Courtesy of Yamaha

MotoGP Thailand Preseason Test—Photo Gallery

Honda riders have been consistently quick in Buriram, but actual racing is more than a month away

February 18, 2018

MotoGP is well into its second of three preseason tests, this one at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand’s Buriram province. Although the Hermann Tilke-designed, 12-turn (seven lefts, five rights), 2.83-mile venue has been on the World Superbike schedule for three seasons, this is the first year for a Grand Prix event. All three classes—MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3—will return to Southeast Asia on October 7 for round 15 of the series.

Twenty-four riders have lapped the circuit, described prior to the test by LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow as such: “It will be a very short lap on a MotoGP bike. There’s not too much elevation, but it looks like there are some technical parts to keep an eye on.” In fact, Crutchlow posted the quickest time, a 1:30.797, on the first of the three scheduled days of testing. Repsol Honda’s Marc Márquez led the way on the second day with a 1:29.069.

Cycle World Technical Editor Kevin Cameron has promised to deliver a post-event wrap-up from the test in Buriram early next week. In the meantime, here is a selection of photographs—new aerodynamic solutions are many and varied—from the first two days of testing accompanied by pertinent rider quotes culled from releases issued by the respective factory and satellite teams.

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda: “We’re working a lot because we have to understand many things, like the track, the setup, and so on. Today we were able to keep a better pace than yesterday, and we’ve already improved the setting. We tested some Michelin tires, though it seems they won’t be the ones we’ll use for the race, and we worked on suspension, electronics, and the gearbox setting among other things.”Courtesy of Honda

Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team: “Today we did a lot of work, making comparisons both with the new fairings and with a new version of the frame. As always there are pros and cons, but luckily we went strongly with all the new stuff and this is really positive. We were fast without using the soft tire; it seems that the right tires for the race will be the harder ones, similar to those used in the Austrian GP.”Courtesy of Ducati

Valentino Rossi, Movistar Yamaha: “It was a tough day. We started quite well this morning—I did some good lap times—and after we had some new things to try. We tried some different things for the electronics and also the setting, but unfortunately we didn't find an improvement. We also had to do a bit of work for Michelin. They wanted us to try some other rear tires. We have to stay concentrated and follow a different way tomorrow.”Courtesy of Yamaha

Andrea Iannone, Team Suzuki ECSTAR: “We had the new aerodynamic fairing available and it gave me a positive feeling initially but I couldn’t test it properly because I crashed. So after that we decided to give priority to other things, such as settings. We will try the new fairing again, and we will be able to make some comparisons with the old one. The bike is behaving well with used tires, but we have to find more performance with the new tires.”Courtesy of Suzuki

Cal Crutchlow, LCR Honda: “We didn’t have a great day. We had some issues that meant we weren’t able to ride at our full potential this morning. I was not able to set a good lap time as we had too many items to test. Overall, we’re pleased with the old tires, and over the course of the day we’re satisfied with our pace. If it was a race day tomorrow, I think we could fight for the podium, but we just didn’t have the out-and-out lap time like yesterday.”Courtesy of LCR Honda

Alex Rins, Team Suzuki ECSTAR: “Today was a really positive test. We tried the new fairing in its two versions and some new parts on the chassis. All the time that the front wheel is making contact with the track then we have more power, so this new fairing can help me to have more acceleration and more speed. The good thing also is that this new fairing allows me to have better anti-wheelie without major loss in the top speed.”Courtesy of Suzuki

Jack Miller, Alma Pramac Racing: “The layout of the circuit is fascinating. I expected it to be dirtier, especially in the morning, but I had the feeling of having a good grip right away. It’s a fast track and it’s nice to race here. Lap after lap, run after run, we are faster and faster, and this gives us great confidence. I feel very confident even with used tires. The sensations are really very positive.”Couresy of Pramac Racing

Johann Zarco, Monster Yamaha Tech 3: “This was a great second day. Compared to yesterday, my position in the classification is a lot better, although I didn’t focus on this too much. On every lap I did, I was quite fast. I didn’t do a long run yet, but I was using the used tire well. I expected a bigger improvement when I put in the new tire, but at the same time this helps us to better understand the changing track conditions.”Courtesy of Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Marc Márquez, Repsol Honda: “Thank you to all my fans as I’ve received many, many messages for my birthday. The best way to celebrate is on my bike. Today was a good day. We started by playing with the setup in the beginning of the session. Then we went on to try some Michelin rear tires, which weren’t bad, and we also worked on the aerodynamics. At the end of the day, we put together our best package and we went faster.”Courtesy of Honda

Tito Rabat, Reale Avintia Racing: “I’m very happy because today we were able to work a lot on the bike. I’m even more happy because I’ve built a lot of confidence with the front. Until today, this was the negative point with my bike because whenever I pushed a little more I crashed, and this wasn’t good. But today I didn’t crash, and we were able to try the hardest Michelin front for the first time with positive results.”Courtesy of Reale Avintia Racing

Maverick Viñales, Movistar Yamaha: “It took us a bit of time to understand how to run the bike here. In the afternoon I started to feel good and was able to ride with a good pace. We changed some things at the last moment and it seemed to be an improvement, so maybe that’s the direction we should continue to follow. We also tried two different tire specs today and tomorrow we’ll do the other two.”Courtesy of Yamaha

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team: “Once again today wasn’t such a positive day for me; we weren’t competitive enough. I don’t have a good feeling with my bike, and we still have to understand the reasons why. Even though it might seem that I’m riding better in several points of the track, other riders are going even better and for this reason we are some way behind in our lap times.”Courtesy of Ducati