MotoGP Jerez test times, 23-25 March: Day 3

Pretty much as soon as the track opened Spanish rain fell from the sky, but eventually the track dried and the riders got on track. When all was said and done, it was Cal Crutchlow who stood on top of the pile, lapping the Jerez circuit faster than anyone else during the entire three day test. Considering he has the exact same bike he had last year, it’s an impressive feat, and he managed to improve his time from 12 months ago too.

The factory Yamaha of Valentino Rossi followed, two tenths down, although his job for the day was testing new chassis. Stefan Bradl was the fastest Honda, sitting in 3rd, with Jorge Lorenzo 4th. The Yamaha man ran a 22 lap race simulation, nailing mid 1:40s and setting his fastest time during this stint. At only 0.6 behind Crutchlow’s effort, Lorenzo’s race pace is solid as ever.

What of the other Hondas? Dani Pedrosa sat out day 3 for two reasons. He reckoned he had no more work to do, and felt a muscle spasm in his neck. He felt the same thing during testing in Austin, so it looks likely the main reason was this. Whether it’s a temporary niggle or something more serious we’ll hopefully find out soon, but we should hope for the former; a fast Dani is a healthy Dani. Marc Marquez snuck into the top five, just six tenths away from Crutchlow’s fastest time, and he managed to slash his best lap by 0.6 seconds too.

A Ducati train followed Marquez with Andrea Iannone being the fastest. He lapped 0.8 seconds behind Crutchlow, and it has to be said looks good aboard the Ducati. 0.039 seconds behind was Nicky Hayden, with Andrea Dovizioso another tenth back. With all the Ducatis including Michele Pirro within 1.4 seconds of the fastest times, the Ducati seems to be easier for more people to get to grips with, although still a bit off the pace. Ben Spies decided to skip day 3 testing as his shoulder, recently operated on, was causing him problems, and the morning’s wet weather didn’t look like it would ease off.

In CRT news Randy De Puniet nudged his ART Aprilia into the top ten, just 1.4 seconds behind the leader. For a little bit of comparison, at last year’s test Casey Stoner’s fastest time was just under two seconds faster than the best CRT. De Puniet’s best lap of 1:40.9 would have qualified him 6th fastest at the Jerez 2012 race too.

Day 3:

Pos Rider Team Fastest lap Lead. Gap Prev. Gap Laps
1 CRUTCHLOW, Cal Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1:39.511 22 / 30
2 ROSSI, Valentino Yamaha Factory Racing Team 1:39.735 0.224 0.224 24 / 32
3 BRADL, Stefan LCR Honda MotoGP 1:39.975 0.464 0.240 20 / 26
4 LORENZO, Jorge Yamaha Factory Racing Team 1:40.105 0.594 0.130 22 / 42
5 MARQUEZ, Marc Repsol Honda Team 1:40.130 0.619 0.025 23 / 34
6 IANNONE, Andrea Energy T.I. Pramac Racing Team 1:40.331 0.820 0.201 24 / 25
7 HAYDEN, Nicky Ducati Team 1:40.370 0.859 0.039 41 / 42
8 DOVIZIOSO, Andrea Ducati Team 1:40.516 1.005 0.146 29 / 30
9 PIRRO, Michele Ducati Test Team 1:40.881 1.370 0.365 40 / 44
10 DE PUNIET, Randy Power Electronics Aspar 1:40.971 1.460 0.090 21 / 24
11 SMITH, Bradley Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1:41.134 1.623 0.163 56 / 56
12 ESPARGARO, Aleix Power Electronics Aspar 1:41.218 1.707 0.084 38 / 39
13 CORTI, Claudio NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1:41.443 1.932 0.225 42 / 44
14 AOYAMA, Hiroshi Avintia Blusens 1:41.772 2.261 0.329 40 / 41
15 PESEK, Lukas Came IodaRacing Project 1:41.791 2.280 0.019 49 / 49
16 ABRAHAM, Karel Cardion AB Motoracing 1:41.864 2.353 0.073 29 / 36
17 HERNANDEZ, Yonny Paul Bird Motorsport 1:42.363 2.852 0.499 20 / 25
18 PETRUCCI, Danilo Came IodaRacing Project 1:42.428 2.917 0.065 17 / 18
19 LAVERTY, Michael Paul Bird Motorsport 1:42.470 2.959 0.042 28 / 36
20 STARING, Bryan GO&FUN Honda Gresini 1:43.525 4.014 1.055 31 / 41
21 EDWARDS, Colin NGM Mobile Forward Racing 1:56.281 16.770 12.756 14 / 14
22 BARBERA, Hector Avintia Blusens 1:56.897 17.386 0.616 2 / 5

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