At Yamaha, the moods are completely different when drawing conclusions from this first day at Qatar. On the one hand, we have a Casa Particular in Viñales who calls for a new path to follow and on the other, a Rossi who plans to continue his work by fine-tuning the details. A big gap while the times are more than tight and the man in the box Galbusera was forced to be absent due to food poisoning. But the Doctor remains focused on the subject and submits his work a hundred times on the job.
Valentino Rossi hoped to have done the hardest part by signing a 1.54.853 which placed him second, but in a few seconds, this performance had become just enough for a nevertheless essential ninth place. Because in a top 10 which for the moment guarantees him access to Q.2… In passing we will note that Red, Crutchlow et Pedrosa are collected in three thousandths and that Márquez is only nine thousandths ahead…
Seen like that, the 0.492 seconds behind the leader Dovizioso appear to be a monument! But the one who signed for two more years with Iwata keeps the direction of the house in tune in the storm it is going through: “ the sensations with the bike were quite positive. Besides that, my pace with the worn tires wasn't that bad. This will be an important point during the race. The gaps are incredibly tight. We are all in a pocket handkerchief ».
« As my fastest lap was not perfect due to a small error, I pay cash in the ranking. Ninth is not fantastic, but I am potentially in Q.2 and that was important because tomorrow the track conditions may be less good. FP3 actually takes place in the afternoon. But pilots will undoubtedly also progress ».
On his Yamaha, he is less hard than his teammate Casa Particular in Viñales : " We have problems with the front tire and we are at the limit. You will have to make the right choices for the race and find the best balance on the bike. We did a good job in testing. The last day of these tests was very good. But the weather is milder so you have to adapt by working on the details ».
MotoGP #QatarGP Losail J.1: Chronos
| 1 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1'54.361 | ||
| 2 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 1'54.367 | 0.006 | 0.006 |
| 3 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 1'54.458 | 0.097 | 0.091 |
| 4 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | 1'54.831 | 0.470 | 0.373 |
| 5 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 1'54.841 | 0.480 | 0.010 |
| 6 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 1'54.850 | 0.489 | 0.009 |
| 7 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 1'54.851 | 0.490 | 0.001 |
| 8 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 1'54.852 | 0.491 | 0.001 |
| 9 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'54.853 | 0.492 | 0.001 |
| 10 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | 1'54.912 | 0.551 | 0.059 |
| 11 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 1'55.195 | 0.834 | 0.283 |
| 12 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 1'55.236 | 0.875 | 0.041 |
| 13 | 53 | Tito RABAT | Ducati | 1'55.308 | 0.947 | 0.072 |
| 14 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | 1'55.360 | 0.999 | 0.052 |
| 15 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | 1'55.694 | 1.333 | 0.334 |
| 16 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | 1'55.718 | 1.357 | 0.024 |
| 17 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | 1'55.919 | 1.558 | 0.201 |
| 18 | 21 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Honda | 1'55.965 | 1.604 | 0.046 |
| 19 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Honda | 1'56.242 | 1.881 | 0.277 |
| 20 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | 1'56.260 | 1.899 | 0.018 |
| 21 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 1'56.394 | 2.033 | 0.134 |
| 22 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | Yamaha | 1'56.454 | 2.093 | 0.060 |
| 23 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | 1'56.990 | 2.629 | 0.536 |
| 24 | 10 | Xavier SIMEON | Ducati | 1'57.765 | 3.404 | 0.775 |
