Submitted by David Emmett on
Ahead of next week's first official Moto2 and Moto3 test at Jerez, a few teams are gathered at the Andalucian circuit to prepare the 2019 season in the lower classes. Present are the Sky VR46, Marc VDS, Kiefer, Estrella Galicia 0,0, Gresini Racing, Dynavolt IntactGP, Italtrans, Idemitsu, CIP Green Power, and Speed Up teams, making use of the fine weather in Jerez.
Luca Marini led the way for most of the first day of the two-day test, ending at the head of a very tight group in the Moto2 class. Sam Lowes was just four hundredths behind Marini, while Tom Luthi, Alex Marquez, and Jorge Navarro all ended the test just over a tenth of a second off the pace of the Sky VR46 rider.
In the Moto3 class, Gabriel Rodrigo was fastest, with a clear lead over Dennis Foggia, Alonso Lopez, and Sergio Garcia.
The Petronas SRT Moto2 and Moto3 teams also held a private test, but at their home circuit of Sepang.
| Moto2 times: | ||||||
| Pos | No | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
| 1 | 10 | Luca Marini | Kalex | 1:41.827 | ||
| 2 | 22 | Sam Lowes | Kalex | 1:41.869 | 0.042 | 0.042 |
| 3 | 12 | Thomas Lüthi | Kalex | 1:41.942 | 0.115 | 0.073 |
| 4 | 73 | Álex Márquez | Kalex | 1:41.951 | 0.124 | 0.009 |
| 5 | 9 | Jorge Navarro | Speed Up | 1:41.971 | 0.144 | 0.020 |
| 6 | 97 | Xavi Vierge | Kalex | 1:42.085 | 0.258 | 0.114 |
| 7 | 23 | Marcel Schrötter | Kalex | 1:42.526 | 0.699 | 0.441 |
| 8 | 5 | Andrea Locatelli | Kalex | 1:42.879 | 1.052 | 0.353 |
| 9 | 11 | Nicolò Bulega | Kalex | 1:42.903 | 1.076 | 0.024 |
| 10 | 21 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Speed Up | 1:42.965 | 1.138 | 0.062 |
| 11 | 33 | Enea Bastianini | Kalex | 1:43.129 | 1.302 | 0.164 |
| 12 | 35 | Somkiat Chantra | Kalex | 1:43.369 | 1.542 | 0.240 |
| 13 | 3 | Lukas Tulovic | KTM | 1:43.639 | 1.812 | 0.270 |
| 14 | 20 | Dimas Ekky Pratama | Honda | 1:44.080 | 2.253 | 0.441 |
| Moto3 times: | ||||||
| Pos | No | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
| 1 | 19 | Gabriel Rodrigo | Honda | 1:47.254 | ||
| 2 | 7 | Dennis Foggia | KTM | 1:47.592 | 0.338 | 0.338 |
| 3 | 121 | Alonso López | Honda | 1:47.641 | 0.387 | 0.049 |
| 4 | 111 | Sergio García | Honda | 1:47.742 | 0.488 | 0.101 |
| 5 | 81 | Stefano Nepa | KTM | 1:47.746 | 0.492 | 0.004 |
| 6 | 54 | Riccardo Rossi | Honda | 1:48.279 | 1.025 | 0.533 |
| 7 | 69 | Tom Booth-Amos | KTM | 1:48.422 | 1.168 | 0.143 |
| 8 | 13 | Celestino Vietti | KTM | 1:48.523 | 1.269 | 0.101 |
Comments
"In the Moto2 class, Gabriel Rodrigo was fastest,"
Should be Moto3.
What is the "Honda" in Moto2 ?...
Is that an older bike, or different class ? And that's a lot of Kalex's again.
One little thing "In the Moto2 [Moto3] class, Gabriel Rodrigo was fastest,"
It's just a test, but...
The top of the moto2 list is unsurprising, except maybe Navarro. Him and Lowes need to do a better job getting to the finish line. I think we'll see Digi get up to speed through the year.
Speaking of getting to the finish line... Rodrigo. Now would be a good time to put a season together, but despite a lot of strong riders leaving, he may find that winning this class hasn't gotten any easier.
Triumph
Any rumblings or feedback on how the new Triumph engines are doing?