Danilo Petrucci continued his impressive testing form by setting the fastest time on the opening day of the second official MotoGP test at Phillip Island. Regular rain showers made it difficult to draw any firm conclusions from the day with Petrucci making the most of a dry spell late on to pip Maverick Vinales and Bradley Smith.
The difficult conditions did allow the riders to gain experience with the new spec electronics on Michelin wet tyres while also testing out the all-new intermediate option. Marc Marquez used it to great effect, clocking a 1:35.354 to top the leaderboard, a time that would stand until the late flurry of activity on slicks.
Petrucci would knock three and a half seconds off Marquez’s benchmark in the more favourable conditions with Octo Pramac Yakhnich teammate Scott Redding slotting into second. The Briton was edged out by the Suzuki of Vinales in the final twenty minutes with Smith relegating his compatriot to fourth on the leading Yamaha.
Cal Crutchlow was fifth despite encountering difficulty with his aggressive Honda engine while Valentino Rossi took sixth for Movistar Yamaha. Pol Espargaro was next up ahead of Yonny Hernandez while the fit-again Jack Miller finished ninth fastest on his first testing outing of 2016. After failing to set a time on slicks, Marquez tumbled to twelfth while world champion Jorge Lorenzo was sixteenth, also completing the bulk of his mileage in the wet.
MotoGP Official Test – Phillip Island (Day One Result)
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