MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix, Warm-up: the Petrucci mouse roared

Un Casa Particular in Viñales in the lead on a Yamaha practically last in top speed, a Honda following which continues to bring down its riders and a Ducati with a Dovizioso serene above, all followed by three private pilots including a 19 year old who is just starting out and who is French… Here is the MotoGP grid table for this first round of the season in Qatar. But Sunday is always another day in Grand Prix. Valentino Rossi, who comes from afar, knows something about this. So what indication will this warm-up session give us which, moreover, will take place in conditions which will not be the same as those promised for the race?  

Before answering this question, here are the references which allow us to take stock of the situation:

MotoGP™ Losail Qatar	2018	2019
FP1	1'55.366 Andrea Dovizioso (see here)	1'55.048 Valentino Rossi (see here)
FP2	1'54.361 Andrea Dovizioso (see here)	1'53.380 Marc Márquez (see here)
FP3	1'54.966 Johann Zarco (see here)	1'54.677 Marc Márquez (see here)
FP4	1'55.248 Andrea Dovizioso (see here)	1'54.854 Danilo Petrucci (see here)
QP1	1'54.634 Jack Miller (see here)	1'54.270 Cal Crutchlow (see here)
QP2	1'53.680 Johann Zarco (see here)	1'53.546 Maverick Viñales (see here)
Warm-up	1'55.201 Marc Márquez (see here)
Course	Dovizioso, Marquez, Rossi (see here)
Records	1'53.680 Johann Zarco	1'54.208 Maverick Viñales (Test) 1'53.380 Marc Márquez

25° in the air and 34° on the track, these are the conditions offered for the last test gallop of the elite. It is Lorenzo daily of Zarco, who jumps into the 20-minute session without delay.

Dovizioso gets a scare entering turn 16 while Red signs the first reference in 1'55.644. Petrucci answers in 1'55.464. Casa Particular in Viñales arrives with a 1'55.562. Quarterly is sixth behind his teammate Morbidely. Olive tree emerges eighth and best KTM.

Petrucci passes the 1'55 mark in 1'54.807. the mouse of Marquez during qualifying sees the cat at the Honda following him. Casa Particular in Viñales, Morbidely et Kidneys populate the top 5 five minutes from the goal. Aleix Espargaró and his Aprilia leads the rest of the peloton in front Red. Dovi closes the top 10, stuck between Miller et bagnaia. Quarterly is twelfth. zarco seventeenth.

In 1'54.943, Kidneys point second. He will start tenth on the grid. We'll leave it there. petrux was in medium Soft, Dovi in full medium, Márquez had taken a medium before and Kidneys was with a hard one before. Vinales was in full medium and Red had taken a soft rear. Petronas pilots too. Lorenzo is twentieth and disappointed…

MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix Warm-up: times

1	9	Danilo PETRUCCI	Ducati	1'54.807
2	93	Marc MÁRQUEZ	Honda	1'54.864	0.057	0.057
3	42	Alex RINS	Suzuki	1'54.943	0.136	0.079
4	12	Maverick VIÑALES	Yamaha	1'55.100	0.293	0.157
5	21	Frank MORBIDELLI	Yamaha	1'55.177	0.370	0.077
6	30	Takaaki NAKAGAMI	Honda	1'55.247	0.440	0.070
7	4	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati	1'55.286	0.479	0.039
8	43	Jack Miller	Ducati	1'55.482	0.675	0.196
9	41	Aleix ESPARGARÓ	Aprilia	1'55.494	0.687	0.012
10	44	Pol ESPARGARÓ	KTM	1'55.554	0.747	0.060
11	46	Valentino ROSSI	Yamaha	1'55.558	0.751	0.004
12	63	Francesco Bagnaia	Ducati	1'55.635	0.828	0.077
13	20	Fabio QUARTARARO	Yamaha	1'55.663	0.856	0.028
14	35	Cal Crutchlow	Honda	1'55.673	0.866	0.010
15	88	Miguel OLIVEIRA	KTM	1'55.829	1.022	0.156
16	36	Joan Mir	Suzuki	1'55.843	1.036	0.014
17	29	Andrea Iannone	Aprilia	1'55.931	1.124	0.088
18	5	johann zarco	KTM	1'56.105	1.298	0.174
19	53	Tito RABAT	Ducati	1'56.140	1.333	0.035
20	99	Jorge Lorenzo	Honda	1'56.507	1.700	0.367
21	17	Karel ABRAHAM	Ducati	1'56.558	1.751	0.051
22	55	Hafiz Syahrin	KTM	1'56.617	1.810	0.059
23	38	Bradley SMITH	Aprilia	1'56.635	1.828	0.018