This latest MotoGP offseason test for 2019-2020 takes place from Saturday February 22 to Monday February 24 at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar.
The track is open from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. local time, i.e. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. French time, and will give us a more precise idea of the forces involved, after tests in Malaysia which have given us a picture that we have never seen so homogeneous until now.
But the temperatures will be much lower in Qatar, and the drivers will not have extra-soft rear tires brought to Malaysia by Michelin…
Another circuit, other conditions, another story, and the questions are numerous before the kickoff of this last rehearsal where error is still allowed before the weekend of March 8.
The Prodigy Fabio Quartararo Will he continue his faultless test in Malaysia? The Ducati in disgrace with their rear tires will they raise the bar? Marc Marquez has he fully recovered his physical capacities? The Suzuki are they hiding their game? Johann Zarco will it still approach the fastest? The Yamaha will they confirm their progress? Valentino rossi will he perform well enough to make a positive decision about extending his career? What aerodynamic configurations will be validated before their approval in two weeks?
Each of these questions that we asked ourselves before these tests seems to already know the beginning of an answer, brought by the first two days of testing…
But others arise, for example concerning the mishap of the Honda, Ducati’s latest invention or the officialization of Lorenzo Savadori among Noale’s men !
We’ll have a chance to go into more detail on each of these topics, so let’s be careful not to jump to any hasty conclusions for the moment and just see what this third and final day of testing in Qatar shows us.
References are provided by the Marc Marquez’s record in 1’53,380 achieved during FP2 last year, a much faster time than during the three days of preseason tests dominated by Maverick Vinales (1’54.208) in 2019.
On Saturday, Alex Rins set the 2020 benchmark in 1’54.462, then Fabio Quartararo lowered it on Sunday in 1’54.038.
Combined classification D1 / D2:
As usual, we will postpone the track activities as completely as possible, also this article will be permanently updated from 11 am to 6 pm.
1:00 p.m. (11h00 in France):
At the time when the red lights go out on the Losail track, the weather conditions have changed a little compared to the previous days: still too hot to be usable for the race which will take place on March 8 at 6 p.m. local time. instead of 8:00 pm last season, but the sky is less clear and the wind is blowing a bit of desert dust…
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Consequently, no one takes to the track immediately.
Let’s take advantage of these few minutes without activity on the track to start answering (with caution) our preliminary questions thanks to the elements provided by the first two days of testing …
- The Prodigy Fabio Quartararo Will he continue his faultless test in Malaysia? No, Alex Rins having been the fastest the first day. That said, Fabio Quartararo remains by far the best placed in the combination of all the off-season test sessions, never having left the Top 5 …
- The Ducati in disgrace with their rear tires will they raise the bar? Yes, clearly! Among the Reds, we stopped shooting at Michelin with balls of the same color…
- Marc Marquez has he fully recovered his physical capacities? Unfortunately no. The Spanish champion explained that he had recovered muscularly but that a nerve was affected, preventing him from fully controlling his Honda reluctance. Hence its falls in Malaysia and Qatar. The first Honda is 11th…
- The Suzuki were they hiding their game? Without doubt, because they clearly knocked down their cards on the first day and tried to do the same on Sunday with a little less success (falls of the two pilots). They are now a scarecrow in many boxes, just like the Yamaha …
- Johann Zarco will it still approach the fastest? For the moment, yes, thanks to yesterday’s time!
- The Yamaha will they confirm their progress? With a Yamaha hat-trick yesterday, it’s hard not to think so…
- Valentino rossi will he perform well enough to make a positive decision about extending his career? Obviously too early to answer… but the Doctor has gratified us with beautiful attacks in Qatar.
- What aerodynamic configurations will be validated before their approval in two weeks? These tests in Qatar only showed a new, smaller air intake at Honda. We can therefore think that what runs regularly from Malaysia will be what will be approved: a priori, no last minute surprises.
- The mishap of the Honda? Clearly proven and disturbing. In the boxes, we are starting to think that the 2020 model is not as good as the 2019, which was already not easy but “saved” by Marc Marquez…
- Ducati’s latest invention? Still a lot of questions about the full functioning of the system (s) but no doubt about its current legality. With a length of delay, the competition has leaned and will look into the matter, unless all of this does not end up being prohibited in the name of cost containment, although these are only hydraulic systems acting on rods…
- The officialization of Lorenzo Savadori among Noale’s men ? The case Iannone is a real blow to Aprilia, in the sense that Bradley Smith is much too slow to effectively replace Maniac Joe, and Lorenzo Savadori even slower than the British. There is no real solution in sight and all of Aprilia’s efforts are now solely on the shoulders ofAleix Espargaro.
An anecdote to pass the time?
Alex Briggs, one of the three faithful mechanics of Valentino rossi, informs that following the expansion of the Coronavirus, and to avoid transfers to airports which are risk areas, Yamaha asked its engineers to stay in Qatar until the race, on March 8, unlike most of the other teams that will go home for a few days…
1:25 p.m .: Like Yesterday, Fabio Quartararo starts first on track … The French driver was only the fastest, but the third most assiduous, with 65 laps behind Franco Morbidelli (70) and Maverick Vinales (68). No doubt, we want to be ready at Yamaha! Besides, although a private pilot for the moment, El Diablo is already given sometimes thankless tasks usually reserved for factory pilots …
In his 3rd round launched, the young Frenchman established a first benchmark in 1’56.053 before going back to his box. Silence returned to the circuit. Fabio came out with used tires but new discs, probably to run them in and to measure the grip.
After a few minutes in the box, the Niçois leaves, still all alone on the track: no doubt, it works hard!
1’55.389, 1’55.360, the times are going down.
Brad Binder is the second to take to the track.
Classification at 2 p.m. (12 p.m. in France):
Davide Brivio (Suzuki) about the Holeshot Device: “We don’t have it and we won’t have it for the first few races. Of course, this is something we are thinking about and working on, but I cannot say now when we will be able to use it. It will probably come sooner or later. ”
An hour and a half after the opening of the runway, Bradley Smith is only the 3rd driver out of his box: a big difference from yesterday! Do we reserve ourselves for the end of the session and the attacks of the clock in the relative freshness of the evening, despite the falls that occurred yesterday?
Cal Crutchlow is made of leather, despite yesterday’s questions after a serious fall.
Fabio Quartararo left for a 3rd run, with a better all that is most interesting given the time of day: 1’55.116.
Brad Binder concedes 1,7s to the Frenchman and Bradley Smith 3.7s at the time Aleix Espargaro sets off on the track.
20th in the combined classification, Alex Marquez began these trials very timidly in Qatar. The reason is simple, the Honda driver is sick: “It went a little better than yesterday, especially on my side since I was sick yesterday. I still am and I don’t feel very well yet, but a little better. At the end of the day, I didn’t have the energy to attack so we decided to stop, even if I feel a little better. On the motorcycle side, we still pain a lot, like all Honda riders. So we have to keep working because tomorrow is the last day of pre-season testing and our last chance to progress. We will try to manage to see if we can solve the problems a little, especially in turns. ”
Pol Espargaro and Danilo Petrucci have entered the dance…
See you this evening for analyzes and debriefings!
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Rankings credit: MotoGP.com
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