Fresh from winning the 2016 Rider and Constructor titles, the Repsol Honda Team was back on track in Valencia today for the first official test for the 2017 season.

Reigning World Champion Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa took to the track around 11:30 a.m. to begin a programme that included a prototype 2017 machine to compare with their 2016 bike. The test of the new Michelin tyres is planned for tomorrow.

It was a productive first day, as the ideal conditions (air 18°C, track 22°C) allowed both riders to fully exploit the track time available to work on their RC213V setup. Marc ended the day fourth, with his time of 1’31.102 coming on lap 33 of 53. Dani was just 0.376 seconds off the top, with a 1’31.306 time on lap 32 of 42, placing him 10th for the day.

Testing continues Wednesday, with the second and final day beginning at 10 a.m. local time.

Marc Marquez - 4th 1’31.102

It has been a very long test day, because when the bikes are new, it takes a lot of time to make changes and get back out on track. We only did one stint with the bike we used in the Grand Prix, to see what condition the track was in, and then we started to work on the new bike. As a rider, it's a bit boring because I had to wait a long time in the garage as with being everything new the engineers have to adjust a lot of things along the way, but finally we were able to try several solutions. Let's see if tomorrow we can continue improving and make the most of the day”.



Dani Pedrosa - 10th 1'31.306

“The first day of testing was positive because I was able to ride with both bikes and compare them. I haven’t yet tried out anything specific and instead have just been riding both of them and analysing the feeling. We had already debuted the bike before, and that’s also a good thing, although physically I didn’t push myself to the maximum since I wanted to conserve strength for tomorrow and be able to do a little more specific testing then. Hopefully the weather tomorrow will also be positive because today the track was a bit tricky at some points and we saw quite a few crashes. It has also been interesting to see the changes of riders and manufacturers, and surprising to see that they have adapted so quickly.”



1   - VINALES Maverick 25 SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 1'30.930
2   - ROSSI Valentino 46 ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 0.020
3   - LORENZO Jorge 99 SPA Ducati Team Ducati 0.122
4   - MARQUEZ Marc 93 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 0.172
5   - DOVIZIOSO Andrea 4 ITA Ducati Team Ducati 0.201
6   - CRUTCHLOW Cal 35 GBR LCR Honda Honda 0.226
7   - IANNONE Andrea 29 ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 0.235
8   - REDDING Scott 45 GBR Octo Pramac Racing Ducati 0.312
9   - BARBERA Hector 8 SPA Avintia Racing Ducati 0.356
10 - PEDROSA Dani 26 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 0.376
11 - MILLER Jack 43 AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 0.547
12 - BAUTISTA Alvaro 19 SPA Aspar Team Ducati 0.744
13 - PIRRO Michele 51 ITA Ducati Ducati 1.138
14 - ESPARGARO Aleix 41 SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 1.247
15 - BAZ Loris 76 FRA Avintia Racing Ducati 1.385
16 - FOLGER Jonas 94 GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1.520
17 - ZARCO Johann 5 FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 1.532
18 - RABAT Tito 53 SPA Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 1.648
19 - ESPARGARO Pol 44 SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1.683
20 - SMITH Bradley 38 GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1.876
21 - RINS Alex 42 SPA Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 1.881
22 - LAVERTY Eugene 50 IRE Aspar Team Ducati 2.005
23 - ABRAHAM Karel 17 CZE Aspar Team Ducati 2.301
24 - LOWES Sam 22 GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 2.429