Last year, Casa Particular in Viñales had finished the offseason with Winter Soldier status. Undefeated on his Yamaha, he presented himself for the campaign as the man to beat. Today, we're playing the grand illusion in the Yamaha box. With a ruthless scenario: a start with a bang before falling into line. The path followed by the official Iwata team since the second part of the 2017 season. And listening to the teammate of Valentino Rossi, this refrain will come back often in 2018…
Electronics not at the top, ineffective posterior grip, the refrain is known and it continues in the box of Casa Particular in Viñales. " These tests were a confusion. We came back to the Thursday moto and the results came back. I was able to attack and with more time, I could have done better » sighs the one who finished fifth in the cumulative performance over three days, 0.442 seconds behind the reference zarco and 0.195 seconds from Red. Because Casa Particular in Viñales is last of the top Yamaha trio…
« It's strange. We lost a day and a half in these tests and even at the end, I felt that I was not able to give my best. I did a lot of laps without knowing what was wrong. In the end, you end up losing your concentration and your sensations ».
Then he ends with this strange sentence… “ Everyone is trying to be the best and have the best ideas. But in the end I came back with the bike from the first day and did 1.54.4. So if I had had this bike already on the second day, I could have done other times. I didn't have confidence going forward. If the race took place tomorrow, we wouldn't be ready. We need to significantly improve the bike’s settings. I can't get the best out of it, so something is missing ».
Deja vu and deja heard…
#QatarTests MotoGP Losail J.3: Chronos
1. Johann Zarco, Yamaha, 1:54,029 min
2. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, +0,247 sec
3. Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati, +0,302
4. Cal Crutchlow, Honda, +0,428
5. Maverick Vinales, Yamaha, +0,442
6. Marc Marquez, Honda, +0,562
7. Alex Rins, Suzuki, +0,621
8. Danilo Petrucci, Ducati, +0,630
9. Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati, +0,663
10. Jack Miller, Ducati, +0,720
11. Dani Pedrosa, Honda, +0,745
12. Franco Morbidelli, Honda, +1,103
13. Bradley Smith, KTM, +1,150
14. Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia, +1,203
15. Hafizh Syahrin, Yamaha, +1,244
16. Karel Abraham, Ducati, +1,271
17. Álvaro Bautista, Ducati, +1,318
18. Tito Rabat, Ducati, +1,436
19. Pol Espargaro, KTM, +1,460
20. Scott Redding, Aprilia, +1,566
21. Takaaki Nakagami, Honda, +1,734
22. Xavier Siméon, Ducati, +1,914
23. Tom Lüthi, Honda, +2,093
#QatarTests MotoGP Losail: Cumulative times
1. Johann Zarco, Yamaha, 1:54,029 min
2. Valentino Rossi, Yamaha, +0,247 sec
3. Andrea Dovizioso, Ducati, +0,302
4. Cal Crutchlow, Honda, +0,428
5. Maverick Vinales, Yamaha, +0,442
6. Andrea Iannone, Suzuki, +0,557
7. Marc Marquez, Honda, +0,562
8. Alex Rins, Suzuki, +0,621
9. Danilo Petrucci, Ducati, +0,630
10. Jorge Lorenzo, Ducati, +0,663
11. Jack Miller, Ducati, +0,720
12. Dani Pedrosa, Honda, +0,745
13. Franco Morbidelli, Honda, +1,103
14. Bradley Smith, KTM, +1,150
15. Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia, +1,203
16. Hafizh Syahrin, Yamaha, +1,244
17. Karel Abraham, Ducati, +1,271
18. Álvaro Bautista, Ducati, +1,318
19. Tito Rabat, Ducati, +1,436
20. Pol Espargaro, KTM, +1,460
21. Takaaki Nakagami, Honda, +1,510
22. Scott Redding, Aprilia, +1,566
23. Xavier Siméon, Ducati, +1,914
24. Tom Lüthi, Honda, +2,093
25. Mika Kallio, KTM, +3,189
