Marc Marquez topped the timesheets on Saturday as MotoGP riders sampled the Chang International Circuit in Thailand for the first time. The Spaniard led a Repsol Honda 1-2 ahead of Dani Pedrosa, 24 hours after Cal Crutchlow had set the pace on day one as the Japanese manufacturer dominated.
Crutchlow had clocked a 1:30.797 on Friday but track evolution and an increased familiarity with the circuit saw times drop below the 90 second barrier. Marquez was among the busiest riders on day two, coming just three laps short of a century, with his 1:29.969 coming late in proceedings to usurp Pedrosa.
Jack Miller continued his sensational winter with third place, although the factory Ducati riders were making headlines elsewhere with the team debuting its new aero-fairing, an evolution of their striking ‘hammerhead’ design of 2017. Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo also ran an updated chassis as they ended the day in ninth and tenth, seven tenths off the pace.
Yamaha endured a difficult opening day to the Buriram test although Maverick Vinales raised spirits with a 1:30.274 late on Saturday, moving him up to fourth ahead of Tech 3’s Johann Zarco. Danilo Petrucci was sixth fastest ahead of another of the test’s surprise packages, Alex Rins. The Spaniard was a superb second on Friday and remained within half a second of the outright pace on Saturday with Suzuki also debuting a new aero-fairing.
Day one leader Cal Crutchlow was eighth ahead of the factory Ducatis while team-mate Takaaki Nakagami continued to lead the rookie pack in fifteenth, a group boosted this week by the introduction of Hafizh Syahrin at Tech 3.
2018 MotoGP Pre-Season Testing: Buriram (Day Two)
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