Crutchlow takes first day honours in Buriram MotoGP tests

Buriram, February 17: British rider Cal Crutchlow of LCR Honda topped the first day of winter testing at MotoGP's new venue in the Thailand city of Buriram.

Buriram is a new addition to the FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar. Measuring just 4.6 kilometres and located around 400 km northeast of Bangkok, the Hermann Tilke-designed track will host three days of testing before making its much-awaited Grand Prix debut on October 7.

Alex Rins of Team Suzuki Ecstar put up a strong fight in the second session to finish 0.012sec behind while defending champion Marc Marquez of Repsol Honda Team was third, just 0.033sec ahead of 2017 championship rival Andrea Dovizioso of Ducati.

Muy entretenido este primer día en Buriram buscando trazadas!
Very entertaining this first day at Buriram looking for the right line!#ThaiTest pic.twitter.com/48xtOObBn7

— Marc Márquez (@marcmarquez93) February 16, 2018

Weather was hot and edging 40 degrees for some time on Day 1 - with few riders putting in truly long runs.

But the workload was far from light, with Crutchlow putting in 70 laps despite a crash. The Brit was joining third fastest Marquez and his team-mate Dani Pedrosa, also a crasher and all three men were in the top five, which was covered by only two tenths.

Danilo Petrucci of Alma Pramac Racing was another Ducati presence in the top ten as he took P6 on the GP18 on test duty, just ahead of his new team-mate Jack Miller.

Miller was again a force to be reckoned with and looked settled in - only 0.041 off the Italian ahead of him.

There was also an Italian behind him, the legendary Valentino Rossi of Movistar Yamaha.

On his 39th birthday, the 'Doctor' took eighth and was the quickest Yamaha, putting in an impressive 74 laps and topping the lap counter for the Iwata marque.

Team-mate Maverick Vinales was P11, but only a tenth further back - with the timesheets incredibly close.

Incredibly close was also apt for Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3), who was 0.011 off Vinales to take twelfth - and also confirmed that he will be using the 2016 chassis this season.

Saturday (February 17) brings more track time in Thailand and with a day of learning and familiarisation under their belts, another chance for the order to get another big shake up.

The 2018 FIM MotoGP World Championship begins under lights at the Losail circuit on March 18. The 5.3km floodlit circuit will also host the final round of winter tests from March 1 to 3.

(With MotoGP inputs)