MotoGP Trial Jerez, Day 2: Sensation by Nakagami / MotoGP SPEEDWEEK

MotoGP

of Petra Wiesmayer – 29.11.2018 17:51

Takaaki Nakagami finished the final day of the MotoGP winter trials in Jerez, ahead of Marc Márquez and Maverick Viñales. New Honda rookie Jorge Lorenzo is fourth, Valentino Rossi only eleventh.

On the final day of the 2018 MotoGP Winter Trials, LCR rider Honda Takaaki surprised Nakagami with the fastest lap. In the end, the Japanese gained 0.025 seconds over world champion and champion Marc Marquez. Nakagami and Márquez were the only riders to stay under 1.38 min.

At 4 pm, three Ducati were in the lead. The fastest rider, Danilo Petrucci, set the fastest time in 1: 38.109 minutes ahead of Jack Miller. The rider from Alma Pramac was 0.098 seconds behind the Italian, the third was his teammate Andrea Dovizioso, at 0.183 seconds.

For a long time however, Petrux was not happy with the lead, Marc Márquez again winning first place in his 53rd lap: with 1: 37.970, he was the first driver to finish below 1:38, lower than 0.139 to Petrucci. At the same time, the Yamaha Franco Morbidelli rider clocked a time of 1: 38.118 in his 62nd lap and took third place.

An hour and a half before the end of the session, Dovizioso was only fifth, after Jack Miller was faster and moved to fourth place. Half an hour later, Maverick Viñales was 0.043 seconds faster than Petrucci and pushed the Ducati rider in third place while Marc Márquez missed 0.096 seconds.

Shortly before 5 pm, Takaaki Nakagami, LCR Honda driver, was surprised by a quick lap of 1: 37.947. The Japanese beat Márquez's time by 0.025 seconds and were the first. A little later, Jorge Lorenzo came out of the rankings in fourth position. The Honda riders missed only 0.160 seconds at the best time.

Not much has happened in the last half hour. With the exception of Bautista, Guintoli and Zarco, everyone had already finished their work and a quarter of an hour before the end, these three people had also left their job.

In the end, Nakagami on the customer's Honda was a snap faster than Márquez on the factory bike. Maverick Viñales, also the busiest driver with 78 laps, was third in the Honda sandwich between Márquez and Honda rookie Jorge Lorenzo on his Yamaha. The best Ducati rider was Danilo Petrucci in 5th place.

Behind them followed Morbidelli (Yamaha), Miller (Ducati) and Dovizioso (Ducati). Alma Pramac's rider, Pecco Bagnaia, was the best rookie in ninth position, while Alex Rins (Suzuki) completed the top ten. Valentino Rossi missed tenth place by 0.074 seconds. Pol Espargaró was voted best driver of the KTM in 15th place. He missed the fastest time in 1199 seconds and his new teammate, Johann Zarco, finished the test in 19.

The next MotoGP tests will take place in February in Spenag, Malaysia. The shakedown from February 1st to 3rd, the test will take place from February 6th to 8th. The final tests will take place in Qatar from 23 to 25 February, before the start of the 2019 season with the Qatar Grand Prix on 10 March at the Losail International Circuit.

MotoGP test on November 24 in Jerez:

1. Nakagami, Honda, 1: 37.945 min
2. Márquez, Honda, + 0.025 sec
3. Viñales, Yamaha, +0.121
4. Lorenzo, Honda, +160
5. Petrucci, Ducati, + .164
6. Morbidelli, Yamaha, 0.173
7. Miller, Ducati, + .262
8. Dovizioso, Ducati, +0 347
9. Bagnaia, Ducati, +388
10. Rins, Suzuki, + .577
11. Rossi, Yamaha, + .651
12th Quartararo, Yamaha, + 0.816
13. Rabat, Ducati, + 0.931
14. Me, Suzuki, + 0.986
15. Pol Espargaró, KTM, +1 1.199
16. Bautista, Ducati, + 1,393
17. Abraham, Ducati, + 1.799
18th Iannone, Aprilia, + 1,881
19. Zarco, KTM, + 1,919
20. Aleix Espargaró, Aprilia, +2111
21. Smith, Aprilia, 2,380
22. Guintoli, Suzuki, +2,553
23. Syahrin, KTM, + 2.575
24. Oliveira, KTM, + 2.632
25. Baiocco, Aprilia, + 3.962