Near perfect conditions greeted teams for the final day of a two-day test at the latest addition to the MotoGP World Championship calendar the Red Bull Ring - Spielberg.
Most riders took advantage of the second day of the test to work on their bike's setup with the latest Michelin tyres ahead of the NeroGiardini Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich on the 14th of August, as well as working to their own development programs. The only riders missing from the test being the Repsol Honda duo of Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa, the Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team of Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro and Aprilia Racing Team Gresini's Stefan Bradl, with the latter suffering from concussion after his crash during Warm Up at the Sachsenring.
Once again it was Ducati who dominated on the second day with Andrea Iannone (Ducati Team) ending up on top of the unofficial timesheets with a 1’23.240 as he took advantage of the new chassis evolution he debuted on Tuesday. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) had already raced that chassis in Assen and was the only man who could get within half a second of his teammate, ending Wednesday 0.440s back in second.
Ducati Test rider Casey Stoner was the only other man to break the 1’24 barrier, with the Australian finishing 0.625s behind Iannone despite a crash right at the end of the day. Hector Barbera (Avintia Racing) made it an all-Ducati top four, with Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Yakhnich) and Yonny Hernandez (PULL&BEAR Aspar Ducati) in 9th and 10th respectively meaning there were six Ducatis in the top ten. Eugene Laverty (PULL&BEAR Aspar Ducati) finished 11th quickest on the GP14.2, with Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Yakhnich) in 14th and test rider Michele Pirro in 16th.
Movistar Yamaha MotoGP duo Valentino Rossi and Jorge Lorenzo were separated by just 0.025s in fifth and sixth respectively as they tried to put the disappointment of the Sachsenring behind them, finishing within a second of Iannone’s time.
Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Maverick Viñales was seventh fastest, just 0.127s ahead of his teammate Aleix Espargaro in eighth, as they continued to work on the GSX-RR's electronics setup.
Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) was the leading Honda rider in 11th, with the podium finisher from the German GP 1.215s off the pace. Fellow Honda riders, Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS’s Jack Miller and Tito Rabat, ended the day in 13th and 15th on the timesheets.
The KTM test team of Mika Kallio and Tom Luthi continued to assess their progress alongside the other manufacturers, with both riders managing to get within 2.5s off Iannone’s pace.
Sam Lowes and fellow Aprilia Racing Team Gresini test rider Mike de Meglio continued to develop the new RS-GP gearbox alongside factory rider Alvaro Bautista, but decided not to run transponders and didn’t record a time.
That concludes the two-day private test at the red Bull Ring and the MotoGP™ riders will return to the track for the next race, the Austrian GP, on the 14th of August.