MotoGP Qatar J3 tests: Viñales shows the fangs (our)

It is finally Maverick Viñales on his official Yamaha who sets the best time of the last MotoGP offseason tests in Qatar. The Catalan narrowly beats Franco Morbidelli on his private M1, while the Honda clan seems in difficulty two weeks before the first race on the same circuit. Explanations.

Alex Rins on the first day, Fabio Quartararo on the second and Maverick Viñales on the third day: the last tests of the 2020 offseason will have been largely dominated by the Suzuki and the Yamaha, which seem more competitive than in 2019 thanks in part to the grip additional rear tire Michelin rear.

• Report of the 2nd day in Qatar:
• Report of the 1st day in Qatar: Suzuki impresses, Ducati intrigues
• MNC file :

The Bibendum’s 2020 slick seems to go perfectly with "naturally" corner-fast motorcycles like the GSX-RRs and YZR-M1s, providing added confidence. Conversely, the Desmosedici and the RC213V – more powerful in a straight line but less speedy in the rope – would value this advantage a little less well.. 

In view of the tests at Sepang and Qatar, it even seems that Honda is behind on its program: all its pilots complain about the understeer character of its front axle, a priori "pushed" from the rear when entering a curve. . Adding grip to the new tire probably doesn’t help the winged crest’s business.

Worried, Marc Marquez even admits that he is no longer able to identify the origin of the problem: the defending champion and Crutchlow thought that their concerns came from the electronic management of the engine brake, but these three days in Qatar seem to indicate a different direction.

Honda lost in the Qatari desert…

To be sure, Marquez even went back to a 2019 RCV borrowed from Takaaki Nakagami: here it is that does not breathe serenity 15 days before the race! The n ° 93, always diminished by his painful nerve in the right shoulder, relativizes by explaining that the Qatari circuit and its long fast curves have always highlighted the lack of stability of Honda. 

Same story reassuring for team manager Alberto Puig, who rightly recalls that "the season does not end in Qatar: it begins there". Still, the first RCV, that of Marquez, only appears in 7th place in the combined classification of the three days, 0.291 sec from the reference time established by Viñales at 45 minutes from the end of the last day..

The eight-time world champion precedes Nakagami, while Crutchlow – shaken by a fall yesterday – is only 18th at 0.972 sec. More worrying: new HRC recruit Alex Marquez is only 21st and penultimate overall, at 1.661 sec.

Yamaha revenge in 2020 ?

Yamaha, for its part, is doing well: Viñales – discreet in Malaysia because focused on his racing pace – closes these three days in 1’53.858, half a second from the track record signed by Marquez during free practice of the GP of Qatar 2019 in 1’53.380.

The n ° 12 is ahead of the private M1 of Franco Morbidelli by a very short head, long in the lead of this last day in 1’53.891: only 0.033 seconds finally separate the two Yam ‘riders! Fabio Quartararo appears in 3rd place in the combined thanks to his time yesterday, which puts three Yamaha at the top.

Alex Rins, fast and consistent for three days, is on the Yamaha aspi in fourth place ahead of Jack Miller, the first Ducati rider in these tests. Valentino Rossi – who fell twice on Monday – finished 12th overall, almost half a second behind his teammate. The 41-year-old Italian concedes he has a few tenths left to find…

Johann Zarco for his part failed to improve his time posted yesterday with a soft rear tire: the French finished 14th in the combined on his Ducati Avintia, just ahead of the KTM of his former teammate Pol Espargaro. Newbie Brad Binder is the first Katoche pilot on his factory RC16: the promising South African finishes 9th at 0.425 sec ! 

Results of the third day of MotoGP testing in Qatar

 

Combined ranking of the three days of testing in Qatar

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