It’s a Marc Marquez almost resigned who has finished with his Friday evening at Qatar. Yesterday, the evening gave rise to some hopes which were not entirely confirmed during the two consummate test sessions. On the other hand, the reigning World Champion has one certainty: against Maverick Viñales, he will be able to do nothing.
ask to Marc Márquez who is his favorite for the first Grand Prix of the year in Qatar and he will answer you without batting an eyelid: Maverick Vinales. Has the first duel of the season between the two Spaniards designated as favorites for the title this year already ended? From Friday? “ This day was difficult » regrets the five-time crowned winner. “ But all Honda drivers have experienced problemss ”.
And indeed, Dani Pedrosa slipped to seventh place while Cal Crutchlow ninth is just in the top 10 and experienced the pangs of the fall. As for the Marc VDS drivers, they are even further away: “ we don't know exactly why it was so hard for us. But I have more confidence in the front of my bike, which is very important. The price is that I lost performance when exiting curves ».
A compromise which prohibits it from competing with a Casa Particular in Viñales completely serene: My pace is not bad, but it is not sufficient. Viñales is faster than anyone, here and right now. So I'm thinking of fighting with three or four drivers to take the two remaining places on the podium. And if I qualify on Saturday on the first row, I will be very happy ».
This is the state of affairs at Márquez, on the handlebars of an RC213V which had little taste of the state of the track of the day, estimated by the protagonists to have even more precarious grip than the day before: “ but Qatar has never been a track that has given us a gift » recalls MM93. “ Every year, it's the same thing, we prefer Phillip Island or Malaysia as we saw during the tests. But hey, I still hope to have a good race"
For the time being, Marc Márquez has still not fulfilled his deficit of 0.596 seconds on this devil of a Casa Particular in Viñales.
FP3 ranking compiled by our friends at crash.net:
1. Maverick Viñales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 54.834s [Lap 17/17] 340km/h (Top Speed)
2. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 54.848s +0.014s [16/17] 338km/h
3. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 55.008s +0.174s [15/17] 341km/h
4. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 55.042s +0.208s [13/15] 348km/h
5. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 55.113s +0.279s [15/16] 344km/h
6. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 55.211s +0.377s [15/16] 340km/h
7. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V) 1m 55.296s +0.462s [14/15] 343km/h
8. Danilo Petrucci ITA Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 55.435s +0.601s [15/16] 345km/h
9. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17) 1m 55.461s +0.627s [14/15] 349km/h
10. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 55.634s +0.800s [16/16] 345km/h
11. Alvaro Bautista ESP Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 55.676s +0.842s [17/17] 347km/h
12. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 55.713s +0.879s [13/14] 338km/h
13. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1) 1m 55.790s +0.956s [15/15] 343km/h
14. Karel Abraham CZE Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 56.095s +1.261s [14/16] 346km/h
15. Alex Rins ESP Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)* 1m 56.249s +1.415s [16/17] 341km/h
16. Tito Rabat ESP Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 56.617s +1.783s [14/15] 340km/h
17. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 56.662s +1.828s [9/14] 343km/h
18. Jack Miller AUS Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V) 1m 56.692s +1.858s [14/17] 342km/h
19. Sam Lowes GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* 1m 56.854s +2.020s [11/13] 336km/h
20. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15) 1m 56.935s +2.101s [4/15] 338km/h
21. Hector Barbera ESP Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP16) 1m 57.005s +2.171s [12/12] 346km/h
22. Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 57.630s +2.796s [15/17] 340km/h
23. Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing (RC16) 1m 57.654s +2.820s [10/18] 337km/h
