With just a week's time remaining for the first official FP, the third and final pre season testing has come to an end at the Losail International circuit, Qatar. The following article will summarise the happenings in the three day final test.
Qatar Day 1:
The first day of the final test saw Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso topping the time sheets, with newly acquired Yamaha rider Maverick Viñales filling in the next top spot. Dovizioso made a benchmark lap time of 1:54.819, which was three tenths faster than Maverick. Cal Crutchlow surprised everyone by coming to P3, becoming the only Honda rider on the top 7.
The next surprise followed instantly, with the satellite rider Karel Abraham taking P4 on his final lap. Ducati's Jorge Lorenzo finished day 1 at P5, after testing some new parts and getting used to the bike at the Qatar track. Movistar Yamaha rider and nine time World champion Valentino Rossi ended his day at P7, after testing some minor changes on his bike. Rossi made his fastest lap in the final session of the day, clocking a 1:55.679. Repsol Honda duo Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez were off the pace while testing, and were seen at P8 and P12 respectively. Marc Marquez tested Honda's new aerodynamic fairing but crashed out soon after.
Andrea Iannone was Suzuki's top gun, ending the day at P10 and his rookie teammate Alex Rins finishing at a low P18. Aprilia Racing team Gresini riders Aleix Espargaro and Sam Lowes finished at P13 and P20 respectively. The newcomers to MotoGP, Redbull KTM Factory Racing team tested their newly updated engine and the riders Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith ended up down below at P19 and P23. Rookie rider Jonas Folger from Monster Yamaha Tech 3 had a great pace and ended the day at P6, few hundredths of a second ahead of Valentino Rossi.
Qatar Day 2:
The second day was taken control by Maverick Viñales, who finished the day on top with a lap time of 1:54.455 ahead of teammate Valentino Rossi. Rossi finished the day on P2 just two tenths behind Mav on his last lap of the final session. Jonas Folger was the top rookie yet again at P3 with a lap time of 1:54.917. So the top three riders on Day 2 were all riding on Yamaha bikes. Folger was followed by LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow at P4, who made his position stick in the final session of the day. To everyone's surprise, Aleix Espargaro proved that the Aprilia was capable of doing things and pulled out the fifth fastest lap time. Repsol Honda riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa finished the day at P6 and P16 respectively.
Ducati introduced a new radical fairing to compensate for the now banned winglets. Their riders Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso were seen at P8 and P13 at the end of day 2. Team Suzuki Ecstar made some important testing in terms of electronics, and their riders Iannone and Rins completed the day at P12 and P17 respectively.
Qatar Day 3:
The final day of testing saw Maverick Viñales top the table yet again for two days in a row with a record lap time of 1:54.330. With these results Maverick became the fastest rider in the combined time sheets over the three day testing. Andrea Dovizioso held on for a firm P2 with just 0.071 seconds behind Maverick. The silent warrior Dani Pedrosa was seen at P3, after he made a flying 1:54.469 lap in the final stages of the last session. Jorge Lorenzo found some speed on the third day and ended up at P4. Marc Marquez was seen at P10, after he suffered a number of crashes throughout the day. Valentino Rossi suffered a lot on the final day, and finished at P11 0.855 seconds behind his top teammate Maverick.
Suzuki riders Iannone and Rins finished at P12 and P15 respectively. Redbull KTM Factory racing team riders finished in the last three places, little above 2 seconds from the front runnner. Considering this to be their very first MotoGP project, there is still room to improve throughout the season.
With this Qatar test, the pre season testing officially concludes and all the teams, riders and fans are very much eager for the first official practice session on March 23. Maverick Viñales coming to Yamaha has made the competition much more tougher than ever, and we as the fans of MotoGP expect a very close and action packed season. And finally we hope Valentino Rossi gets his 10th World Championship title amidst all young lads. Stay tuned to BikesIndia for further updates on the 2017 MotoGP World Championship.
By: Aravind Rb
*** The top gun of every pre season tests - Maverick Viñales
Qatar Day 1:
The first day of the final test saw Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso topping the time sheets, with newly acquired Yamaha rider Maverick Viñales filling in the next top spot. Dovizioso made a benchmark lap time of 1:54.819, which was three tenths faster than Maverick. Cal Crutchlow surprised everyone by coming to P3, becoming the only Honda rider on the top 7.
The next surprise followed instantly, with the satellite rider Karel Abraham taking P4 on his final lap. Ducati's Jorge Lorenzo finished day 1 at P5, after testing some new parts and getting used to the bike at the Qatar track. Movistar Yamaha rider and nine time World champion Valentino Rossi ended his day at P7, after testing some minor changes on his bike. Rossi made his fastest lap in the final session of the day, clocking a 1:55.679. Repsol Honda duo Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez were off the pace while testing, and were seen at P8 and P12 respectively. Marc Marquez tested Honda's new aerodynamic fairing but crashed out soon after.
*** The Honda RC213V with the new aerodynamic fairing
Andrea Iannone was Suzuki's top gun, ending the day at P10 and his rookie teammate Alex Rins finishing at a low P18. Aprilia Racing team Gresini riders Aleix Espargaro and Sam Lowes finished at P13 and P20 respectively. The newcomers to MotoGP, Redbull KTM Factory Racing team tested their newly updated engine and the riders Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith ended up down below at P19 and P23. Rookie rider Jonas Folger from Monster Yamaha Tech 3 had a great pace and ended the day at P6, few hundredths of a second ahead of Valentino Rossi.
Qatar Day 2:
The second day was taken control by Maverick Viñales, who finished the day on top with a lap time of 1:54.455 ahead of teammate Valentino Rossi. Rossi finished the day on P2 just two tenths behind Mav on his last lap of the final session. Jonas Folger was the top rookie yet again at P3 with a lap time of 1:54.917. So the top three riders on Day 2 were all riding on Yamaha bikes. Folger was followed by LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow at P4, who made his position stick in the final session of the day. To everyone's surprise, Aleix Espargaro proved that the Aprilia was capable of doing things and pulled out the fifth fastest lap time. Repsol Honda riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa finished the day at P6 and P16 respectively.
*** New radical fairing on Andrea Dovizioso's Desmo GP17
Ducati introduced a new radical fairing to compensate for the now banned winglets. Their riders Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso were seen at P8 and P13 at the end of day 2. Team Suzuki Ecstar made some important testing in terms of electronics, and their riders Iannone and Rins completed the day at P12 and P17 respectively.
Qatar Day 3:
The final day of testing saw Maverick Viñales top the table yet again for two days in a row with a record lap time of 1:54.330. With these results Maverick became the fastest rider in the combined time sheets over the three day testing. Andrea Dovizioso held on for a firm P2 with just 0.071 seconds behind Maverick. The silent warrior Dani Pedrosa was seen at P3, after he made a flying 1:54.469 lap in the final stages of the last session. Jorge Lorenzo found some speed on the third day and ended up at P4. Marc Marquez was seen at P10, after he suffered a number of crashes throughout the day. Valentino Rossi suffered a lot on the final day, and finished at P11 0.855 seconds behind his top teammate Maverick.
*** Rossi and team at work
Suzuki riders Iannone and Rins finished at P12 and P15 respectively. Redbull KTM Factory racing team riders finished in the last three places, little above 2 seconds from the front runnner. Considering this to be their very first MotoGP project, there is still room to improve throughout the season.
With this Qatar test, the pre season testing officially concludes and all the teams, riders and fans are very much eager for the first official practice session on March 23. Maverick Viñales coming to Yamaha has made the competition much more tougher than ever, and we as the fans of MotoGP expect a very close and action packed season. And finally we hope Valentino Rossi gets his 10th World Championship title amidst all young lads. Stay tuned to BikesIndia for further updates on the 2017 MotoGP World Championship.
By: Aravind Rb