Doha: MotoGP riders and teams will be back on track on March 02 for their final pre-season test at the Losail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar, it was announced yesterday. Team Honda’s Marc Marquez led the way on the final day as Phillip Island’s MotoGP pre-season test concluded yesterday.
The final morning of testing at Phillip Island got off to the best start of the three-day test with clear conditions allowing riders to immediately get out on track with the top seven riders being able to get below the 1’30 barrier within just a handful of laps.
Crashes were a common sight as riders pushed harder and harder to improve their times. Tito Rabat, the MotoGP rookie was the first to go off the track, followed by his Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS teammate, Jack Miller, Thursday’s leader, Maverick Viñales, Spaniard Pol Espargaro and Team Suzuki’s Aleix Espargaro before rain set in on the circuit and limited his track time.
The weather caused a delay of over two hours to proceedings with Scott Redding the first rider to head out as the track began to dry, the Brit returning to the pits immediately. With just a few hours of the final day of testing in Australia remaining, the circuit was suitable for action once more.
Yet more falls followed as Tito Rabat, Aleix Espargaro, Bradley Smith and LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow coming off.
Late in the day there was a brief red flag as Danilo Petrucci crashed and was later diagnosed with multiple fractures in his right hand, making his presence at Doha’s Losail International Circuit for the final pre-season test almost impossible. Fellow Ducati rider Eugene Laverty crashed with 45 minutes remaining, the Aspar MotoGP Team man avoiding any serious injuries having only just returned to full fitness after his Sepang crash.
With just over half an hour remaining, Jorge Lorenzo suffered a fall at Turn 10, suffering no major injuries and walking back to the pits. Marc Marquez also suffered a fall without consequence in the final minutes of the test.
Leading the timesheets yesterday was Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez who was 0.141s clear of overall leader Maverick Viñales. A late charge put Cal Crutchlow third in the final few minutes. One of the most impressive results of the day came from Hector Barbera in fourth with a 1’29.361s, he and his teammate Baz, in sixth, were split by Valentino Rossi. In seventh, Dani Pedrosa made steady improvements throughout the day to end ahead of Pol Espargaro and Jorge Lorenzo, Andrea Dovizioso rounded out the top ten yesterday and was 0.702s back on Marquez’s best time.
Thanks to his stunning 1’29.131 on Thursday, Maverick Viñales left the test as the overall fastest rider ahead of Marc Marquez. With less than 18 minutes to go on the final day, LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow set the third fastest time of the test.
Despite a difficult third day, Lorenzo left Australia as the fourth fastest rider just 0.004s ahead of Hector Barbera who proved that the GP14.2 is still competitive despite being several generations behind the factory bikes. Rossi’ s 1’29.404 from Thursday sees him end the test in sixth, continuing the strong form the factory Yamaha team have shown in recent tests.
Dani Pedrosa ended the three days with a best time of 1’29.606, 0.023s back on Baz. The three day pre-season test at Losail International Circuit will conclude on March 4.
The Peninsula
