At the end of an interminable wait, MotoGP has finally returned to action at the Losail International Circuit. Although there was only one session during this opening day, certain facts deserve special attention.
What should we remember from Thursday at QatarGP?
Viñales between domination and confirmation
It would not be wise to draw conclusions after a single free practice session on a track that is still dusty, and even more so after a final pre-season test on the same track. Those who talk about it best accompany him on the track, “Maverick is very fast, but that was expected,” declared Marc Marquez at the end of the day.
The new recruit of the official Yamaha team actually won the race masterfully at the start of the evening. Author of a best lap in 1'54.316, the Spaniard already had more than half a second on Marquez's Honda by placing himself below the pole position (1'54.543) recorded last season by the one he replaces at Yamaha, Jorge Lorenzo.
“We made some changes to the electronics which helped me achieve my best time,”
confided Viñales. “At the end of the session, I put on a new tire and set a lap in 1'54.316. »
In addition to some modifications made to the electronics and the use of a new tire at the end of the session, the Iberian driver believes, as usual now, to be able to progress further by refining his braking phases, because he expects to a counter-attack from the Repsol/Honda duo or the two official Ducatis. (see the specific article here)
An Alien never arrives alone
Ignoring Viñales' potential on the YZR-M1 is difficult, but with ten World Champions in the field sharing a total of 29 titles, others are there to try to steal the spotlight. Dani Pedrosa is one of them. The Spaniard concluded the first day with the third fastest time a little more than eight tenths from Viñales: “It was important to be at the front, because everyone expects the rain to arrive,” declared Pedrosa. “I think we gathered some valuable information. We will see what happens next, while continuing to work as best we can. »
Many put on a new tire at the end of the session, but others, likeAndrea Dovizioso or Valentino Rossi did not opt for this strategy. “This time is a good time given the track conditions. However, it was not as good, precisely because of the sand and grip of the track. He showed he was fast during the winter, but we all use different strategies and we don't know yet what the best strategy will be. » concluded the Honda driver.
Jorge Lorenzo is the one with the most success at Losail with six victories. For his first session of the season for Ducati, the Mallorcan was briefly invited to the top of the rankings at the end of the session before falling to fifth position, 1.3s behind the Yamaha rider. Lorenzo hopes to progress throughout the weekend to get closer to the leaders: “On Friday, the objective will be to find a better feeling with the hard tire,” he explained. “We are still struggling to use it to gain confidence and maintain a good race pace. »
Maverick Vinales
does not rule out a response from his teammate either
Valentino Rossi, which was relegated to more than 1.5s in ninth place: “This performance is not fantastic, but I am in the Top 10,” however reassured Rossi who anticipates more complicated weather on Friday.
“With the tire, I could have picked up a few tenths. In terms of race pace, we are far behind. We must find a solution. » The Transalpine will evaluate a set-up that he found in the last moments of the first session to close the gap on his new opponent.
Rossi is also experiencing problems with the new front tire offered by Michelin: “Michelin is continuing development that goes in a direction that offers a softer front end, particularly with regard to the carcass, but also for the rubber. This therefore transmits a lot of movement to me in turns, a characteristic which makes me lose confidence. I opposed this new generation of tires from day one. But it seems other drivers like them. We cannot change. » See his statements here.
Folger, Baz, Zarco – two rookies and two Frenchmen in the Top 10
If Viñales occupies the attention, the new recruits of Hervé Poncharal in the Yamaha Tech3 team are not left behind. Jonas Folger finished the session in fourth place and held the position of best rookie and first independent driver. However, the conditions were not similar to those of the last Official Test, “The bike did not behave the same way due to the strong gusts,” confided the German. “We now have to adjust the balance of the bike since we were on soft tires, as well as the electronics to better maintain the trajectory and negotiate the bends more smoothly. »
Loris Baz created a surprise by taking sixth place only a hundredth of Lorenzo's Ducati Desmosedici GP17. The Frenchman did not expect to be so fast from the first session, but he thus won his entry into Q2 in the event of rain on Friday, “The track offered much less grip compared to the last Test; there was a lot of sand and wind. We nevertheless managed to quickly find our feet and our rhythm. We made some modifications which seem to have worked, particularly on the electronics. In anticipation of the difficult weather forecast, I opted for a tire that helped me get into the Top 10. I didn't think I would be able to be that fast, but I felt confident. I'm comfortable and I know that there is still room for improvement, particularly with the medium tire. »
Regarding the arrival of rain and the possibility of driving in these conditions on the Qatari route, Baz added, “I think we'll have to try to ride. We are not sure that our concerns are only about reflections. For my part, I think grip will be problematic in the wet and I know I'm not the only one to think so. We will have to test it and we will draw conclusions. »
For its part, John Zarco played the strategy by anticipating the weather which promises to be capricious for the rest of the weekend, “You never know what the weather will be like during the next sessions,”
declared the French pilot. “So the team and I applied the strategy of being fast from our first laps. » “The objective will be to reduce the gap on Viñales, because he is leading and he is also a Yamaha rider. Although he has more experience, if I manage to stay close, I will be in the Top 10 and that is important for the rest of the weekend. »
See his full debriefing here.
Yamaha, Suzuki vs the others
For manufacturers, Thursday 17 p.m. marked the deadline for the approval of a first fairing evolution. According to our initial information, only Yamaha and Suzuki have approved the versions they unveiled at Sepang and Phillip Island, respectively.
In the Suzuki clan, Andrea Iannone et alex rins have also both used this new fairing housing wings on the handlebars of their GSX-RR: “We used the aerodynamic fairing to gather more information, as we were not able to use it extensively during the Test,” explained Iannone elsewhere delicate with its front axle. “The more information we collect, the better. We don't know yet if we will use it in racing. At the moment we have to continue working on it and then we will decide over the weekend. »
According to our colleagues at crash.net, these fins are removable and thus allow you to have several configurations with a single fairing: with or without integrated fins.
Ducati, Aprilia and Honda, for their part, have decided not to have their new fairings approved and are therefore required to use the 2016 fairing (without the fins). They now only have one opportunity to approve a fairing during the season. That said, according to the regulations, the approval concerns a rider and not a manufacturer, thus multiplying the possibilities, particularly for Ducati...
