Official MotoGP testing closes at Losail, Qatar - Teams prepare for season opener on 16th March

With little more than 2 weeks for the season opener of 2018 Moto GP at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, the final round of pre-season testing has come to an end. The riders ended the day with a short wet session in an artificially wet track. 

Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso finished 3rd with Jorge Lorenzo finished 10th

Ducati factory rider Andrea Dovizioso finished the last day of testing with a time of 1’54.331 (50 laps), earning him 3rd spot in combined results of the three-day testing. He was happy with the results the team could achieve but also went on to say that the race day conditions could be significantly different from the conditions they faced today. Also to be noted is that he found good amounts of grip on the circuit, which is usually not the case according to him. Overall, Dovizioso is confident about the 2018 Moto GP season.

On the other hand, his teammate Jorge Lorenzo was timed at 1’54.692 (63 laps). That leaves the ex-Movistar Yamaha rider in 10th place, but he is mostly positive about the day. He noted that the team was able to find a setup allowing him to put in several fast laps. But according to him, as the temperatures dropped, the bike struggled to keep up with the competition. He expressed that the bike still has potential and could easily be competitive if certain issues are ironed out. 

Yamaha had good results, Rossi 2nd and Viñales 5th

The Yamaha team had more success, with Valentino Rossi coming in at 2nd (Time: 1'54.276 - Laps: 49). Even with a crash in the previous day, he was able to have some good laps. But he expressed concerns over the tyres, saying that both the front and read tyres were an issue even at half race distance. His teammate, Maverick Viñales, too had a good run, with 5th position (Time: 1'54.471 - Laps: 40) overall. He was happy with the setup and was comfortable as soon as he got on the bike. He also expressed that even though the bike wasn't as good as last year, the valuable data from the testing could help them get closer to the performance targets.

Dani Pedrosa crashes on day one and finishes 11th, Marquez finished 6th

Repsol Honda riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa finished the day at 6th and 11th positions. Marquez is 7th in the Combined standings with a time of 1'54.591. He was quoted saying - "I’m satisfied with how our pre-season went in general. We’ve worked a lot on our race pace, which is the most important thing in the end. It’s true that we’ve struggled a bit here in Qatar, but we’re happy anyway, as today, in particular, we took a step forward and I was able to lap consistently enough in the low-to-medium 1’55” range. ". He also mentioned trying a carbon swing arm for a run, saying that he was able to turn in some fast times. 

Dani Pedrosa came 12th in the Combined standings with a 1'54.774 lap time. A crash on the first day made things a little difficult, but he is happy with the overall progress the team has made during the pre-season testing. He said - “We’re not the fastest here at the moment, but we worked well and understood a lot about the conditions and how the track changes between having grip and not having it. We learned a lot about these things. Now we have to focus on ourselves, not looking at the others, and I think we can take another step for the race. I look forward to starting the championship! Regarding the wet test, I think that in case of rain for the race, we’ll have to speak and decide all together.”

With all the testing done and the data gathered, the teams will head back to their headquarters to prepare the 2018 Moto GP season. The season stars back here at Losail on March 16th, with fans eagerly waiting to see how their favourite riders and teams will perform. 

Source: motomatters.com and crash.net