Offseason tests – Last tests in Qatar before the opening of MotoGP 2019! – Pre-owned APRILIA DUCATI HONDA KTM SUZUKI YAMAHA

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Last tests in Qatar before the opening of MotoGP 2019 !

Offseason tests - Last tests in Qatar before the opening of MotoGP 2019! - Pre-owned APRILIA DUCATI HONDA KTM SUZUKI YAMAHA

Maverick Viñales (Yamaha) then Alex Rins (Suzuki) dominated the first two days of MotoGP testing in Qatar. The very last day of the offseason tests begins this evening before the opening of the 2019 MotoGP campaign in 15 days on this same circuit of Losail.

The last rehearsal before the 2019 MotoGP season kicks off is currently taking place in Qatar with three days of testing. Or rather three evenings, since these tests start at the end of the afternoon to be as close as possible to real racing conditions: the Qatar GP, to be experienced on March 10 on MNC, takes place at night under the Losail track..

  • MNC report:
  • MNC special file :
  • MNC special file :
  • MNC special file :
  • MNC special file :

These tests are of considerable importance because they are the last opportunity for the teams to test certain technological alternatives before freezing the configuration of the motorcycles. It is therefore the hour of the last crucial choices: a bad direction followed from tomorrow and it is potentially a season of galleys which looms….

No concession for Ducati, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha

The situation is even more critical for Ducati, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha who do not benefit from any regulatory concessions due to their good results. The engine and the fairings of, and will therefore no longer be able to evolve during the season !

The situation differs for Aprilia and KTM who enjoy several advantages due to their lack of victories and enough podiums in MotoGP: the Italian and the Austrian have more engine blocks at their disposal, can receive mechanical upgrades and are also less restricted in terms of testing with their titular pilots.

Viñales very happy with the M1, but…

Hence a certain frenzy since Saturday evening on the Qatar circuit, where different motorcycles come out of the boxes of each manufacturer with technical variants sometimes visible, sometimes not. Maverick Viñales has thus released a new saddle – narrower – on his Yamaha, no doubt to meet his wish to have . 

Offseason tests - Last tests in Qatar before the opening of MotoGP 2019! - Pre-owned APRILIA DUCATI HONDA KTM SUZUKI YAMAHA

Rossi’s teammate also tested several aerodynamic fairings with some success: "Mack" had the best time of the first day ahead of Alex Rins’ Suzuki … before the roles were reversed the next day! Very happy with this introduction, Viñales says the greatest good about his M1 which, according to him, would be "the best bike we have had in the last two years".

Be careful, however, with the statements of the young Spaniard, who is often dithyrambic during testing and then extremely negative when the situation gets out of hand during a race weekend … The nuance of his remarks by pointing to the – relative – slowness of the M1 in the long straight line of Qatar, a point on which Yamaha still has to improve.

Rossi believes the M1 is not yet at the level

Same analysis on the other side of the Yamaha box: Valentino Rossi explains this top speed deficit by less efficient acceleration than competing motorcycles. For the Doctor, this difference in V-max would exceed 10 km / h compared to Ducati and Honda. Something to seriously worry about the one who appeared behind the second day (19th at 1.2 sec)… 

Offseason tests - Last tests in Qatar before the opening of MotoGP 2019! - Pre-owned APRILIA DUCATI HONDA KTM SUZUKI YAMAHA

"We are still not strong enough to win", slice the n ° 46 by estimating that the Yamaha still have a "disadvantage compared to the best bikes". The Italian is one of the few drivers not to have improved his time between the first and the second day, despite better track conditions. "I hope I am wrong and that Maverick is right", nevertheless tempers the Doctor in a rather unconvincing prayer….

Rossi’s team explains this poor performance by the desire to carry out long race simulations during this day, without seeking pure performance. Still, the nine-time world champion appears at the bottom of the standings when Viñales and Quartararo cause a sensation in second and third places…

The young Nice man indeed offered a superb "Top 3" last night on his M1 Petronas SRT, just 0.258 sec from the official Viñales Yamaha which precedes him! The French beginner – who – is ahead of big names like Danilo Petrucci on the Ducati and Marc Marquez, who is slowly but surely increasing in power on his Honda.

Offseason tests - Last tests in Qatar before the opening of MotoGP 2019! - Pre-owned APRILIA DUCATI HONDA KTM SUZUKI YAMAHA

The reigning world champion, in the morning, believes that his physical recovery is on the right path: the proof with his 57 laps completed yesterday, where he was struggling to cover 40 (Malaysia). 

The n ° 93 is ahead of Aleix Espargaro, who does honor to Aprilia’s novelties on this test: the RS-GP has significantly evolved aerodynamically, while its chassis and electronics have undergone a serious overhaul. Good pick so far !

Zarco would like to "gain an extra second"

These tests in Qatar also mark the on his Honda HRC, for the first time since his wrist surgery following his dirt track accident during training in Italy. The Mallorcan,, resumed his marks on the first day with the 21st fastest time, before accelerating the pace last night.

Offseason tests - Last tests in Qatar before the opening of MotoGP 2019! - Pre-owned APRILIA DUCATI HONDA KTM SUZUKI YAMAHA

Lorenzo, however, remains stuck in the lower part of the standings: 18th between Johann Zarco and Valentino Rossi. The n ° 99 admits without detours that he thought he was faster and explains that he is still embarrassed by his scaphoid pain…

Johann Zarco, in fact, finished the second day with the satisfaction of having gained almost a second compared to the day before. The new KTM leader is however aware of having still some progress to make, as evidenced by the beautiful 10th place signed by his teammate Pol Espargaro with half a second ahead of n ° 5 (1’55.255 against 1 ’55 .716).

"I feel more comfortable, suddenly I can go faster and it makes me smile," he explained last night. "I’m still a little over a second behind the top, but it takes a while and I have to accept it. Anyway, we did a good job on Sunday and we drove a lot.".

Offseason tests - Last tests in Qatar before the opening of MotoGP 2019! - Pre-owned APRILIA DUCATI HONDA KTM SUZUKI YAMAHA

"I would like to gain another second," said Johann Zarco for the final test day in Qatar. "It would be perfect, because I think the others should beat my record and I wouldn’t want to finish too far".

The French rider refers to his own absolute record set last year on the Qatari circuit during the: Johann had taken pole position in 1’53.680 on the Yamaha Tech3, ahead of Marc Marquez’s Honda! The then went a little less well, with the on the finish line.

Will Johann Zarco manage to go under the 1’55 mark on his new KTM? Answers to follow on MNC in the evening: stay tuned !

Results and classification of the 2nd day of MotoGP testing in Qatar

  1. RINS, Alex Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1: 54.593 
  2. VIÑALES, Maverick Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1: 54.650 0.057
  3. QUARTARARO, Fabio Petronas Yamaha SRT 1: 54.908 0.315
  4. PETRUCCI, Danilo Mission Winnow Ducati 1: 54.953 0.360
  5. MARQUEZ, Marc Repsol Honda Team 1: 55.004 0.411
  6. ESPARGARO, Aleix Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1: 55.173 0.580
  7. NAKAGAMI, Takaaki LCR Honda IDEMITSU 1: 55.175 0.582
  8. DOVIZIOSO, Andrea Mission Winnow Ducati 1: 55.205 0.612
  9. CRUTCHLOW, Cal LCR Honda CASTROL 1: 55.247 0.654
  10. ESPARGARO, Pol Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1: 55.255 0.662
  11. MIR, Joan Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1: 55.280 0.687
  12. MILLER, Jack Alma Pramac Racing 1: 55.380 0.787
  13. MORBIDELLI, Franco Petronas Yamaha SRT 1: 55.556 0.963
  14. RABAT, Tito Reale Avintia Racing 1: 55.661 1.068
  15. BAGNAIA, Francesco Alma Pramac Racing 1: 55.680 1.087
  16. IANNONE, Andrea Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1: 55.698 1.105
  17. ZARCO, Johann Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1: 55.716 1.123
  18. LORENZO, Jorge Repsol Honda Team 1: 55.742 1.149
  19. ROSSI, Valentino Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1: 55.795 1.202
  20. ABRAHAM, Karel Reale Avintia Racing 1: 55.951 1.358
  21. OLIVEIRA, Miguel Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1: 56.274 1.681
  22. SMITH, Bradley Aprilia Factory Racing 1: 56.866 2.273
  23. SYAHRIN, Hafizh Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1: 56.983 2.390

Results and classification of the 1st day of MotoGP testing in Qatar

  1. VIÑALES, Maverick Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1: 55.051 
  2. RINS, Alex Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1: 55.159 0.108
  3. DOVIZIOSO, Andrea Mission Winnow Ducati 1: 55.550 0.499
  4. PETRUCCI, Danilo Mission Winnow Ducati 1: 55.594 0.543
  5. ROSSI, Valentino Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP 1: 55.604 0.553
  6. RABAT, Tito Reale Avintia Racing 1: 55.694 0.643
  7. QUARTARARO, Fabio Petronas Yamaha SRT 1: 55.772 0.721
  8. NAKAGAMI, Takaaki LCR Honda IDEMITSU 1: 55.943 0.892
  9. ESPARGARO, Pol Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1: 56.040 0.989
  10. MARQUEZ, Marc Repsol Honda Team 1: 56.167 1.116  
  11. MIR, Joan Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1: 56.264 1.213
  12. ESPARGARO, Aleix Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1: 56.358 1.307
  13. IANNONE, Andrea Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1: 56.447 1.396
  14. MORBIDELLI, Franco Petronas Yamaha SRT 1: 56.511 1.460
  15. BAGNAIA, Francesco Alma Pramac Racing 1: 56.738 1.687
  16. ZARCO, Johann Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1: 56.770 1.719  
  17. OLIVEIRA, Miguel Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1: 56.891 1.840
  18. CRUTCHLOW, Cal LCR Honda CASTROL 1: 56.921 1.870 
  19. MILLER, Jack Alma Pramac Racing 1: 56.932 1.881 
  20. ABRAHAM, Karel Reale Avintia Racing 1: 57.053 2.002
  21. LORENZO, Jorge Repsol Honda Team 1: 57.090 2.039 
  22. SMITH, Bradley Aprilia Factory Racing 1: 57.137 2.086
  23. SYAHRIN, Hafizh Red Bull KTM Tech 3 1: 57.459 2.408

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