Thursday, November 10 2011
Cal Crutchlow had a successful first testing session on the 1000cc YZR-M1 for his new team Yamaha Tech3 this week at Valencia’s Ricardo Tomo Circuit.
The fantastic weather was a far cry from the rainy conditions experienced at Sundays GP and the newly crowned Moto GP ‘Rookie of the Year’ set a best lap time of 1’33.652 on Tuesday and achieved a 1’32.500 the following day.
The 26-year-old completed 142 laps during testing, clocking the fourth fastest time – just behind team-mate Andrea Dovizioso who recorded a 1’33.256 after his 118 Laps.
This too was Dovizioso’s first time on Tech3 Yamaha and technicians were able to take advantage of his vast racing experience to get valuable feedback from the Italian rider and get the best from the bike.
Repsol Honda’s Dani Pedrosa recorded a 1’31.807 on his 45th lap, whilst team-mate Casey Stoner took the second fastest time with a 1’31.968 on the RC213V; meaning Repsol Honda occupied the top two positions.
Ben Spies spent most of the practice sessions working with the technicians to get the best from his Yamaha YZR-M1; working on his engine and geometry settings to recorded an impressive 1’32.338 on his 57th lap. Spies was able to provide valuable info to the team’s technicians, Jorge Lorenzo being a notable absentee.
The next testing session will take place in Malaysia at the end of January.
