Courtesy of Honda

MotoGP Qatar Preseason Test Photo Gallery And Rider Quotes

Zarco quickest, factory Yamahas bounce back, Crutchlow and Petrucci show race pace

March 4, 2018

reseason preparations for the 19-round 2018 MotoGP World Championship ended Saturday night under the floodlights at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar. Valentino Rossi provided last-minute fireworks, lapping within 0.247 second of the blistering 1:54.029 laid down earlier in the day by satellite Yamaha rider Johann Zarco. Rossi’s Movistar Yamaha teammate, Maverick Viñales, was fifth, his late charge lifting a third YZR-M1 into the top five. Both factory riders turned in their quickest laps toward the end of the session, Rossi on lap 40 of 49 and Viñales on lap 38 of 40. Twenty-two of the 25 riders who participated in the three-day test did their best work on Saturday. Zarco completed seven laps—three consecutively, twice—in the 1:54s. His long run to cap the session fell between 1:55.998 and 1:57.219, with 15 of those laps in the 1:56s, 11 under 1:56.5. Zarco’s pace was similar to that of last year’s 20-lap race, which the Frenchman led for six laps before crashing and Viñales won. Andrea Dovizioso was second.

Dovizioso was once again the quickest Ducati, factory or otherwise, and the only Italian bike in the top eight. Pramac's Danilo Petrucci was a ninth but beaming because 19 of his 23 consecutive laps were sub-1:56. (Petrucci's teammate, Jack Miller—one of 12 riders in the 1:54s—also bettered Zarco's long-run pace.) Jorge Lorenzo closed out the top 10.

Cal Crutchlow, fourth quickest, was the top Honda, with Repsol Honda’s Marc Márquez seventh and Dani Pedrosa 12th, respectively. Crutchlow did “only” two 1:54s but completed 11 consecutive laps between 1:54.958 and 1:55.622 (like Petrucci, nine were under 1:55.5). The LCR Honda rider has been consistently fast throughout testing.

At the end of the day, officials hosed down the 16-turn, 3.34-mile track for a wet test. “With the reflection of the light,” Márquez said, “it’s more difficult than usual to see the curbs and white line.” Crutchlow described vision as “okay,” but felt the surface was “really slippery.” Dorna representative Loris Capirossi concluded, “Every rider had a different opinion.”

Johann Zarco, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (1:54.029): "I think it was even possible to ride inside the high 1:53s, but we have to understand step by step how to ride at this speed. With everything we did during these three days, I felt more confidence. When I did a very long run to test the race, it was not too fast. I did 17 laps in a row, but probably was a bit tired after these intense days here. Anyway, we are constant and I can relax a lot on the bike."Courtesy of Monster Yamaha Tech 3

Valentino Rossi, Movistar Yamaha (1:54.276): "I'm quite happy after this test, especially after this afternoon, because we've worked hard in these last few days and also in the first part of today. This afternoon we put it all together, and I was able to do a very good lap for second position. I also had a good rhythm with a good pace. We continue to suffer with the tires, front and rear, and I did just half a race distance."Courtesy of Yamaha

Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati Team (1:54.331): "I'm very happy with the work we did these three days because we were able to try everything we had planned and prepare well for the race, even though here in Qatar the conditions of the circuit change easily. During the test, the track had a lot of grip—something that is usually difficult to find here at Losail—and in the various simulations we were fast and consistent."Courtesy of Ducati

Cal Crutchlow, LCR Honda Castrol (1:54.457): "We are quite positive about the feeling with the bike in the dry. Our front feeling is not perfect yet, but I was able to be consistently fast over the day, which is important. Our problem is the front-tire specifications. None of them suit my riding style, so we'll have to look at this for the race weekend. Overall, we're happy enough with today's performance; I did a 12-lap run that I was happy with."Courtesy of LCR Honda

Maverick Viñales, Movistar Yamaha (1:54.471): "In the last 40 minutes, we made a big step. I feel good on the bike but not at 100 percent yet, so there's still room for improvement. Anyway, we did three days of hard work, and we got a bit lost along the way. During those moments, I couldn't push and it shows we need to keep focused and pay attention when we make changes because in the last 40 minutes it felt like a completely different bike."Courtesy of Yamaha

Andrea Iannone, Suzuki ECSTAR Team (1:54.586): "I'm disappointed I couldn't ride today. I tried but it was impossible to go out on track; I felt very sick and weak. Anyway, the progress we've done in this last test leaves me quite satisfied. We had two positive days, and we have a good base. We missed out on the fine-tuning work we were supposed to do today, but we will work hard in free practice before the race to recover the tasks we lost."Courtesy of Suzuki

Marc Márquez, Repsol Honda (1:54.591): "We worked a lot on our race pace, which is the most important thing. It's true we've struggled a bit here in Qatar, but we're happy anyway. Today in particular we took a step forward, and I was able to lap consistently enough in the low-to-medium 1:55 range. We also tried the carbon swingarm in one run, and I managed to ride quite fast, though we need to work more on that."Courtesy of Honda

Alex Rins, Suzuki ECSTAR Team (1:54.650): "I think the three days riding here have been very good, and it's been a very positive test because we tried many things and we confirmed all these things. We also tried a race simulation and the pace was quite good, so I'm really excited to start this new season with a lot of confidence. I think we have a great package."Courtesy of Suzuki

Danilo Petrucci, Alma Pramac Ducati (1:54.659): "I'm really happy for the long run. I managed to make a very good race simulation with soft tires both front and rear, and this is a really positive fact because we made very few changes to the bike. I didn't look for lap time, but that's not important. Now we have to wait for two weeks, but the confidence is very high."Courtesy of Pramac Racing

Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati Team (1:54.692): "Today went much better than yesterday, and we found a setting that allowed me to do several laps quite fast. We once again, however, suffered a bit when the temperature cooled down and the humidity increased. In these conditions, we are still struggling to be competitive and keep a good pace. We still have a lot of work to do to get the best out of our bike's potential."Courtesy of Ducati