2013 WorldSBK champion Tom Sykes has not lost hope of challenging for victories although ‘one of the secrets to racing is being realistic’, says the Puccetti Kawasaki rider.
Jonathan Rea admits ‘motivation wasn’t very high’ to test last December at Jerez, but the six-time WorldSBK champion is now refreshed and ready to get ‘stuck in’.
HRC riders Alvaro Bautista and Leon Haslam complete two-day private test alongside Kawasaki's Alex Lowes ahead of the first Official World Superbike test in Barcelona.
The opening MotoE test of 2020 saw three new technical developments handed to the electric-bike class in the form of enhanced battery cooling, new Michelin tyres and revised Ohlins forks for the Energica machines.
Inaugural MotoE champion Matteo Ferrari began 2020 as he had finished 2019, at the head of the electric-bike field during their opening test of the year, at Jerez last week.
Pol Espargaro was satisfied with his pace on used tyres during the final MotoGP test of the year at Jerez, but the KTM rider could only go a few tenths faster with a new soft rear tyre.
Franco Morbidelli completed a promising pair of debut MotoGP tests for the new Petronas Yamaha Sepang team with sixth place (+0.173s) during the final outing of the year at Jerez.
Suzuki riders Alex Rins, Joan Mir and Sylvain Guintoli used the final MotoGP test of the season to narrow down new parts for inclusion on next year's GSX-RR.
Bradley Smith had avoided any preconceived ideas of the Aprilia RS-GP, but after four days of MotoGP testing the Englishman "felt what he had seen" when watching the bike on track this season: "But also we know how to make it better, so that's exciting."
Jack Miller is relishing his upgraded role at Ducati, which sees the Australian join official riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci on the latest 2019 Desmosedici MotoGP machinery.
Dani Pedrosa is set to make his debut as a KTM MotoGP test rider later this month. The former Repsol Honda rider, who retired from racing at Valencia, had been expected to complete his first RC16 laps during February's opening 2019 test at Sepang.
While MotoGP test timesheets are ranked by best lap, riders and teams place much more importance on who can set consistently fast laps. That's harder to measure given variations such as fuel load, time of day and the testing of new parts/tyres.
The second day of the final 2018 MotoGP test took place at Jerez on Thursday. Cal Crutchlow (injured) was the only 2019 race rider not present, while Bradley Smith (Aprilia), Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki) and Alvaro Bautista (Ducati) were on track as test riders.
The second day of the final MotoGP test of 2018 is underway at Jerez, Spain. Testing began at 10am, half an hour later than yesterday, and concludes at 6pm.
The second day of the final MotoGP test of 2018 is underway at Jerez, Spain. Testing began at 10am, half an hour later than yesterday, and concludes at 6pm.
The second day of the final MotoGP test of 2018 is underway at Jerez, Spain. Testing began at 10am, half an hour later than yesterday, and concludes at 6pm.
The second day of the final MotoGP test of 2018 is underway at Jerez, Spain. Testing began at 10am, half an hour later than yesterday, and concludes at 6pm.