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Contents3 - Foreword

4/5 - Interview: Loris Capirossi

6 - ViŃales in the starting blocks

7 - Marquez eager to defend his crown

8 - Lorenzo starts afresh

9 - Rossi the omnipresent threat

10 - Automatic tyre detection

11 - Slicks or rain tyres

12 - Nicolas Goubert says...

13/14 - Sepang, Philip Island & losail tests

Over the past decade, in an effort to curb inflation and control costs in a

championship that is always striving for technological innovation, MotoGP’s

lawmakers have significantly reduced the number of authorised pre-season

test days. In 2017, riders and teams were permitted just three three-day tests ahead

of the start of the campaign. The first took place in Malaysia, the second in Australia

and the third in Qatar, at the same circuit that will host the curtain-raising grand prix on

March 26.

F O R E W O R D

Nine test days to prepare for 2017

“Fully recognising how vital these pre-season tests are, the championship’s teams, manufacturers, Dorna Sport and Michelin worked together to select the three circuits to be used,” explains MotoGP Safety Advisor Loris Capirossi, who is now also a representative for Dorna Sport in Race Direction. In February and March, the only realistic options are in either the southern hemisphere or the tropics. “As a venue for pre-season testing, Sepang is non-negotiable,” continues Capirossi. “Even if it frequently rains, we know it will be hot and the track layout is both technical and fast, with two long straights followed by heavy braking zones. That makes it an all-round challenge, with the type of extreme conditions that put engines, tyres and riders alike thoroughly through their paces.”

INTERVIEW

LORIScapirossi

After Sepang, MotoGP’s travelling circus headed en masse to Phillip Island, where mid-February meant summer in

Australia. “Phillip Island is a very different proposition to Sepang. With an average lap speed of 182kph, it is one of the

quickest circuits on the calendar and, instead of heavy braking zones, it offers long, sweeping corners that truly test chassis and

tyres.” Finally, competitors travel to Losail for a dress rehearsal just a fortnight before the season officially revs into life. “These last three

days of testing in Qatar are essential, since it is at this point that the teams must confirm certain technical decisions. After that, manufacturers must seal

the engines that will be used over the course of the entire 18-race campaign.”

THE YOUNG PRETENDER

Four test sessions – and four fastest times.

Recruited to replace Jorge Lorenzo at Movistar

Yamaha, it evidently did not take Maverick Viñales

long to get to grips with the new M1. Having already

impressed by posting the fastest lap during the test in

Valencia the day after the final grand prix of 2016, the former

Suzuki rider similarly starred in Malaysia, Australia and Qatar

by topping the timesheets on all occasions to set out his stall as a

serious MotoGP title contender.

Viñales in the starting blocks

maverick Viñales

THE CHAMPION

Having claimed three world championship titles from just four seasons in the premier class, Marc Marquez is unquestionably the man to beat in MotoGP. Despite seeing his supremacy come under threat during the winter from Maverick Viñales, the Honda rider has refused to be rattled and has instead calmly focused his efforts on developing the new RC213V. Whilst acknowledging that the Japanese manufacturer’s latest bike will likely still require some fine-tuning at the opening grands prix, Marquez has vowed to make the most of the bad weekends, which last year proved to be the key to his championship triumph...

Marquez eager to defend his crown

NEW YEAR, NEW CHALLENGE

After nine seasons competing for Yamaha, Jorge Lorenzo faces a new challenge in 2017 with Ducati. The Italian manufacturer – whose first and to-date only MotoGP title was secured by Casey Stoner in 2007 – is counting upon the Spaniard to provide the final missing link after returning to the top step of the podium in 2016 for the first time in six years.

Not yet completely comfortable aboard the Desmosedici, Lorenzo has main-tained a conspicuously low profile during winter testing. “I still need to adapt properly to the characteristics of my new bike,” he remarked, “but the main thing is that I have the full support of the team behind me as I learn.”

Lorenzo starts afresh

THE VETERAN

At 38 years of age, Valentino Rossi is preparing to embark upon what looks set to be his penultimate campaign of grand prix racing. Having finished as world championship runner-up in 2014, 2015 and 2016, can the Yamaha rider finally clinch the tenth title that he has been chasing for the past seven years? “That is the clear objective,” asserts Yamaha Team Manager Massimo Meregalli. “He may no longer be a young rider, but Valentino remains as competitive as ever and his tremendous experience is a key weapon in his armoury.” Not to mention the opportunity to exploit the growing rivalry between Marc Marquez and Maverick Viñales...

Rossi the omnipresent threat

SENSORS

Until now, the only way of telling what type of compound riders are running has been via the different coloured strips on the tyre sidewalls. From this season, however, every wheel will additionally be listed by Michelin as a function of the tyre that has been fitted, and this information will be communicated to Race Direction the tyres’ compulsory pressure sensors. In turn, TV production companies will simply need to collate the data and transfer it to the screen.

Compound information

TYRES

Slicks or rain tyresThe major tyre change ahead of the

2017 MotoGP campaign is the absence of intermediates. “We supplied

intermediate tyres in 2016 at the request of the championship promoter,

to enable riders to run on a partially wet circuit and safeguard the spectacle for television and trackside spectators,”

reveals Nicolas Goubert, Deputy Director of Michelin Motorsport. “As

it turned out our hard-compound rain tyres worked extremely well in drying

conditions.” The regulations now stipulate, however, that there must be an additional front and rear slick option, which will make for a total

of three different dry weather tyres. An extra rear soft will also be made available to each of the fastest two riders in Q1 who progress on to Q2, to ensure that they are not unfairly

disadvantaged in the race the following day.

NICOLAS GOUBERT SAYS... “A year on from returning to the MotoGP grid, we are continuing to

develop our tyres by making full use of all the experience we gained in 2016. Since August, we have been

working on a new front profile, which has considerably enhanced

grip at maximum lean angles. As the title was already decided, we elected

to debut it in the final race of last season in Valencia. Ninety per cent of the riders opted to use it, confirming

to us that it was the right direction to be pursuing, which in turn made our

lives easier at the start of this year. Over the winter months, we offered the riders a number of variations of

this profile to test, with different architectures and new rubber

compounds to continue improving grip levels and the speed at which our tyres reach their ideal working

temperature. As regards the rear, the major innovation is a new casing in a

bid to enhance overall performance with a particular focus on traction. Generally speaking, the target this

year is to be stronger at the circuits where we struggled slightly in 2016, like Jerez, Sachsenring and Motegi.”

tests sepang

LAP TIMES

1 - maverick ViŃales (Yamaha).........................

2 - andrea IANNONE (SUZUKI)............................

3 - marc marquez (Honda)...............................

4 - andrea dovizioso (Ducati)..........................

5 - Dani Pedrosa (Honda).................................

6 - valentino Rossi (Yamaha)..........................

7 - alvaro bautista (DUcAtI)............................

8 - casey stoner (DUcAtI)................................

9 - cal crutchlow (honda)..............................

10 - jorge lorenzo (DUcAtI).............................

1:59.368

1:59.452

1:59.506

1:59.553

1:59.578

1:59.589

1:59.628

1:59.639

1:59.728

1:59.769

LAP TIMES

1 - maverick ViŃales (Yamaha).......................

2 - marc Marquez (Honda).............................

3 - Dani Pedrosa (Honda)...............................

4 - jonas folger (Yamaha).............................

5 - cal crutchlow (honda)............................

6 - alex rins (suzuki).....................................

7 - andrea Dovizioso (Ducati)........................

8 - jorge lorenzo (DUcAtI)............................

9 - jack miller (honda)..................................

10 - Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia)........................

1:28.549

1:28.843

1:29.033

1:29.042

1:29.101

1:29.103

1:29.248

1:29.342

1:29.358

1:29.361

tests philip island

LAP TIMES

1 - maverick ViŃales (Yamaha)........................

2 - andrea Dovizioso (Ducati)........................

3 - Dani Pedrosa (Honda)...............................

4 - jorge lorenzo (DUcAtI)............................

5 - alvaro bautista (DUcAtI)..........................

6 - valentino Rossi (Yamaha)........................

7 - scott redding (Ducati).............................

8 - jonas folger (Yamaha)............................

9 - cal crutchlow (honda)...........................

10 - johann Zarco (yamaha)..........................

1:54.330

1:54.401

1:54.469

1:54.519

1:54.714

1:54.732

1:54.750

1:54.807

1:54.821

1:54.900

tests losail

Date Grand Prix circuit

pre-season sepang, philip island & Losail mag 8 1 26/03 Qatar Losail International2 09/04 Argentina Termas de Río Hondo3 23/04 Américas Circuit Of The Americas4 07/05 Spain Circuito de Jerez5 21/05 France Le Mans6 04/06 Italy Mugello7 11/06 Catalunya barcelona-Catalunya8 25/06 Netherlands TT circuit Assen9 02/07 Germany Sachsenring10 06/08 CZECH REPUBLIC automotodrom Brno11 13/08 austria Red-bull ring12 27/08 GREAT BRITAIN Silverstone13 10/09 San Marino Misano14 24/09 Aragón MotorLand Aragón15 15/10 Japan Twin Ring Motegi16 22/10 Australia Phillip Island17 29/10 Malaysia Sepang International18 12/11 Valencia circuito ricardo tormo

CALENDAR / STANDINGS

mag 9

mag 10

mag 11

mag 12

mag 13

mag 14

2016 Championship

1 - Marquez (Honda).............

2 - Rossi (Yamaha) ................

3 - lorenzo (Yamaha)...........

4 - Vińales (Suzuki)..............

5 - dovizioso (Ducati)...........

6 - Pedrosa (Honda).............

7 - crutchlow (honda)........

...

298

249

233

202

171

155

141