A single second covered the top 15 but it was again Vinales that ended up #1 on the timesheets
Final MotoGP pre-season test concludes in Qatar
Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) completed his royal flush of incredible preseason form by the end of the #QatarTest, taking to the top once again on the final day of testing ahead of lights out for the GP weekend. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) was the closest challenger after also having gone quickest on Day 1, with Repsol Honda Team’s Dani Pedrosa completing the top three on Day 3.
Viñales’ quickest was a 1:54.330 – the fastest lap on Day 3 and overall – heading ‘DesmoDovi’ by only 0.071 on the final day. The gap back to Pedrosa was smaller again, 0.068, with P4 closer still and only 0.050 in arrears. The man in P4 was new Ducati Team recruit Jorge Lorenzo.
Viñales proceeded with a long run to wrap up the test with vital information on fuel consumption and tyre degradation, bringing his tally for day three up to 60 laps.
Maverick Vinales – P1 – 1m54.330
“I‘m really happy, we made another step with the bike and I feel comfortable, even on the race pace we are quite happy. I feel that we can still better the electronics and gain a couple of tenths, so we have a margin to improve. For sure we‘re not on the bike‘s limit, so we can still push a little bit more. If we do the same in the first GP as we did in the test, we can fight for the victory. We have a really good package and I feel good on the bike. I have a great fitness now, so I feel comfortable.”
After the Borgo Panigale factory broke cover on a radical new “aero-fairing” design on day two – put through some paces by Andrea Dovizioso – it was ‘Spartan’ Lorenzo’s turn on the third and final day of testing; alongside the more traditional fairing design of the Desmosedici. The five-time World Champion did 53 laps in total on Day 3, and showed his real progress since first taking the GP16 out for a spin in Valencia – a 1:54.519 and a tenth off his teammate.
Andrea Dovizioso – P2 – 1m54.401
“These three days of testing at Losail have been very interesting because every day we found different track and grip conditions which were very useful in preparation for the race at the end of the month. We went strongly but I am not entirely satisfied with my race pace, which despite being good, is not enough yet because Vinales was really quick. In any case we got through a lot of work and we confirmed a lot of things, so I am confident for the first round of the season.”
Jorge Lorenzo – P4 – 1m54.519
“Today was a much more positive day than the first two. In general things went very well and I achieved my best position in the three official 2017 tests. We upped the pace quite a lot and I also managed to set some good times, but we still have to work on the race pace and, with the GP in mind, also decide which tyres to use. We still have a lot of work to do, but on this track I think we can score a good result and so I’m leaving Qatar optimistic about the first race.”
There was more good reading for Ducati slightly further back. Alvaro Bautista had another impressive day of preseason as it came to a close, locking out the top five for Pull&Bear Aspar on his GP16, just ahead of another good day for Octo Pramac Racing’s Scott Redding in P6.
Álvaro Bautista -P5 – 1m54.714
“I’ve ended tonight feeling very happy. After improving my feeling with the bike yesterday we have found something else that gave us a little extra confidence and pace tonight. I lost a little time with the crash but we still had enough to complete our programme for this test. At the end we did a race simulation, which went well, and I felt very comfortable on the bike. My best lap over the three days came during the simulation, which is important and good for confidence. I am feeling more and more confident with our race potential and with the bike, I am very happy with how the team is working and the support we are getting from Ducati. Hopefully we can have the same feeling in a couple of weeks at the race.”
Redding has confirmed the steady progress achieved in the three-day testings. After a positive 20 laps long run, he managed to record a superb lap-time (1’54.750), earning him sixth position in day-3 timesheet (seventh overall), two tenths behind the hypothetical front row.
Scott Redding – P7 – 1m54.750
“I’m very happy with how things went in these three days in Qatar following the difficulties encountered in Malaysia and Australia. We did a great job in particular by improving the feeling with the front end. There is still something to do, but the direction is the right one and I’m very confident for the race. We have made progress day by day. And I have the feeling that I could do even better on the time attack. At the same time I am also pleased with the pace that I can still improve.”
Bautista also suffered a crash, alongside incidents for a number of other riders on the grid – including teammate Karel Abraham, Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar), Danilo Petrucci (Octo Pramac Racing), Sam Lowes and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) and reigning World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team).
Marquez, who completed the day in P10 on the timesheets, crashed three times before the close of action in the final session. The rider from Cervera also tested a new and more radically different fairing design on his Honda – radical compared to the first adjustment to have broken cover earlier in the test. Marquez’ best on Day 3 was a 1:54.990, completing 47 laps. On combined times across all three days Marquez was 11th quickest.
Marc Marquez – P11 – 1m54.990
“I’m happy with the pace we were able to keep today but of course it hasn’t been the best test of the pre-season for us. I crashed three times, the first at the very beginning because the bike had a wobble at turn 4 and I braked late. Then later in the night I lost the front twice, and especially the last crash during my race simulation was my fault. But when you’re doing a long run you must try and push, otherwise you can’t understand where you really are. Anyway, better if this kind of thing happens now, during a test, and hopefully when we come here again for the race we’ll be able to manage things better. As I said, our rhythm is quite good; only Maverick [Viñales] is faster than everyone here, and if we were to race tomorrow I believe we should be able to fight for the podium.”
Dani Pedrosa was the faster of the two Repsol HRC men on Day 3, with Dani Pedrosa flying the flag in P3. A 1:54.469 for the ‘Baby Samurai’ took back the honour of top Honda from Day 1 and Day 2’s fastest for the Japanese manufacturer Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda), and moved the Spaniard up more than ten places on his position on Day 2. Crutchlow ended Day 3 in P8, with a best of 1:54.821.
Dani Pedrosa – P3 – 1m54.469
“I think today was a positive day in general. We had a few things to sort out from yesterday, and step-by-step we improved our feeling, the lap times and our rhythm in general. The improvement was general and even if we still have work to do, we gained confidence and this was a positive end to the pre-season. This track is not one of my favourites, but the team did a great job and things kept improving. We’re in better shape than last year and we’ll try to add this confidence to the motivation for the GP and to do our best at the first race.”
Crutchlow completed a total of 70 laps on day three, securing plenty of valuable time in the saddle of his RC213V ahead of the forthcoming campaign. He posted the eighth fastest time of the day, which saw him finish the test ninth in the combined standings – above reigning world champion Marc Marquez who ended in 11th place overall.
Cal Crutchlow – P9 – 1m54.821
“Today was a positive day, we are happy with what we managed to get through. We worked well as a team again and completed the plan that we had set ourselves. We managed to do a 16-lap long run, unfortunately during that I made a small mistake with the buttons on the handlebar, but we were quite happy overall.“The final lap time was not very good and I pushed for a lap time on the final lap, but I crashed as we had a malfunction with a part that we think was damaged yesterday. But this is racing and now we look forward to the first round which is very close and hopefully all the fans do too.”
Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rookies Jonas Folger and Johann Zarco continued to impress, with Folger again fastest rookie in P7 at the end of Day 3, with a 1:54.807. Reigning Moto2 World Champion Zarco was P9 by the end of the day, less than a tenth off his German teammate.
Jonas Folger – P8 – 1m54.807
“The team and I kept the momentum going and completed another positive test here in Qatar and now I think that we are ready to start the season. Our priority today was to run a race simulation which we did at the end and this was very good for us because I ran some really consistent lap times and the engine mappings that we prepared, worked as we expected them to. It was interesting to see how the tyres performed and I gained some solid experience so now I have more of an idea about what to expect in a Grand Prix. Throughout this test, I have learnt a lot and I have built up more confidence with the bike again, especially in the simulation, where I rode safely. This was very important because the fall at the Phillip Island test when I was doing a long run made me lose some confidence. Now I understand the Yamaha better, particularly when the conditions are changing and I can adapt well. We will see what I can do on the race weekend because it’s a different story altogether when compared to testing but overall, the team and I can be very happy about the preparation that we have done this winter.”
Johann Zarco – P10 – 1m54.900
“The final day of the test went really well for me and I am excited about returning to the track soon for the start of my rookie season in the premier class. Today I completed a race simulation, which was important because it allowed me to gain valuable knowledge about how the bike’s behaviour changes over 22 laps. Even though I may not have been super fast, the experience was the most significant thing and I was consistent with my times also. My confidence improved throughout the three days, which I am really happy about, and today I made the most of the soft tyre by setting a solid lap time and ending up in a good position. Overall, we completed this test in a very positive way and now I can start the race week on a better level, plus I understand more about the high level of potential that the Yamaha has. In addition, I finished close to some of the top riders and this gives me further motivation, but it’s great that Jonas was so quick because we are both competitive and we can grow together. Now I will go home and do some training, stay calm and then wait for the race weekend where I aim to do a good job.”
With one Movistar Yamaha rider at the top of the timesheets, Rossi had a more challenging time as he struggled to find the same feeling he had on the previous days. Halfway through the session he set his fastest time of the 54 laps he completed on the final day, a 1’55.185s. Unable to further improve on his time as the temperatures went down, the Italian settled for eleventh position in today‘s results, 0.855s from his teammate. However, Rossi ended up in sixth place in the combined standings, thanks to the 1‘54.732s lap that he set on day two.
Valentino Rossi – P6 – 1m54.732
“Today was more difficult compared to yesterday. We started with the same bike to continue our programme, but unfortunately I didn’t have the same feeling and the same speed. It looks like the condition of the track changed a bit and we were unable to improve. I didn’t have the same feeling as yesterday and I was a bit slower. We put in a lot of effort to go a bit slower. I think we are still not ready, we don’t understand 100% how to make the bike work at the maximum. We are a bit worried because at the end except for some good laps the winter tests were very difficult. So now we have to speak together and try to be stronger for the first race. I hope to be faster and more competitive.”
Andrea Iannone took P12 on day three despite his crash as Karel Abraham split the Suzukis in thirteenth just ahead of rookie Alex Rins.
Andrea Iannone – P13 – 1m55.284
“Overall today it was a bit like the other two days – neither too happy, nor too sad. The most important thing is that after each day we learn a little more, we understand a little more. I have to say that today was the best day of all because we have been able to understand one important thing. At the end, in the last three laps we have improved a lot, riding at 1´55 and we have had a bolt of lightning that has helped us understand where we have to go. Having a pace of 1´55 is something we had not been able to achieve throughout the test so far, so at least I’m a little happier. We still have a bit of chattering, especially on Turn 6, where I can’t get in and slow down like I’d like, but we’ve improved and that’s what’s important. And above all, I have managed to find the confidence with the brake and I was able to brake better, something that could not do before.”
Alex Rins – P15 – 1m55.362
“The truth is that I am very happy about how the three days of testing in Qatar have gone. When we had problems, we knew how to manage them and pull forward. The first two days we tried to evolve the bike and try to improve with the race-pace. But, it was the third day that allowed us to take a step forward, not only for a lap, but the race-pace. We are quite satisfied with the performance. For the race, we have to work a little more but at least we already know which path we have to take. The pre-season in general has gone quite well despite the crash in Valencia. I was able to get the pace and adapt well to the bike. The truth is that the team also helped me a lot to adapt quickly. I would have liked to do the test that we missed in Jerez, but with more kilometres we will adapt even more to the bike.”
Davide Brivio – Suzuki Team Manager
“At the end we can say we finished this Qatar test with a smile, meaning that we worked very intensively in these three days trying to find a good set-up. Both Alex and Andrea, at the very end, finally got a good vibe. It looks like we could find some solution that allows Andrea to ride more relaxed and easy. Alex, as well, did a good job during the day; he improved more and more and he also made some good laps at a good pace. I’d say these have been three tough days, but it seems we found our way. Of course, it will need to be verified at the racing weekend, but at the moment I think we may have normalised the situation. Let’s see, now we will try to better-understand the information we got in the winter season and then we go for the Championship. For now, it´s enough with the testing. It’s time to get in the game and get serious. We will be here again in 10 days and we will take advantage of the free practice sessions to check if the intuition we had today will be effective. And then, let the season begin so we can see the real status of the art compared to all other competitors.”
Abraham finished just a second off the top thanks to a best effort of 1’55.333 out of 39 laps on day three. The Czech rider was battling the effects of a cold, but he was still able to ride a tenth quicker than yesterday to conclude a satisfactory preseason that has seen him consistently in contention for top ten positions.
Karel Abraham – P14 – 1m55.333
“Physically it’s been a really bad day for me because I seem to have picked up a cold or something so I have a sore throat and I cannot breathe through my nose. All day today I was frustrated, I was not in a good mood, but we tried to work. We did a couple of things with the electronics that seemed to work out but I wasn’t myself on the track. Finally we put a soft tyre in and I managed to get behind Andrea Dovizioso to make a 1’55.333. I wanted to go a little bit faster but it’s a good lap time. We can be happy with our day in general.”
Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) ended the final day of preseason in fifteenth, after running much further up the timesheets earlier in the day, but was classified 12th overall due to his day two time.
Aleix Espargaro – P12 – 1m55.121
“Even if today was not the best of the three days, I am still happy with our work. At the beginning I started with a good feeling, managing to be fast even on used tyres. Maybe it was partially because of these good sensations that I pushed a bit too hard with the soft tyre, crashing while I was doing a good lap. The bike was repaired quickly, but a second crash forced me to use the other RS-GP with a less advanced engine and electronics that were not perfectly dialled in. For this reason I was unable to improve in the second part of the session, but I see the glass as half full. We have improved our pace and our level is definitely better than our standings on the time sheets show.”
Jack Miller and Tito Rabat successfully completed their preseason test program. The main focus for Miller on the third and final day of testing in Qatar was to complete a full race simulation using the latest specification Honda engine. The 22-year-old Australian showed good pace throughout the 21-lap run with all but three of the laps within the 1’56s bracket.
With the race simulation completed Miller then switched his attention to a fast lap, having gone with the softest of the tyre options provided by Michelin in his Honda RC213V. A time of 1’55.455 – his fastest lap of the test – on his second run saw him move up to the order to finish 16th on combined times.
Jack Miller – P16 – 1m55.455
“It’s been another good day here in Qatar, I felt really comfortable on the bike and we got a lot of work done. I’m pretty happy with my consistency over the long run and the pace was strong, so when we return for the race we just need to continue working in the same direction. It was nice to get the lap time in at the end; it wasn’t quite as fast as I’d have liked it to have been, we just didn’t put it all together, but it means I have something up my sleeve for when we come back here in nine days time to race. I can’t wait to get into it now!”
Still recovering from the injuries sustained in his Sepang testing crash, Rabat’s physical condition wasn’t sufficient for him to complete a race simulation today. Instead the Team Estrella Galicia rider continued the work started yesterday on improving turning and acceleration from mid-corner to exit.
Despite not being fully recovered from the Sepang crash, Rabat’s time of 1’56.214 set yesterday was enough to see him finish the three days inside the top 20. The former Moto2 World Champion will now focus on improving his physical condition ahead of the race.
Tito Rabat -P20 – 1m56.167
“I wasn’t expecting to feel as good as I have done on the bike when I arrived here in Qatar because of the injuries, but it’s been much better than I could have hoped for. This morning it was a bit difficult, but things improved this afternoon and I started to feel more comfortable on the bike again. Most of the day was spent on the race tyres and I’m happy to have got down to a 1’56 on a set of tyres that had done race distance this afternoon. This was more important for me than a one-off fast lap at this test, but a fast qualifying lap on the soft tyre is something we definitely need to think about when we return here to race, because I was unable to take profit from the soft tyres today. But, overall, I’m happy with what has been a very positive test and now I’m looking forward to the race.”
Michael Bartholemy: Team Principal
“This has been a positive test for us, with both riders improving a lot here compared to last year. Jack feels good with the bike and most of the issues we had last year are now gone. He tried a lot of things and did a lot of laps as we were focussed on race set up rather than chasing a fast lap, but he did manage to put in a quick lap right at the end on the soft tyre, which was good for his confidence. Tito has also improved a lot since the last time we were here, but his condition is still a handicap at the moment; he has no power and struggled a little to get the bike stopped. But when he’s fit then I think we’ll see quite clearly that this bike suits him better than the version he’s tested previously. Now he will be working hard to recuperate further before returning to Qatar for the opening race of the season, where I hope to see both riders finish in the points.”
Loris Baz finished 17th on the timesheets and was the only rider in the Reale Avintia Racing garage as Hector Barberá was forced to miss this test after breaking his left collarbone, but he will be ready to compete in the first race of 2017.
Loris Baz – P17 – 1m55.539
“These were three positive testing days and I go back home really happy. Mainly because I had good feeling with the bike and we were able to test some interesting things. Today I did my best lap over the three days with the hard rear tyre, and I also improved with the soft one. I think that it was possible to go a little bit faster at the end, but the last front tyre I used was not working as the previous one. Anyway I leave Qatar satisfied, we did a good job and I did not crash here and also in the previous test in Australia. So I think my winter test was quite positive. The fastest riders were really fast, so it is obvious that we can improve even more, but if we compare how we are now with how we were at the end of last season, I think that we did a big step forward. I’m looking forward to start racing!”.
Danilo Petrucci continued the development work on his Ducati Desmosedici GP and despite some problems encountered during the session, he managed to keep a very high pace during his race simulation, lapping consistently around 1’55.6. A crash without consequences in the final phase of the long run did not then allowed him to go out on track again for the time attack.
Danilo Petrucci – P18 – 1m55.556
“It was a quite complicated test. We had so many new things to try even today. The problem is that I have not spent enough time on track. As a result it was difficult to find the pace but in the race simulation I went very well and this gives me great confidence. Of course I should be able to do better with the new tire, but that does not matter if we think of the race distance. I go home with a good feeling and I’m looking forward to returning in Qatar in a week to focus only on performances.”
Sam Lowes continued his progress with a time of 1’56.167. Also slowed by two crashes today, he finished the tests having done better than the day before.
Sam Lowes – P19 – 1m56.167
“It may seem strange, but just at the end of this last day, when I crashed, we found the right setup for the 2017 RS-GP to increase my confidence. We had some particular tests. We have a lot of things to try and sometimes that keeps us from focusing on pure performance. This is all part of my growth. Right now my sensations in the saddle are more important than lap times and I learned a lot even from the less positive situations. I am optimistic about the race. The work we did on the front of the bike gave me the confidence I was lacking and now the points zone, which is the goal I’ve set for the first race, appears to be well without our reach. We’ll set up our first weekend based on what we found today – a nice starting base.”
KTM had three riders at the test, Bradley Smith and Pol Espargaro joined by official KTM test rider Mika Kallio. Smith was the quickest of the trio with a 1m56.351, 2.021-seconds off outright pacesetter Vinales.
Bradley Smith
“We were just clarifying the parts and chassis that we’re going to race with, and I’m pleased with the improvements again today. I think we were able to improve another 2.5 seconds over the three days and the track conditions were a bit better today. I found my performance on the medium tire was better and I think that might be a race option for us. In general, we were working with the mapping and the electronics, and we made some good progress, especially in the electronics. We now have something that is a lot more consistent and good over the race distance with all tires, so everybody did a really good job. Looking at the lap times, we have to find another half a second. We’re close to the two guys in front but then there’s a gap to the next group, and that’s where we want to be if we want to fight for points.”
Next up? Same venue, same faces, and a very different reality. Two weeks remain until race day, as Losail International Circuit hosts the first GP of the year from the 23rd to 26th March – and another chapter in MotoGP history awaits.
MotoGP 2017 Official Qatar Test – Combined Standings Day 1-2-3
- MAVERICK VIÑALES SPA MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP 1’54.330
- ANDREA DOVIZIOSO ITA DUCATI TEAM 1’54.401
- DANI PEDROSA SPA REPSOL HONDA TEAM 1’54.469
- JORGE LORENZO SPA DUCATI TEAM 1’54.519
- ALVARO BAUTISTA SPA PULL & BEAR ASPAR TEAM 1’54.714
- VALENTINO ROSSI ITA MOVISTAR YAMAHA MOTOGP 1’54.732
- SCOTT REDDING GBR OCTO PRAMAC YAKHNICH 1’54.750
- JONAS FOLGER GER MONSTER YAMAHA TECH3 1’54.807
- CAL CRUTCHLOW GBR LCR HONDA 1’54.821
- JOHANN ZARCO FRA MONSTER YAMAHA TECH3 1’54.900
- MARC MARQUEZ SPA REPSOL HONDA TEAM 1’54.990
- ALEIX ESPARGARÒ SPA APRILIA RACING TEAM GRESINI 1’55.121
- ANDREA IANNONE ITA TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’55.284
- KAREL ABRAHAM CZE PULL & BEAR ASPAR TEAM 1’55.333
- ALEX RINS SPA TEAM SUZUKI ECSTAR 1’55.362
- JACK MILLER AUS TEAM EG 0,0 MARC VDS 1’55.455
- LORIS BAZ FRA AVINTIA RACING 1’55.539
- DANILO PETRUCCI ITA OCTO PRAMAC YAKHNICH 1’55.556
- SAM LOWES GBR APRILIA RACING TEAM GRESINI 1’56.167
- TITO RABAT SPA TEAM EG 0,0 MARC VDS 1’56.214
- BRADLEY SMITH GBR RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 1’56.351
- POL ESPARGARÒ SPA RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 1’56.471
- MIKA KALLIO FIN RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING 1’56.891
