Maverick Vinales led a Movistar Yamaha 1-2 on a competitive second day of pre-season testing at Sepang on Monday. The Spaniard narrowly outpaced team-mate Valentino Rossi as both riders dropped under Dani Pedrosa’s Sunday benchmark in Malaysia.
For the second day in succession, proceedings were slow to get underway after overnight rain left damp patches which deterred the riders from venturing out. When conditions did finally improve, a number of riders were still caught out with Pol Espargaro forced to visit the medical centre after a tumble at turn two while reigning champion Marc Marquez also lost control later in the day.
In the end, the Yamahas rose to the top on the day when the factory YZR-M1s sported brand new aerodynamic updates. The initial signs were encouraging with Vinales clocking a 1:59.355, three hundredths quicker than Rossi, with Cal Crutchlow completing the top three on an LCR Honda also running a brand new aero fairing.
Jorge Lorenzo continued Ducati’s promising start to the new year with fourth place ahead of Pramac’s Jack Miller while Johann Zarco completed a top six separated by just 0.347s. Marquez ended the day four tenths down in seventh, just ahead of 2017 title rival Andrea Dovizioso, while Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Iannone rounded out the top ten, Iannone taking the new GSX-RR into the top ten for the first time despite having to stop with an engine fire.
2018 MotoGP Pre-Season Testing: Sepang (Day Two)
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