing for the first year and we don’t yet have the basis of the other teams.”
Mika Kallio speaking about his impression of the private tests (Wednesday to Friday last week) said: “We were not too lucky with the weather. There was heavy rain and the grip level on the track was low. Even when the track started to dry out we saw that our lap time and the feeling with the tires was not at a good level, but this was a problem for everyone. It would have been good to see how it was with better conditions at this important test. We tried different things and this means we always had to push the bike to the limit to get the best lap times possible. Still I think we made some direction with the new frame. There were three, and the one I chose for my riding and my feeling was better than last year’s bike, so that was good. We also improved the lap times a bit. In general we had no big problems. The bike worked well. That was important, and I hope we could do some good things for the other bikes and find some good direction for the team.”
Ahead of the official IRTA tests, factory rider Bradley Smith spoke of his pre-season preparation ad his fitness level after rehabilitation at the Red Bull Diagnostic & Training Center at Thalgau/Austria, and of his expectations for this week’s official tests. “I think we did a fantastic job with the fitness. We did six weeks during the winter and it was nice to get prepared. Also the team was based in Austria for three of those weeks, two weeks before Christmas and one week after. It was good also to be nearby and see their hard word on the new project, and to start to create team bonding. That’s an important thing when you start a new season, everyone working very well together. The knee is still not perfect and I am still working on the strength of the right leg compared to the left. We made some good progress but I’m interested to see how it is on the bike. To be in the gym and on the bicycle is one thing, but actually racing on the 260hp MotoGP bike around the racetrack is a bit different. I haven’t been on a motorcycle since the Jerez tests, so of course I’m going to feel a bit rusty. But I’m looking forward to starting the season and getting things moving. Most important for us is to put in the laps and gain as much information as possible. That’s my main target. I have no goals in terms of what to achieve except to improve, to learn each day, to evaluate and to make good steps in the right direction towards the best performance.”
Factory teammate Pol Espargaro also spoke about his winter preparations and training and what he expected from the official tests. “I was training at home in Andorra from the end of November and in December to prepare for this year, which is very important for me. I have lost a lot of kilos and I’ve been training a lot to be fit for the new project, so I am ready to jump on the bike. I don’t know what to expect for this test, I hope the weather is more or less okay so we can try many things on the bike while riding with the other brands. We need the tests and we need dry conditions for that. The weather doesn’t look too amazing but Mika was here before and he tried many things and he had a good reaction so we already have some jobs done. The team has done a very good job.”
Sebastian Risse (Technical Director MotoGP): “We had two main focuses in the last week. To prepare material for the race team – that means checking things like the brake calipers and all the functions of the motors we will now hand over to the factory riders. Everything needs to work well when they get on the bikes tomorrow, so we just had the material for the two race bikes. On the other hand, we wanted to take another step in the development of the chassis. We had various ones here, and we tried to put information together to prepare a pre-selection for the riders, but in the end they are the ones that have to ride with the material. They have to know it goes in the right direction. But time is limited, and the conditions here have not been so good. Sometimes you have to make compromises and test the most important things so that you have an overview. We used our time to work with Mika, to establish what are the top priorities, the biggest potential, and what we want to try. To try the bike, and to get to know it and the team are the plan for the coming three days. The riders and our people have been on the winter break but now it’s the start, and we have to see how it goes. First we have to take a close look to see how the things we changed are working and we have to put in a lot of laps to get to a good level. Then we can make good decisions about further development.”
The next IRTA Test is at the Phillip Island circuit in Australia (February 15-17), followed by the official MotoGP Team Presentation at the new KTM Motorsports Building in Munderfing, Austria on February 20.
More, from a press release issued by Repsol Honda:
Marquez and Pedrosa ready to start first pre-season test in Sepang
Seventy-four days after the Repsol Honda Team ended their successful 2016 campaign in Valencia, reigning MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez and teammate Dani Pedrosa are ready to return to action for the first of three days of testing, starting 30 January at Malaysia’s Sepang International Circuit.
The Malaysian stint will be the first of the three official MotoGP Tests that will also bring the Repsol Honda men to Australia (Phillip Island – 15-17 February) and Qatar (Losail – 10-12 March) before the 2017 MotoGP World Championship gets underway in Qatar on 26 March.
Following important rule changes introduced in the series last year, the 2017 season won’t see major updates to technical regulations, with the exception of those regarding aerodynamics—the most conspicuous being the banning of winglets—and the dropping of Michelin’s intermediate tyres.
A noteworthy adjustment to pit-lane rules regards bike swaps in case of flag-to-flag races; a maximum of four team staff will be allowed to assist a rider, and they will be required to wear helmets, a policy that the Repsol Honda Team already voluntarily adopted last year on the occasion of the Australian GP.
Marc Marquez
“The last couple of weeks before the start of this new season seemed almost too long to me! Finally tomorrow we’ll be back on track and we’ll be able to start working for the next championship. We’re coming from a winning season, but every year is very different and our opponents are always very strong. There have been some changes among the top teams, and everyone will be very motivated and ready to fight. We must stay focused at 100% and try to make everything work together smoothly, including the bike, the team, the factory and of course myself. Last year we learned how important it is to make the best of every situation, and starting tomorrow we’ll try and work to make the best preparations for our season in order to be able to fight for the title again.”
Dani Pedrosa
“After the holiday season, I’m looking forward to getting back to action on my bike in the coming Sepang test. This couple of months has been good for recharging the batteries and enjoying some time off with my family and friends. It has also been useful for getting back in shape, training and preparing for the coming season. The last one was challenging, but together with my team and the HRC Engineers, we remained focused on the job ahead and we definitely made some steps forward over the year. Now we’ll try and build on the experience we gained in order to start the new season on the right foot.”