Dovizioso chart quicker pace on second and final day of MotoGP’s official pre-season tests in Jerez
As Day 2 of MotoGP’s official pre-season tests concludes, WITHU YAMAHA RNF MotoGP TEAM ended things here on a positive note thanks to the progress made by Andrea Dovizioso.
Despite the clear weather, today’s conditions at Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto proved a tad challenging compared to yesterday due to strong winds returning towards midday, as well as the low track temperatures which affected tyre grip levels throughout the day. Nevertheless, Dovizioso managed to chart plenty of progress astride his machines.
For Dovi, the veteran 35-year-old Italian and his crew continued where they left off yesterday with their prototype factory-spec (2022) Yamaha YZR-M1 test machine. Despite the aforementioned returning winds and cooler track temperatures, Andrea was still able to rake in slightly more mileage – 58 laps in total – whilst also heightening his pace.
Initially, Dovi remained eighteenth in the standings just after midday before upping the ante later in the afternoon, lapping the famed 4.4km-long circuit with a quicker new personal best time of 1 minute 38.029 seconds. In turn, said effort allowed Dovi to elevate his rank in the standings up to thirteenth by day’s end.
As the first pre-season test concludes has learned much from each other on what also stood as a historic on-track debut for the newly-formed WITHU YAMAHA RNF MotoGP TEAM. If anything, the road towards the 2022 season has only just begun for the squad, and the rest of the premier MotoGP class.
MotoGP will now undergo its customary year-end break before testing resumes once more in February 2022 in both Malaysia (Sepang) and Indonesia (Mandalika) prior to the season-opening Qatar Grand Prix night race in March.
Andrea Dovizioso #04
P 13“Overall, today was not bad, especially in the afternoon where I was able to ride a bit better. With the new bike, I have better braking and a bit more power, but the DNA of the bike feels the same. At this moment, I am focused on adapting and understanding the bike, but it feels good to feel more power. The work of these two days went perfectly, and I am happy to go into the next test in Malaysia with this feeling”.