Pedrosa the fastest in Buri Ram
Marquez slips to 3rd as testing concludes
BURI RAM: Spanish rider Dani Pedrosa set the fastest ever lap at Chang International Circuit on the third and final day of the MotoGP testing in Buri Ram yesterday.
Pedrosa, of Repsol Honda Team, was quickest overall after clocking a time of 1:29.781 to beat the record set by world champion and teammate Marc Marquez just a day earlier at the 4.554km track.
Johann Zarco, of Monster Yamaha Tech 3, was second overall — just 0.086 off Pedrosa in the exclusive 1:29 club.
Marquez, who became the first ever rider to record a sub 1:30 lap time at the Buri Ram track on Saturday, came fourth yesterday but was third on combined timesheets on 1:29.969. Cal Crutchlow, of LCR Honda Castrol, was fourth, just outside the 1:29s.
Marquez suffered a small crash yesterday — just outside the realm of a super save — but the reigning champion nevertheless pounded through another huge workload of laps.
Pedrosa’s success meant Honda riders dominated the three-day Buri Ram event. British rider Crutchlow recorded the fastest time in Friday’s session one while Spaniard Marquez topped the chart on Saturday.
One innovation spotted yesterday was a carbon swingarm, which was also used in Sepang and Valencia, but the biggest headline for the Japanese factory was the incredible pace. It bodes well ahead of the season opener, with Honda bidding to retain both the riders’ and constructors’ titles.
Frenchman Zarco broke the 1:30 barrier twice yesterday, with his fastest effort a 1:29.867 before he called it a day some time before the end of the test. Zarco, who will be using the 2016 chassis on his Tech 3 machine this year, did 47 laps and was the top Yamaha rider.
Fellow sophomore Alex Rins, of Team Suzuki Ecstar, made it a clean sweep of impressive performances yesterday, as the Spaniard ended the test in fifth overall.
Despite a crash, Rins did another 66 laps yesterday. Teammate Andrea Iannone also ended the test positive but a little further down at 15th overall.
Jack Miller, of Alma Pramac Racing, was once again a star attraction yesterday, and finished the test in sixth overall — only 0.007 off Rins ahead of him. The Australian and teammate Danilo Petrucci, riding Ducati bikes, were both among the top 10 on combined timesheets.
Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso was finished early yesterday, with the track having proven more useful than expected during the hotter parts of the day and the Italian getting through the programme.
He finished the Buri Ram test with 58 laps yesterday, and was seventh on combined timesheets. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo was 16th on combined times after a more difficult test than his domination of Sepang with a record lap.
Maverick Vinales, of Movistar Yamaha MotoGP, ended in eighth overall.
Nine-time world champion Valentino Rossi was quicker than his younger teammate yesterday, finishing 10th compared to Vinales’ 12th on the Day Three timesheets. Rossi’s best time yesterday was a 1:30.511 on lap 69 of 70, but was 12th overall.