Was Jorge going to start this Qatar Grand Prix effectively or experience some difficulties as sometimes happens to him? Lorenzo reassured his supporters and employers by finishing in fourth position, joining the other two Ducati GP 18s of Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci in the leading quartet.
Jorge is capable of the greatest feats at Losail, as proven by his lap record set in 2016 of 1'54.927 and his fantastic 2008 test record of 1'53.927. It would be a bit hasty to begin a triumphant march so early in the weekend, but we have had more difficult Fridays for the Majorcan.
Jorge had a small, minor problem at the start of the second session, and his team told him on his dashboard to return to the pits to change bikes:
Sparks fly for @ lorenzo99 under the lights! 💥💥💥
That's not supposed to happen 😧 pic.twitter.com/OWSEAJcqX6
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) March 16, 2018
During the first, Lorenzo ranked fifth in 1'55.888, 0.522 behind his teammate Andrea Dovizioso, and 0.055 ahead of Johann Zarco, whose brilliance in Doha is no longer to be boasted of since last year.
In the second session, Jorge set the fourth time, 0.470 behind Dovi. Note that he used the classic fairing, which he said provided less downforce, but made the bike less physical to ride over the race distance.
According to Jorge Lorenzo, interviewed by Sky Sport, “ You can always get better, but sometimes even worse... There were several drivers in difficulty today, but not many.
“I'm happy with the penultimate run with an old tire, the time was a good signal. I lacked a bit of explosiveness to do a trick like Dovizioso and Petrucci.
“But it is also true that I did not use the new front tire, it will be a card to use tomorrow. Generally speaking, I'm happy.
“The biggest problem with my Ducati at Losail is that I'm not completely comfortable braking. Something is still missing. It doesn't stop the bike from running short, but there is room for improvement.
“Fighting for victory on Sunday? Everything is possible, there are 7-8 pilots very close. Tomorrow we'll see what happens. »
First day ranking:
1 4 A.DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'55.366 12 1'54.361 15
2 9 D.PETRUCCI ITA Alma Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'56.076 10 1'54.367 14 0.006 0.006
3 42 A.RINS SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 1'55.997 16 1'54.458 19 0.097 0.091
4 99 J.LORENZO SPA Ducati Team DUCATI 1'55.888 9 1'54.831 15 0.470 0.373
5 29 A.IANNONE ITA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR SUZUKI 1'55.816 17 1'54.841 19 0.480 0.010
6 93 M.MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'55.743 17 1'54.850 15 0.489 0.009
7 26 D.PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team HONDA 1'56.265 17 1'54.851 17 0.490 0.001
8 35 C.CRUTCHLOW GBR LCR Honda CASTROL HONDA 1'55.989 9 1'54.852 15 0.491 0.001
9 46 V.ROSSI ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 1'55.427 16 1'54.853 15 0.492 0.001
10 5 J.ZARCO FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'55.943 15 1'54.912 18 0.551 0.059
11 25 M.VIÑALES SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YAMAHA 1'56.130 19 1'55.195 16 0.834 0.283
12 41 A.ESPARGARO SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 1'56.313 11 1'55.236 13 0.875 0.041
13 53 T.RABAT SPA Reale Avintia Racing DUCATI 1'56.111 17 1'55.308 16 0.947 0.072
14 43 J.MILLER AUS Alma Pramac Racing DUCATI 1'56.680 16 1'55.360 16 0.999 0.052
15 30 T.NAKAGAMI JPN LCR Honda IDEMITSU HONDA 1'57.183 13 1'55.694 18 1.333 0.334
16 45 S.REDDING GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini APRILIA 1'57.115 13 1'55.718 12 1.357 0.024
17 44 P.ESPARGARO SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'56.999 14 1'55.919 13 1.558 0.201
18 21 F.MORBIDELLI ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA 1'57.273 13 1'55.965 15 1.604 0.046
19 12 T.LUTHI SWI EG 0,0 Marc VDS HONDA 1'57.211 14 1'56.242 12 1.881 0.277
20 38 B.SMITH GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 1'57.389 18 1'56.260 16 1.899 0.018
21 17 K.ABRAHAM CZE Angel Nieto Team DUCATI 1'59.462 9 1'56.394 17 2.033 0.134
22 55 H.SYAHRIN MAL Monster Yamaha Tech 3 YAMAHA 1'56.544 17 1'56.454 16 2.093 0.060
23 19 A.BAUTISTA SPA Angel Nieto Team DUCATI 1'56.528 14 1'56.990 5 2.167 0.074
24 10
Photos © Ducati
