Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider Johann Zarco leaves Malaysia with some great feedback after three productive first days of testing in 2018. Last year’s MotoGP Rookie of the Year continued his hard work on Tuesday, concluding the test with further significant improvements, shaving off additional two tenths from his best lap time from the previous day.

Yonny Hernandez displayed his great potential while riding the Yamaha YZR-M1 for the first time during this official MotoGP test. The Columbian rider, who was called to replace Jonas Folger in Sepang, increased his feeling on the Monster Yamaha Tech3 machine repeatedly on the final day of testing and was able to improve on his day one pace by nearly one second.

The next MotoGP outing is set to take place at the newly introduced Buriram Circuit, Thailand, where the Monster Yamaha Tech3 team aims to contest with a second permanent rider alongside French star Johann Zarco.


Johann Zarco - Position: 9th - Time: 1’59.511 - Laps: 55

“I’m really happy, because in three days of testing we didn’t report any crash, which is important to be back with the best confidence possible. Today, I did some good laps. The conditions in the morning were ideal and we tried to use this opportunity to lower the lap time. 59.5 is not bad, although I wanted to be a little bit faster. Yet, I know that I also have to further improve myself. Later on, I did 13 laps in a row and physically I was feeling a lot better than one year ago, plus the pace was some tenths faster on every lap. I should be even quicker, but at least I was truly consistent and saved my energy well. The new aerodynamics package from Yamaha was great, it gives us more stability and therefore, it is less physically demanding. I will work with it during the year, depending on the track, but with it I think we can have a good front contact and stability almost everywhere.”

Yonny Hernandez - Position: 25th - Time: 2’01.223 - Laps: 31

“Overall, it was a very positive test and a fantastic experience for me. In the course of the last day I was able to improve again, but I think I’m capable to go even faster. After midday, I didn’t ride too much, nevertheless, I lowered my lap time and I learned a lot. The two exits today were quite hard, especially as the track conditions were incredibly hot. We tried two bikes and I realized that my feeling with the Yamaha in general was increasing. It goes without saying, that P25 is not the position I want to be in, but I can happily say, that I’m delighted I was able to step forward during these three days of testing.”