Maverick Vinales - Photo Credit: MotoGP.com
Maverick Viñales emphasised his status as the pre-season Moto3 championship favourite by finishing the final pre-season test on top. With the new 250cc four-strokes replacing last year's 125s, an unpredictable season lies ahead but after a sensational rookie season, many expect Viñales to lead the way this year.
The Avintia Racing rider was quickest despite a crash this morning with Danny Kent getting the closest to him in the afternoon. The British youngster is looking to build on an impressive season with Ajo Motorsport last year and with the Finnish squad benefiting from factory KTM support in 2012, hopes are high for British success this year.
Kent and teammate Sandro Cortese were second and fourth at the end of the test, sandwiching Italian rookie Romano Fenati who impressed all week. The Italian, who succeeded Vinales as European 125cc Champion, was fastest of all on day one on similar machinery to the pacesetter.
Zulfahmi Khairuddin was fifth fastest on another Ajo-supported KTM ahead of another Italian rookie, Niccolo Antonelli. The San Carlo Gresini rider narrowly pipped Fenati to the Italian 125cc Championship last year and both look set to make their presence felt on the world stage this year.
Alberto Moncayo was seventh quickest as he carries the unenviable burden of succeeding Nicolas Terol at Bankia Aspar. The 2011 champions will run KTM engines with a Kalex chassis and time will tell as to whether that proves a successful combination. In Jerez, Moncayo was a full 1.2 seconds off the pace with teammate Hector Faubel a further four tenths adrift.
The two Estrella Galicia 0'0 bikes were next with Miguel Oliveira and Alex Rins eighth and ninth. The Monlau Competicion squad will be competing in the junior class for the first time, having supported Marc Marquez in Moto2 last year, and will surely pose a threat to the big guns this year.
Danny Webb finished the week in 23rd place for Mahindra as the Indian team continued to understand their first ever Moto3 challenger. The Briton was just under three seconds off the pace and will hope to close the gap before the opening race in Qatar on April 8th.
Moto3 Official Test – Jerez (Combined Classification)
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Motorcycle | Team | Lap Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | FTR Honda | Avintia Racing Moto3 | 1:46.838 |
| 2 | Danny Kent | GBR | KTM | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1:47.262 |
| 3 | Romano Fenati | ITA | FTR Honda | Team Italia FMI | 1:47.408 |
| 4 | Sandro Cortese | GER | KTM | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1:47.437 |
| 5 | Zulfahmi Khairuddin | MAL | KTM | AirAsia-Sic-Ajo | 1:47.491 |
| 6 | Niccolo Antonelli | ITA | Honda | San Carlo Gresini Moto3 | 1:47.759 |
| 7 | Alberto Moncayo | SPA | Kalex KTM | Bankia Aspar Team | 1:48.045 |
| 8 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Honda | Estrella Galicia 0'0 | 1:48.245 |
| 9 | Alex Rins | SPA | Honda | Estrella Galicia 0'0 | 1:48.350 |
| 10 | Louis Rossi | FRA | FTR Honda | Racing Team Germany | 1:48.369 |
| 11 | Hector Faubel | SPA | Kalex KTM | Bankia Aspar Team | 1:48.483 |
| 12 | Luis Salom | SPA | Kalex KTM | RW Racing GP | 1:48.488 |
| 13 | Alexis Masbou | FRA | Honda | Caretta Technology | 1:48.556 |
| 14 | Arthur Sissis | AUS | KTM | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1:48.675 |
| 15 | Jakub Kornfeil | CZE | FTR Honda | Redox-Ongetta-Centro Seta | 1:48.937 |
| 16 | Efren Vazquez | SPA | Honda | JHK Laglisse | 1:49.139 |
| 17 | Alan Techer | FRA | Honda | Technomag-CIP-TSR | 1:49.155 |
| 18 | Niklas Ajo | FIN | KTM | TT Motion Events Racing | 1:49.176 |
| 19 | Brad Binder | RSA | Kalex KTM | RW Racing GP | 1:49.317 |
| 20 | Adrian Martin | SPA | Honda | JHK Laglisse | 1:49.397 |
| 21 | Jack Miller | AUS | Honda | Techno Racing | 1:49.546 |
| 22 | Alessandro Tonucci | ITA | FTR Honda | Team Italia FMI | 1:49.553 |
| 23 | Danny Webb | GBR | Mahindra | Mahindra Racing | 1:49.739 |
| 24 | Marcel Schrotter | GER | Mahindra | Mahindra Racing | 1:49.751 |
| 25 | Toni Finsterbusch | GER | MZ-RE Honda | Cresto Guide MZ Racing | 1:50.119 |
| 26 | Kenta Fujii | JAP | Honda | Technomag-CIP-TSR | 1:50.268 |
| 27 | Ivan Moreno | SPA | FTR Honda | AndalucÃa JHK Laglisse | 1:50.285 |
| 28 | Isaac Viñales | SPA | FTR Honda | Ongetta-Centro Seta | 1:50.425 |
| 29 | Jasper Iwema | NED | FGR Honda | Moto FGR | 1:50.878 |
| 30 | Jonas Folger | GER | Ioda | Ioda Racing Project | 1:51.401 |
| 31 | Manuel Tatasciore | ITA | Oral | Ambrogio Next Racing | 1:51.797 |
| 32 | Simone Grotzkyj | ITA | Oral | Ambrogio Next Racing | 1:52.320 |
| 33 | Luigi Morciano | ITA | Ioda | Ioda Team Italia | 1:52.344 |
