After 3 days of MotoGP testing at Losail, which took place in good weather conditions, one could believe that all the teams are ready to tackle the first Grand Prix of the season, and that as a result , after having finely tuned the new 2019 motorcycles, each rider was able to do a race simulation…
Nay! We are even very far from it!
In fact, only half a dozen pilots took part in this exercise, and if, for example, we included Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi et Alex Rins in our graph, it's more because they went fast for a very limited number of laps than because of the length of their runs.
Concretely, the 2 pilots of the Petronas Yamaha SRT team were able to successfully complete this simulation, fabio quartararo proving to be faster than Franco Morbidelli, as he was on a timed lap. But even more important, this brand new team was able to get the hang of the Yamaha M1 quickly enough to launch into a simulation after having done some very solid timed laps: great work!
Joan mir also took part in the game (as well as Jack Miller but the latter's times are still a little slow) with impressive consistency for a Rookie.
The Ducati armada was also able to make an attempt, once again using the strategy inaugurated at Sepang of sending its two riders onto the track at the same time.
The simulation therefore started with Danilo Petrucci serving as a focal point for Andrea Dovizioso, then, after 11 laps, Petrucci let Dovi pass to take his wheel (editor's note: we removed this lap from Danilo Petrucci's graph).
It is interesting to note that from this point on, both men's pace slowed down, and Andrea Dovizioso even ended up stopping while Danilo Petrucci completed another 6 laps to reach a total of 22 laps , or the exact distance of the race.
Why was Andrea Dovizioso slower than his teammate?
The latter put forward a diplomatic explanation: “during the race simulation done together, for the first 11 laps, I was in front of Dovi, then we exchanged positions, but Andrea slowed down, perhaps because he heated the front tire too much behind me. He stopped after 4 laps, but I continued, keeping a good pace.”
Indeed, we can see that Danilo Petrucci was able to slightly pick up the pace once Andrea Dovizioso returned to the box.
“I am very satisfied with the way I deal with worn tires, thanks to Dovizioso’s advice” paradoxically declared the native of Terni.
The student faster than the master? Yes, that day, number 9 was simply faster than the reigning vice-world champion. And the reason is not necessarily technical: “I am very satisfied. I have no choice, if I want to stay with Ducati in the future, I have to stay with the fastest”.
This promises us some great races...
