Michael Scott | February 16, 2018
Cal Crutchlow Tops Day One at Buriram MotoGP Test—Cal Crutchlow on the independent LCR Honda took the top honors in MotoGP’s first day at the Chang circuit at Buriram in Thailand, heading an ultra-close batch of times as the elite class dealt with blazing heat and the difficulties of learning a new layout on the first of three days of testing.
Crutchlow used the new Honda to good effect in Thailand, taking the top spot on Day One at the test.
The top 20 of 24 riders were within one second of Crutchlow’s 1:37.797 round the 2.82-mile track, with a deceptively simple layout and two long straights.
With three Hondas in the top five, Crutchlow’s assertion that “HRC have done a good job with the engine” rang true. At the same time, with relative rookie Alex Rins second-fastest on the unfancied Suzuki, few deep conclusions could be drawn after just one day.
Factory Repsol Honda riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa were third and fifth-fastest, sandwiching Marquez’s defeated title rival Andrea Dovizioso’s factory Ducati.
Riders praised the high grip levels in spite of taxing dry heat, although many expressed concerns about tire life over race distance, and no riders making long runs to explore this aspect.
But today was highly exploratory, with all and were looking forward to the third day on Sunday, when organizers were predicting a crowd of up to 30,000 eager MotoGP fans at the new venue, almost 400 km northeast of the capital Bangkok.
It was a second outing of the year for the 2018 bikes, in many cases still at a formative stage.
Alex Rins continues to impress in his second year on the Suzuki, going second fastest.
Honda seems to have rounded out the jagged edges of last year’s bikes, with riders having chosen an engine configuration out of the three available at the first Sepang tests. An updated version of the motor that made its debut at last year’s post-season Valencia tests has won favor with all riders.
“I’m really pleased with the new engine. Now we need to work on the rest of the bike,” Crutchlow told Dorna TV cameras.
At a track that should suit the Italian bikes, Pramac Ducati riders Danilo Petrucci and marque rookie Jack Miller were sixth and seventh.
Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha) was the top Yamaha rider in eighth, 0.392 of a second off Crutchlow, and saying that the task now was to improve acceleration on the 2018 bike, which is a development of the 2016 bike, after last year’s YZR M-1 was a step in the wrong direction.
Suzuki’s Andrea Iannone was next, with the second factory Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo – fastest at the Sepang tests – rounding out the top ten.
Maverick Vinales, still trying to get comfortable on the new Yamaha, was 11th, just one hundredth ahead of independent Yamaha rider Johann Zarco,
Aleix Espargaro and new teammate Scott Redding were 15th and 16th on the Aprilias, each trying 2017 and 2018 versions but experiencing all-too-familiar mechanical issues; while Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) was 17th, and top rookie.
KTM rider Pol Espargaro was not at the test after a heavy crash at Sepang aggravated an old spinal hernia injury.
Two more days of testing remain at the Chang circuit, then the final tests in Qatar before the start of the season at the desert track.
Marquez ended Day One third fastest.
The simple layout of the Thai circuit was dutifully pronounced both interesting and enjoyable by riders, who had expected worse than they found.
Hard braking from high speed for several slow first or second-gear corners was described as a challenge.
Only Andrea Dovizioso sounded a small note of doubt, interviewed by Dorna. The last part of the lap was, he said, “small, and on our bikes quite strange”.
Valentino Rossi celebrated his 39th birthday at Buriram, surrounded by growing speculation about his MotoGP future. Italian-sourced rumors had predicted a confirmation of a renewal of his Yamaha contract beyond the end of this season—but hopes were disappointed when rider and factory remained silent.
The rider was still keeping his options open, waiting to see if he still felt he could be competitive; while Yamaha Racing boss Lin Jarvis confirmed that the same situation prevailed, in spite of reports that the deal had been done.
“I don’t know what the reporter knows that I don’t know,” he told Dorna. But he was the one who made the contracts, and nothing had been decided.
Johan Zarco will stick with the same 2016 version of the Yamaha M1 on which he made a blazing class debut last season, turning away the satellite Tech 3 team’s usual option of last year’s factory bike.
“I will concentrate on the 2016 chassis for these tests, and probably also will race it at Qatar,” he said.
But the Frenchman had the latest aerodynamic fairing as used by the factory riders, with last year’s fairing-flank ducted sandwich replaced with a refined version of the wings used in 2016.
Aero leaders Ducati debuted new bodywork at Buriram, with a more complex and curvier version of last year’s box-kite units, one of three different versions available at the tests.
