As final official winter testing comes to a close for the MotoGP riders, reigning MotoGP Jorge Lorenzo remained at the top of the timesheets.
Three days under the floodlit track at Losail International Circuit in Qatar allowed teams to have a final chance to prepare for the first season opener here on March 20th. After Michelin became the official tyre for the MotoGP class in 2016, riders also had the chance to work with various options and adjust settings accordingly. Some managed to complete full race simulations and many felt the tyres were too soft. Michelin are set to bring a new option to the season opener.
Jorge Lorenzo was fastest again on day three of testing and so fastest over on his Movistar Yamaha after being the only rider to break the 1:55 barrier with a time of 1:54.810. He managed to reduce his time from day two by 0.715 seconds. Lorenzo completed a full race simulation on day three and felt confident on the intermediate tyre option.
Second fastest on the day and overall was British rider Scott Redding with a time of 1:55.326. Redding is starting his first season on the Octo Pramac Yaknich Ducati after riding for the EG0,0 Marc VDS last year and in the Moto2 class previous. Redding finished as top Ducati just over half a second slower than Lorenzo. He struggled with the tyres at the start but was able to complete his best time on his tenth lap with tyres that had already done 15 laps in a previous session and so is confident for the race. He is aiming for top six in the championship.
As a result of Redding’s time, Suzuki Team Ecstar rider Maverick Vinales slipped to third on day three of testing. His time was just 0.007s slower than Redding. Vinales was in the middle of a good run out on the Suzuki when a red flag situation occurred. He completed two sessions with the new seamless up and down gearbox and felt it was a big improvement.
Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez is finally feeling more confident after a difficult test in Qatar. Marquez crashed on day two and again at the start of day three on the final corner. He was fortunately unhurt and able to continue. His fastest time came during the last half hour of the test on his Repsol Honda; he finished fourth overall with a time of 1:55.402.
Valentino Rossi spent the majority of the test collecting data on his Movistar Yamaha. He finished in fifth with a time of 1:55.429, 0.619 seconds slower than teammate Lorenzo. Rossi crashed twice during the whole test in Qatar, both at Turn 10 of the track, he was unhurt and able to continue testing. He simulated a full race scenario and felt strong but also feels the last five laps of the race will be difficult for everyone.
British LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow finished sixth on day three and overall despite a heavy crash. The bike flipped and landed on Crutchlow who was taken to the medical centre to be checked, although he was slightly hurt he was declared fit to race. His time of 1:55.592 seconds was faster than the other Repsol Honda of Dani Pedrosa who has had a difficult final test in Qatar. He finished in tenth overall with his fastest time from day two of 1:55.857 – which is half a second slower than teammate Marquez and over a second slower than leader Lorenzo.
The Ducati Team riders Andrea and Iannone finished in seventh and eighth on day three and overall, they were followed by the Avintia Racing Team Ducati of Hector Barbera who finished ninth despite crashing twice on the third day. His teammate Loris Baz who finished fourteenth overall also fell, both riders were unhurt.
The Monster Yamaha Tech 3 team were the latest to add the ‘wings’ to the front of the motorcycle in testing. Pol Espargaro finished two places above British teammate Bradley Smith who feels the bike is only running at 90% of its potential. The two are just over a second slower than the Yamaha of Lorenzo.
Aleix Espargaro fell from his Suzuki at the fast Turn 3, he was uninjured. It has appeared to be a very difficult test for Espargaro who is running a second slower compared to his teammate Vinales. Aspar MotoGP Team rider Yonny Hernandez finished in eleventh overall and his British teammate Laverty finished twentieth despite ending up seventeenth on day two.
Rookie Tito Rabat who is new to the Moto GP following his 2015 Moto2 Championship win finished in seventeenth overall. The Estrella Galacia 0,0 Marc VDS rider’s fastest lap was 1:57.027 which is over 1.5 seconds slower than the previous Marc VDS rider Redding’s 2015 qualifying time at Jerez. Injured teammate Jack Miller from Australia is 0.019 slower than Rabat.
New to the MotoGP class is the Aprilia Racing Team. They remained slowest during testing at Qatar bar the test riders for Suzuki and HRC. However, things are improving for them as Alvaro Bautista and Stefan Bradl were both able to take one second off their fastest times on day one of the test.
