Espargaro half a second quicker on second day of Sepang test and again fastest CRT rider

Day two of the MotoGP test in Sepang saw almost identical results to those of the previous run. Three Spaniards -Pedrosa, Lorenzo and Márquez- headed the timesheets, in the same order as on day one. The trio were separated by just a few thousandths of a second. The best time of the day went to Pedrosa (2’00.549), closing in on Lorenzo’s best lap of 2012 (2’00.334) and chasing Casey Stoner’s unofficial lap record from last year’s test. Valentino Rossi was again fourth, little more than four tenths off the top three. Of the CRT riders, Aleix Espargaró was once again top dog. The conditions at Sepang were typically varied, with cloudy skies and high temperatures making way for a downpour at 5pm.

POWER ELECTRONICS Aspar rider Aleix Espargaró was one of the riders to bring their work to a close at 5pm, after 40 laps of the Malaysian circuit. The Spaniard used the new chassis available for his ART for most of the day. He was pleased with better handling on corners and under braking, and this was reflected in his times as he cut half a second off his first day hot lap. He was once again the best CRT rider of the day, followed for the second day in a row by teammate Randy De Puniet. The Frenchman was half a second off Espargaró and worked all day with his chassis. He was one of the few riders to go out in the rain to try wet weather settings.

16th Aleix Espargaró 2.03.251 (40 laps): “Today we again started very early, at 10am sharp. I am happy, because the new chassis works very well. My first stint of the day was undertaken with the 2012 chassis, as we wanted to confirm a few things, but from the second stint onwards we used the 2013 chassis and swingarm. My feeling increased gradually and I was able to ride faster than I did yesterday on the old bike, so I am very satisfied. I noted a few chatters and a lack of grip on the rear tyre, but that is normal when you start working on a new bike. On the fast corners the two bikes behave in a similar way. In the afternoon we were hit by rain just as we were about to go out again, so we decided to bring the day to an early end. I am happy that we were again the fastest CRT, and I hope that we can carry on in the same way.”

Source: Aspar Team Press Release