MotoGP - Yamaha Test New Chassis in Catalunya
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP's Maverick Viñales and Valentino Rossi were back on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya today to continue the development of new items for their 2017 YZR-M1. The teammates finished second and tenth respectively in the 2017 MotoGP Catalunya Test times.
Today the Yamaha Factory riders were each able to test one of the two new frames available. Tomorrow they will switch to get a feel for the other option.
After a challenging outing yesterday, Viñales was a man on a mission: he was one of the first riders to venture out on track again this morning and the last to return to the pit box as the session closed. His goal for today was to try one of the new frames as well as improve his feeling with the bike in hot conditions. Whilst consistently featuring at the top of the charts for most of the day, the Spaniard wasn't shy to put in 81 laps in total and set a best time of 1'44.437s on his penultimate lap to finish in second position, 0.366s off the front.
Teammate Rossi also made strides in the blistering Catalan sunshine. He started the day by setting the provisional fastest time of the session on his fifth lap, before it was time to switch his focus to the fine-tuning of his bike. The Doctor spent the day testing various settings along with the second new frame option and came back with positive feedback. After completing 71 laps, he ended the day in tenth place with a fastest lap of 1'45.635s, 1.564s from the top.
Following the progress booked today, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team have decided to stay at the Barcelona circuit for one further day to conduct a private test.
