Zarco back on top at Jerez test
Johann Zarco topped a day of testing following the race at Jerez aboard his Tech3 Yamaha M1, spending the day working on set-up and making the most of the track time while his rivals concentrated on testing new parts. Meanwhile, Valentino Rossi and Maverick Viñales used the test to work on new parts and electronic settings on their factory Yamahas and left the test happier than they were during the race weekend. However, they also admitted that it could still be weeks before they felt the full benefit of the work done.
That came after what was reportedly a heated technical meeting between the riders and their Japanese engineers on Sunday night. But an upbeat Rossi was happy that having criticised his team after the race, his opinion had been listened to.
“I spoke a lot with them and said some hard things. I like to work with them and I trust them and even though I know this is a difficult moment for them I’m hoping that saying these words will give them more motivation. Monday wasn’t the day to make the change but the next months will be very important.”
The Repsol Honda team tested three new aero fairings, with Marc Marquez admitting that the nature and layout of the next round in Le Mans means they may need to have their designs homologated in time for the French round in two weeks’ time.
‘I spoke a lot with them and said some things quite hard’