The four MotoGP rookies all completed their first sessions as official MotoGP riders on a wonderful day in Valencia.
Jonas Folger finished the first day of testing in 2017 as the fastest rookie, just a tenth ahead of his Monster Energy Tech3 Yamaha team-mate Johann Zarco. While Folger’s first day on a MotoGP motorcycle, his French teammate has a bit of MotoGP experience under his belt after a brief test in Japan with the Suzuki team during the summer break.
Zarco was about to switch to Suzuki, but the Japanese factory decided to hire Spaniard Alex Rins instead. Rins, who finished the first day in 21st place, will spend the first few days with very limited electronic aids to help him adapt to the much more powerful MotoGP machine. Suzuki used the same tactic with Maverick Viñales two years ago when he started adapting to MotoGP.
The last rookie was the Briton Sam Lowes. Lowes has ridden the Aprilia RS-GP twice in the past but is being examined at a local hospital after a quick accident with his Aprilia RS-GP.
Photos via MotoGP.com