Day Two if the 2018 Sepang Official MotoGP Test opens to bright sunshine and hot weather, providing the teams with a great opportunity to record some useful data.
As at 1500 hrs. (3pm), riders Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), Andrea Dovizioso and Marc Marquez (Honda) trade fastest times.
Rossi had held the fastest time of 1:59.766 going into the hour, but Dovizioso fought back to better it with a time of 1:59.732, just 0.034 second faster. Marquez, who starts testing the 2018 bike today, clocked his fastest time of 1:59.988.
More interestingly, however, was on which part of the track was Rossi faster compared to Dovizioso. The former was fastest in Sectors 1, 3 and 4. Dovi was faster than Rossi only in Sector 2.
Please refer to the layout of the Sepang International Circuit (SIC) below.
Sector 1 (in yellow) is from the Start/Finish line to the exit of Turn 3, Sector 2 (in red) is from the exit of Turn 3 to before the entrance into Turn 7, Sector 3 (in green) is from Turn 7 to the entrance of Turn 13, and Sector 4 (in grey) is from Turn 13 back to the Start/Finish line.
Provisionally, it shows that the new Yamaha is faster in the tighter twisty sections of Sectors 1 and 3, allowing the rider to carry the speed into Sector 4.
Section 2 consists of the chute into Turn 4, then the sweeping Turns 5 and 6, before a short run into Turn 7. Dovi’s time in this Sector was 27.339 seconds, compared to Rossi’s 27.577 seconds.
A we mentioned that is really preliminary at this time of the day and the riders will definitely go faster later in the day.
Also, do remember that the riders and teams may be testing motorcycles as whole, but if we break it down, these tests are also for important for the suppliers of other components such as electronics, suspension, brakes, tyres, exhaust systems, oil and fluids in the bike; riding gear including the helmet, gloves, suit, boots and almost anything else you could think of.
Dorna has released the provisional 2018 MotoGP calendar. The dates and rounds are as follows:
As expected, Buriram, Thailand’s addition brings the total number of rounds to 19. Malaysia still hosts the penultimate round but the date has been bumped to 4th November, instead of the customary late-October slot.
The Thai round will be held on 7th October, with the next weekend off, before resuming the usual three rounds in a row – Japan, Australia, Malaysia – beginning 21st October.
It’s a wise move by Dorna to give space between Thailand and Malaysia, lest the crowd be split between two neighbouring countries.
The extra round means shuffling the customary dates. Qatar will begin a week earlier than usual, and hopefully miss the unexpected rainstorm which wreaked havoc on this year’s race schedule. The 4-week summer break between July and August will be cut to just two. The 2018 MotoGP Championship ends one week later at Aragon on 18th November.
The venue of the British round has yet to be confirmed, following the Circuit of Wales fallout.
A few riders had raised concerns about the championship featuring too many rounds, citing the possibility of not receiving enough rest between races. Finland is set to join the MotoGP calendar in 2019, bringing the total to a manic 20 rounds.
© Copyright – BikesRepublic.com 2023 Trademarks belong to their respective owners. All rights reserved
