New Yamaha signing Maverick Vinales has set the pace on the opening day of MotoGP’s two-day post-season test in Valencia.
Vinales was competitive throughout his first day riding for the Movistar Yamaha team and eventually pipped his new team-mate Valentino Rossi by just 0.02s.
Rossi set his fastest lap of the day on his 2016-specification bike before a crash on the 2017-specification machine ended his day early.
The Italian was uninjured but the bike could not be repaired in time for further running, with Rossi set to return to the new iteration of his Yamaha when testing resumes.
Jorge Lorenzo set the third-fastest time of the day as he familiarised himself with the 2016 Ducati, before a late run on next year’s bike.
Marc Marquez’s title defence began with a fourth placing, less than 0.2s off the pace, after spending time in the lead during the morning session.
Australia’s Jack Miller ended the session in 11th position aboard the Marc VDS Honda, while the new KTM squad were 19th and 20th with new recruits Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith.
Espargaro was 1.6s shy of the pace set by Vinales.
Riders will return to the Circuit Ricardo Tormo for a second day of testing tonight.
Result: MotoGP Valencia Test Day 1
| Position | Rider | Team | Time | Gap | LAPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maverick Vinales | Yamaha | 1:30.93s | – | 61 |
| 2 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | 1:30.95 | 0.020s | 47 |
| 3 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | 1:31.05 | 0.122s | 60 |
| 4 | Marc Marquez | Honda | 1:31.10 | 0.172s | 53 |
| 5 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1:31.13 | 0.201s | 54 |
| 6 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 1:31.15 | 0.226s | 69 |
| 7 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 1:31.16 | 0.235s | 41 |
| 8 | Scott Redding | Pramac Ducati | 1:31.24 | 0.312s | 71 |
| 9 | Hector Barbera | Avintia Ducati | 1:31.28 | 0.356s | 43 |
| 10 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 1:31.30 | 0.376s | 42 |
| 11 | Jack Miller | Honda | 1:31.47 | 0.547s | 62 |
| 12 | Alvaro Bautista | Aspar Ducati | 1:31.67 | 0.744s | 58 |
| 13 | Michele Pirro | Pramac Ducati | 1:32.06 | 1.138s | 47 |
| 14 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 1:32.17 | 1.247s | 61 |
| 15 | Loris Baz | Avintia Ducati | 1:32.31 | 1.385s | 42 |
| 16 | Jonas Folger | Tech3 Yamaha | 1:32.45 | 1.520s | 52 |
| 17 | Johann Zarco | Tech3 Yamaha | 1:32.46 | 1.532s | 61 |
| 18 | Tito Rabat | Honda | 1:32.57 | 1.648s | 72 |
| 19 | Pol Espargaro | KTM | 1:32.61 | 1.683s | 57 |
| 20 | Bradley Smith | KTM | 1:32.80 | 1.876s | 52 |
| 21 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 1:32.81 | 1.881s | 71 |
| 22 | Eugene Laverty | Aprilia | 1:32.93 | 2.005s | 45 |
| 23 | Karel Abraham | Aspar Ducati | 1:33.23 | 2.301s | 59 |
| 24 | Sam Lowes | Aprilia | 1:33.35 | 2.429s | 63 |
| 25 | Takuya Tsuda | Suzuki | 1:34.11 | 3.180s | 41 |
| 26 | Francesco Bagnaia | Aspar Ducati | 1:36.94 | 6.010s | 9 |
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