Takaaki Nakagami tops Qatar Moto2 test – Romano Fenati fastest Moto3
Aussie Remy Gardner continues to advance in Moto2, finishing in 25th overall
Remy Gardner made solid headway as he worked tirelessly with the Tech3 Racing Teamover the Qatar Moto2 test, setting his quickest lap in the penultimate practice.
Remy finished the final day in 13th, with this performance placing him 25th overall, before a storm hit that caused the final session to be cancelled.
Nevertheless, this time was 0.615 quicker than his opening best, and only seven-tenths of a second back from the top ten, which leaves the Australian rookie encouraged and fired up for the opening battle.
Remy Gardner – 25th – 2’01.967
“We had a positive final day and I am very happy with the advances that we made in the second session. The team and I still need to make some progress but we are certainly on the right path. It was a shame that we missed out on some valuable track time on Friday and also today due to the weather, but these things happen. Anyway, now I am looking forward to getting back on the Mistral and starting the season in only a few days time. Thanks to the guys for their efforts and I will do my absolute best when we return to the asphalt.”
Moto2 preseason testing ends with Takaaki Nakagami leading
On Day 1 it was rain, on Day 2 it was good running, and Day 3 ended in a sandstorm and thunder and lightning. High winds throughout the day gave way to rain and sand by the third Moto3 session, with the final outing for Moto2 preseason then cancelled.
Takaaki Nakagami (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) was therefore top overall after his 2:00.187 on Day 2, with EG0,0 Marc VDS rider Franco Morbidelli only 0.053 back. 2014 Moto3 World Champion Alex Marquez (Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS) ended his preseason in P3 after topping Jerez, 0.240 off P1.
Franco Morbidelli – 2nd – 2:00.240
“This has probably been the best preseason for me since I started racing in Moto2 and it’s been really encouraging ahead of the first few races of the season. I’m very happy with the job we’ve done, but now we need to focus on the racing, starting this next weekend in Qatar. People always talk about potential championship contenders going into a new season but there is some competition this year, so we won’t really get a feel for this until we’re four or five races into the championship. There are probably four or five riders who I’ll be keeping any eye on, including my teammate, as Álex has been very fast during testing this season. But testing is one thing and racing is another, and I’m looking forward to the weekend ahead here in Qatar.”
Álex Márquez – 3rd – 2:00.427
“I’m really happy with how the preseason testing has gone; I was quickest in Jerez, third here despite the weather and my pace was also good at the two private tests in Spain. I feel really confident, I feel comfortable on the bike and the lap times seem to come easily, but we know we can improve further during practice for the first race. I’m looking forward to this weekend, because race weekends are more enjoyable than testing, and I’m completely motivated to fight for a good result. Of course, to finish on the podium in Qatar would be the perfect way to start the season, but I’m sure there are plenty of other riders who are thinking exactly the same!”
Hafizh Syahrin (Petronas Raceline Malaysia) was an impressive P4 only half a second back, with Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) keeping the new KTM chassis in the top five on a 2:00.861. His teammate – reigning Moto3 World Champion Brad Binder – was 1.6 seconds off P1 as he returns from injury.
2016 contender Tom Lüthi (CarXpert Interwetten) was sixth, with rookie Fabio Quartararo (Pons HP 40) impressing in seventh.
Xavi Vierge (Tech 3 Racing) added to the diverse chassis competition on the Tech 3 machine in P8, just ahead of the first Suter on the timesheets of 2015 Moto3 World Champion Danny Kent (Kiefer Racing) with a 2:01.236.
Xavi Vierge – 8th – 2’01.126
“I’m very happy with how this last test went for us and I am excited to be getting back on the bike and starting the season soon. In the end, the outcome of this track appearance is pleasing because every day we made a good step forward plus, the team worked really hard during the winter and it’s easy to see the positive results on the track. In addition, I am so happy with the rhythm that I managed to ride during this test in Qatar and I also managed to improve my lap time for qualifying. This leaves me fired up and confident for next weekend and I have to say thanks once again to the team for their work.”
RW Racing GP rider Axel Pons debuted with his new team in P10, only 0.016 off Kent.
Jorge Navaroo – 12th – 2’01.296s
“This test was really useful to get a better understanding of the bike and especially on this track. We tried different things in order for me to find the best position on the bike: we are still missing something, but I am quite sure it’s me who has to adapt a bit better to my Kalex machine. The strong winds of the last day have complicated things a little bit, but we were able to work with these conditions nevertheless. Results were not too bad, but we’d hoped we could work with different weather. Now it’s time to concentrate fully on the season opener, though!”
Moto2 will next be on track for FP1 at Losail on Thursday as the first race weekend of the year gets into gear.
Moto2 Combined Standings – Qatar Test
- Takaaki NAKAGAMI – 2:00.187
- Franco MORBIDELLI – 2:00.240
- Alex MARQUEZ – 2:00.427
- Hafiz SYAHRIN – 2:00.771
- Miguel OLIVEIRA – 2:00.861
- Thomas LUTHI – 2:00.901
- Fabio QUARTARARO – 2:01.071
- Xavi VIERGE – 2:01.126
- Danny KENT – 2:01.236
- Axel PONS – 2:01.252
- Marcel SCHROTTER – 2:01.268
- Jorge NAVARRO – 2:01.296
- Sandro CORTESE – 2:01.311
- Julian SIMON – 2:01.375
- Luca MARINI – 2:01.436
… 25. Remi GARDNER – 2:01.967
Romano Fenati retains top spot in Qatar Moto3 test
After a Day 1 that fell victim to rain followed by a more useful Day 2, the third and final outing for the Moto3 grid at Losail International Circuit saw the weather return as a key protagonist.
High winds throughout most of the day culminated in a sandstorm and a Red Flag in the third Moto3 session, before thunder and lightning brought a definitive close to the preseason for the lightweight class.
That left the big names from combined times on Day 2 holding on to their places on the timesheets. Returning Romano Fenati (Marinelli Rivacold Snipers) keeps his throne, ahead of Jorge Martin (Del Conca Gresini Moto3) by a tiny 0.039 margin.
Martin suffered a crash at T15 on Saturday but escaped with only a small contusion to his hand. Third on the timesheets remained Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia 0,0), again incredibly close and only a further 0.020 in arrears.
Jorge Martin – 2nd overall
“Yesterday’s crash was a high-speed one, but there was no major drama. Today the strong winds did not allow us to take to the track but fortunately yesterday we did work a lot on our race pace, with some encouraging results. With soft tyres the bike is moving quite a bit so we were not as quick as we could have been on the single lap, but all an all I can say that we’re ready for the opening weekend of the season.”
Gabriel Rodrigo (RBA Boe Racing Team) impressed to take fourth overall with a 2:06.957, with Belgian Leopard Racing rider Livio Loi locking out the top five.
Nicolo Bulega (Sky Racing Team VR46) took sixth on combined to complete an impressive preseason, just in front of lightning rookie Ayumu Sasaki (SIC Racing Team). Sasaki has also raced at the track in the Asia Talent Cup on the Road to MotoGP.
Niccolo Antonelli (Red Bull KTM Ajo), Juanfran Guevara (RBA BOE Racing Team) and Philipp Oettl (Südmetall Schedl GP Racing) completed the top ten, with Jakub Kornfeil (Peugeot MC Saxoprint) in P11 and British Talent Team rider John McPhee debuting the new outfit in P12.
That’s now a wrap on testing for the lightweight class, with the next time on track Thursday at Losail as FP1 gets underway at 18:00 local time (GMT +3) – and we prepare to go racing.
John McPhee – 12th overall
“Today was a bit of a nothing day with only a total of four fast laps. The weather turned too bad and the sessions were cancelled so there wasn’t much we could do. I still feel like I’m heading into the race weekend in a good position and this is definitely the best shape we’ve finished pre-season testing in. I’ve got some things I’d like to try throughout practice next week but overall I’m happy.”
Lorenzo Dalla Porta – 21st overall
“It was a difficult day because of the wind. In the end we could only ride in one of the sessions and do some laps at the end before the rain came. The lap time was very slow, one or two seconds more than normal due to the wind. Today I improved some things in my riding, I could have done with a slipstream but it does not matter.”
Fabio Di Giannantonio – 26th overall
“Unfortunately this hasn’t been the most useful of tests, really, and it was all due to the track conditions. It rained on the first day, while today the strong winds and the sand storm kept us in the pit-box basically the whole time. We did lap yesterday, but the plan was to take our time and make the most of today’s track-time, which we did not have in the end. Basically, we’ll have to start from scratch again but I hope the weather will be on our side this time.”
Albert Arenas – 27th overall
“It was a complicated test, we were able to do very little because of the track conditions, but we still tried to get on track for as long as possible, and this has helped me to continue learning the circuit. I have the line clear, but some points need work. It is my first time here and I want to see myself up there, but little by little if we continue working like this we will arrive.”
Moto3 Combined Standings – Qatar Test
- Romano FENATI – 2:06.690
- Jorge MARTIN – 2:06.729
- Aron CANET – 2:06.749
- Gabriel RODRIGO – 2:06.957
- Livio LOI – 2:07.068
- Nicolo BULEGA – 2:07.086
- Ayumu SASAKI – 2:07.140
- Niccolo ANTONELLI – 2:07.150
- Juanfran GUEVARA – 2:07.162
- Philipp OETTL – 2:07.176
- Jakub KORNFEIL – 2:07.192
- John McPHEE – 2:07.327
- Bo BENDSNEYDER – 2:07.339
- Joan MIR – 2:07.418
- Marcos RAMIREZ – 2:07.558
