Crutchlow pips Rins on Day 1 of Buriram test

Cal Crutchlow has pipped Alex Rins by a narrow margin on the first day of MotoGP running at the Buriram International Circuit in Thailand.

Crutchlow shook off an earlier crash to lap the newest circuit on the calendar in a best time of 1:30.797s on his LCR Honda during the final hour of the eight-hour session.

Rins went second-fastest also during the same hour, falling just 0.012s short of top spot on his Suzuki.

Defending world champion Marc Marquez had been fastest for the majority of the day and the Repsol Honda rider’s best effort held up for third position by the end of the session.

Ducati Team riders Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo each tested a different aerodynamic fairing as they were classified fourth and 10th respectively.

Jack Miller was seventh-fastest, one position behind Pramac Ducati team-mate Danilo Petrucci.

Of the Movistar Yamahas, Valentino Rossi was eighth-fastest on his 39th birthday and Maverick Viñales 11th.

Red Bell KTM’s Pol Espargaro is sitting out the test after suffering a spinal disc herniation in a high-speed crash during the most recent test at Sepang.

The three-day test continues tomorrow.

Pre-season testing: Buriram: Day 1

Pos	Num	Rider	Nat	Team	Bike	Time	Gap 1st/prev
1	35	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	LCR Honda CASTROL	Honda	1:30.797
2	42	Alex RINS	ESP	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	1:30.809	0.012/0.012
3	93	Marc MARQUEZ	ESP	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	1:30.912	0.115/0.103
4	04	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	1:30.945	0.148/0.033
5	26	Dani PEDROSA	ESP	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	1:30.960	0.163/0.015
6	9	Danilo PETRUCCI	ITA	Alma Pramac Racing	Ducati	1:31.003	0.206/0.043
7	43	Jack MILLER	AUS	Alma Pramac Racing	Ducati	1:31.044	0.247/0.041
8	46	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	1:31.189	0.392/0.145
9	29	Andrea IANNONE	ITA	Team SUZUKI ECSTAR	Suzuki	1:31.235	0.438/0.046
10	99	Jorge LORENZO	ESP	Ducati Team	Ducati	1:31.246	0.449/0.011
11	25	Maverick VIÑALES	ESP	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	1:31.294	0.497/0.048
12	5	Johann ZARCO	FRA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	1:31.305	0.508/0.011
13	53	Tito RABAT	ESP	Reale Avintia Racing	Ducati	1:31.523	0.726/0.218
14	19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	ESP	Angel Nieto Team	Ducati	1:31.525	0.728/0.002
15	41	Aleix ESPARGARO	ESP	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	1:31.662	0.865/0.137
16	45	Scott REDDING	GBR	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	Aprilia	1:31.685	0.888/0.023
17	30	Takaaki NAKAGAMI	JPN	LCR Honda IDEMITSU	Honda	1:31.692	0.895/0.007
18	17	Karel ABRAHAM	CZE	Angel Nieto Team	Ducati	1:31.698	0.901/0.006
19	21	Franco MORBIDELLI	ITA	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Honda	1:31.729	0.932/0.031
20	38	Bradley SMITH	GBR	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	1:31.741	0.944/0.012
21	12	Tom LUTHI	SWI	EG 0,0 Marc VDS	Honda	1:32.716	1.919/0.975
22	10	Xavier SIMEON	BEL	Reale Avintia Racing	Ducati	1:32.720	1.923/0.004
23	36	Mika KALLIO	FIN	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	KTM	1:32.749	1.952/0.029
24	55	Hafizh SYAHRIN	MAL	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	1:33.165	2.368/0.416