News 19 Nov 2014

Rabat concludes Valencia test on top of time sheets

Antonelli leads Moto3 field following second and final day.

Source: MotoGP.

Source: MotoGP.

Moto2 World Champion Tito Rabat was again the fastest rider on Tuesday at Valencia as he undertook a marathon workload at the Spanish track.

Rabat is often praised for his work ethic and it was once again in evidence on the second day of this two-day test for the smaller classes at the Ricardo Tormo circuit.

The Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS rider put in an incredible total of 118 laps on Tuesday having also topped the time sheet on Monday.

The fastest of those laps was a 1m34.844 effort and put Rabat at the top of the time sheet, ahead of Johann Zarco (Ajo Motorsport) and Jonas Folger (AGR Team) in the top three.

Luis Salom (Paginas Amarillas HP 40) and Xavier Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) were also in the top five, with Salom riding a new bike for 2015. Salom’s new colleague Alex Rins notched up 91 laps of Moto2 experience and ended up eighth overall.

Meanwhile Rins’ fellow rookie Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) was 12th best. Moto3 World Champion Marquez suffered two crashes without consequences as he pushed to find the limit and finished the day less than a second behind his flying teammate and good friend Rabat.

The fastest Moto3 rider on track on the second and concluding day of testing at Valencia on Tuesday was Italian youngster Niccolo Antonelli.

A best lap of 1m39.289 put Antonelli (Ongetta-Rivacold) on top, with his compatriot Francesco Bagnaia (Mapfre Aspar Team Moto3) in second place on the Mahindra. In third place was Monday’s fastest rider Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo), with a similar time to Bagnaia’s and just over three tenths off Antonelli.

Antonelli was working on improving his corner entry, Bagnaia continued his learning with his new machine, whilst Hanika focused on working with his suspension system.

Riders such as Danny Kent, Efren Vazquez, Enea Bastianini, Romano Fenati and rookie Fabio Quartararo were all present but their lap times were not made public.

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