Buriram MotoGP test: Honda's Marc Marquez ends day two on top
Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez made a late surge to the head of the times on the second day of testing in Thailand, beating factory Honda team-mate Dani Pedrosa
Pedrosa sat at the top of the times for the bulk of the day, having set a 1m30.127s with a little over four hours remaining of Saturday's running to knock Marquez off the top spot.
The times remained static for some time after that as temperatures soared at the Buriram track, before numerous riders made improvements in the final hour.
Pramac Ducati rider Jack Miller leapt up to second with just under half an hour to go with a 1m30.185s, before Marquez became the first rider to breach the 1m30s barrier 10 minutes later with a 1m29.969s.
That was enough for Marquez, who had earlier trialled a new aerodynamic fairing on his Honda, to beat Pedrosa by 0.158 seconds, with Miller a further 0.058s back in third.
Yamaha's Maverick Vinales had languished outside the top 10 for much of the afternoon before a late effort of 1m30.347s put him fourth, less than a tenth ahead of satellite Tech3 rider Johann Zarco.
Danilo Petrucci made it two Pramac bikes in the top six, just seven thousandths further back. Suzuki riders Alex Rins and Andrea Iannone sampled two new types of fairing on their GSX-RRs, and both suffered crashes during the day.
The pair ended up seventh and 11th respectively, split by Friday pacesetter Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) and works Ducati pair Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo.
Valentino Rossi failed to improve in the latter stages and ended up 14th on the second of the factory Yamahas, nine tenths off Marquez's benchmark.
Bradley Smith again led the KTM runners in 16th place, one place ahead of top Aprilia Aleix Espargaro.
In his second day of MotoGP action, Tech3's Hafiz Syahrin was 2.029s off the pace, and eclipsed Avintia Ducati rider Xavier Simeon to avoid finishing at the bottom of the pile for a second day in a row.
Saturday test times
| Pos | Driver | Team | Car | Time | Gap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Honda | Honda | 1m29.969s | - | 97 |
| 2 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | Honda | 1m30.127s | 0.158s | 71 |
| 3 | Jack Miller | Pramac Ducati | Ducati | 1m30.185s | 0.216s | 69 |
| 4 | Maverick Vinales | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m30.274s | 0.305s | 90 |
| 5 | Johann Zarco | Tech3 Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m30.360s | 0.391s | 60 |
| 6 | Danilo Petrucci | Pramac Ducati | Ducati | 1m30.367s | 0.398s | 75 |
| 7 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | Suzuki | 1m30.446s | 0.477s | 56 |
| 8 | Cal Crutchlow | LCR Honda | Honda | 1m30.490s | 0.521s | 85 |
| 9 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | Ducati | 1m30.494s | 0.525s | 78 |
| 10 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | Ducati | 1m30.729s | 0.760s | 57 |
| 11 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | Suzuki | 1m30.775s | 0.806s | 76 |
| 12 | Tito Rabat | Avintia Ducati | Ducati | 1m30.855s | 0.886s | 69 |
| 13 | Alvaro Bautista | Aspar Ducati | Ducati | 1m30.883s | 0.914s | 89 |
| 14 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m30.888s | 0.919s | 65 |
| 15 | Takaaki Nakagami | LCR Honda | Honda | 1m30.901s | 0.932s | 83 |
| 16 | Bradley Smith | KTM | KTM | 1m31.113s | 1.144s | 79 |
| 17 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | Aprilia | 1m31.130s | 1.161s | 65 |
| 18 | Franco Morbidelli | MVDS Honda | Honda | 1m31.185s | 1.216s | 68 |
| 19 | Mika Kallio | KTM | KTM | 1m31.598s | 1.629s | 99 |
| 20 | Scott Redding | Aprilia | Aprilia | 1m31.637s | 1.668s | 67 |
| 21 | Karel Abraham | Aspar Ducati | Ducati | 1m31.661s | 1.692s | 72 |
| 22 | Thomas Luthi | MVDS Honda | Honda | 1m31.994s | 2.025s | 71 |
| 23 | Hafizh Syahrin | Tech3 Yamaha | Yamaha | 1m31.998s | 2.029s | 49 |
| 24 | Xavier Simeon | Avintia Ducati | Ducati | 1m32.267s | 2.298s | 60 |
'Worried' Valentino Rossi urges Yamaha MotoGP team to fix problems
Buriram MotoGP test: Electronics fix helped Vinales solve smooth bike
Retiring MotoGP ace Dovizioso "really didn't expect" Yamaha struggles
Retiring 15-time MotoGP race winner Andrea Dovizioso admits he "really didn't expect" to encounter the struggles he has in adapting to the Yamaha MotoGP bike.
2022 MotoGP title fight now “very tight”, says Aleix Espargaro
Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro believes the current MotoGP championship picture following the British Grand Prix has set up “a very, very tight” title battle.
Pol Espargaro doesn’t think Honda is reacting to MotoGP woes
Pol Espargaro isn’t sure the problems Honda is facing at races in MotoGP this season are being relayed back to Japan as “we’re not getting the material we need”.
Marc Marquez to return to MotoGP paddock at Austrian GP for Honda progress update
Marc Marquez will return to the MotoGP paddock at the Austrian Grand Prix to check up on Honda’s progress as he continues his own rehabilitation.
The signs Quartararo’s 2022 MotoGP title is slipping away from him
Prior to the summer break, the 2022 MotoGP title looked like it was Fabio Quartararo’s to lose. But a crash at Assen and the consequential penalty he had to serve last weekend at Silverstone stopped him from capitalising on a main rival’s injury woes, while a resurgence from another, plus the rise of a former team-mate, look set to conspire against the Yamaha rider
Why Marquez’s toughest MotoGP foe is stopping at the right time
On the eve of the British Grand Prix, Andrea Dovizioso announced that he will be retiring from MotoGP after September’s San Marino GP. The timing of his departure raised eyebrows, but his reasoning remains sensible and what has happened this year should not diminish a hard-built legacy
Why a Suzuki refugee feels he deserves MotoGP's toughest challenge
Alex Rins’ MotoGP future was plunged into sudden doubt when Suzuki elected to quit the series at the end of 2022. Securing a deal with Honda to join LCR, he will now tread a path that many have fallen off from. But it was a move he felt his status deserved, and it’s a challenge – he tells Autosport - he faces with his eyes wide open…
How Formula 1 has driven MotoGP's changing nature
The hiring of technicians from Formula 1 has clearly contributed to a recent change in the MotoGP landscape, with the role of engineers gaining greater significance relative to the riders. Here's how this shift has come about
The revolution behind Aprilia's rise from MotoGP tail-ender to pack-leader
Coinciding with the arrival of Massimo Rivola as head of its MotoGP division, Aprilia has undergone an internal revolution that has spurred it from occupying last place in the team standings to leading the table in the space of just two years. Those entrenched in the project reveal how the ex-Ferrari F1 chief has achieved the dramatic turnaround
The battle Yamaha's wayward son is fighting to be fast again in MotoGP
Franco Morbidelli was long overdue a promotion to factory machinery when it finally came late last year, having finished runner-up in the 2020 standings on an old Yamaha package. But since then the Italian has been a shadow of his former self as he toils to adapt to the 2022 M1, and recognises that he needs to change his style to be quick on it
Why Honda and Yamaha have been left behind in MotoGP's new era
The once all-conquering Japanese manufacturers are going through a difficult period in MotoGP this season. With Suzuki quitting, Honda struggling to get near the podium and Yamaha only enjoying success courtesy of Fabio Quartararo, Japanese manufacturers have been left in the dust by their European counterparts. Key paddock figures explain why.
Who is Valentino Rossi’s newest MotoGP star?
Valentino Rossi’s protégés stole the show at Assen as Francesco Bagnaia stormed to victory to arrest a recent barren run. But it was the rider in second, on Bagnaia’s old bike, who had all eyes on him. Securing his and the VR46 team’s first MotoGP podium, Marco Bezzecchi has all the characteristics that made his mentor special