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Nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi moved up to P4 on the second day of 2017 testing in Malaysia, putting in 54 laps despite early inclement weather and putting in a best of 2:00.254. After suffering with illness on Day 1, the second day saw the rider from Tavullia back to his best.

The big news of Day 2 saw Rossi testing a new fairing with “internal” winglets – as their external counterparts are outlawed for 2017 – but the Italian reported minimal difference to the old.

The Italian reported some progress with the development of the YZR-M1 on day 2 at Sepang as he finished in 4th

“Today I feel good, which is important. In the end it was a good day because this morning we had to wait but in the afternoon we could work a lot on the bike," said Rossi "we tried different stuff and it’s more or less positive."

"We tried a different frame, different chassis, different tires and I finished in fourth - and improved the lap time - so it was a good day."

“The fairing was not a big difference but the new chassis was a good difference. Compared to the old one we’ve still not decided, we need to continue working tomorrow.”

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Ducati Andrea Dovizioso backed up the impressive P1 laptime of his test rider teammate Casey Stoner on Day 1 in Sepang, posting the only other laptime below the two minute barrier to go P2 with a 1:59.797.

The Italian, winner of the Malaysian GP in 2016, completed 29 laps.

Rain cut the session short with around two hours to go, with the team testing a variety of evolutions – including a completely new exhaust.

"The first day of 2017 testing went really well." Said Dovizioso "I’m happy because we were fast from the start, using the same bike as in Valencia and without changing too much."

"We haven’t had to adapt without the wings and we still have work to do with the electronics and the setup because the bike reacts differently. However, we’re still competitive and it’s always important to start off like that."

"According to our plan there’s a lot of work left to do, but getting off to a good start helps to continue bike development. Added to the fact that I did that time on the medium tyre, we’re very satisfied" he added.

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Honda Dani Pedrosa got his first contact with the new asphalt, run-offs and cambering at Sepang International Circuit on Day 1 of 2017 testing, after the Spaniard missed the race at the track last season due to a crash in the Japanese GP ahead of the event.

The most successful rider at Sepang, three-time World Champion Pedrosa used day one to familiarise himself with his surroundings after the long winter break, and concentrated on one engine configuration – as did his teammate, Marc Marquez.

Completing 44 laps with a best of 2:00.970, Pedrosa also rode in the rain of the late afternoon to gather some valuable data in the wet.

“Today basically was about re-familiarising ourselves with the bike, the track, and tyres, and I rode for the first time on the new asphalt in Sepang." Said Pedrosa who set the 13th fastest time of the day.

"We started to work on the bike and have two different engine configurations. We concentrated on one."

"We also had chance to ride in the rain and get some valuable information. We hope it doesn’t rain tomorrow, I think we could go a lot further with our program because today was only the first day.”

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Nine time World Champion Valentino Rossi was suffering from a bad headache for much of the useful tracktime as 2017 got underway in Sepang, but the Italian still posted a time that saw him end the day P8 on the timesheets and just over a second off the front on his new Yamaha.

Work focused on evaluating and comparing data from testing in November to set a schedule for the continuation on Tuesday and Wednesday, with overall impressions positive.

“The first feeling wasn't so bad, because in this session we finally have the ’real‘ two bikes that we will use during the championship and they are better than the first prototype that we tested in November, from many points of view." said the Italian

"Unfortunately, it was a difficult day today. This morning I woke up with a very bad headache and until 12 o‘clock I wasn't in good shape."

"After that we were able to do some laps and the feeling was good. In the afternoon we had to finish the work but it started to rain, so we have to wait and hope that in the next two days we will have good track conditions." He added

"We will try some new things tomorrow. Today we worked on the engine and the electronics and found some good stuff.”

 

         

 

 

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