#SanMarinoGP MotoGP FP4: Dovizioso, the quiet strength

It was the last opportunity for the protagonists of MotoGP to get ready for a race where, as always, the choice of tires will be essential. A track heated to 40° offered an ideal place for reflection for the Hondas and the Ducatis, but also the only factory Yamaha in the running. A 2018 chassis with a Viñales who has found a smile again in the solitude of his box which will once again be populated by a teammate in Aragon. This morning, Márquez had shown his muscles and Viñales his determination just like Ducati his ambitions. For what verdict before qualifying?

Before launching hostilities, here is the situation in a table:

 

#SanMarinoGP MotoGP	2016	2017
FP1	1'33.451 Valentino Rossi	1'33.556 Marc Marquez
FP2	1'32.769 Pol Espargaro	1'33.231 Danilo Petrucci
FP3	1'32.451 Marc Marquez	1'32.958 Marc Marquez
FP4	1'33.043 Valentino Rossi	1'33.338 Andrea Dovizioso
Q1	1'33.059 Michele Pirro	1'33.563 Alvaro Bautista
Q2	1'31.868 Jorge Lorenzo	1'32.439 Maverick Vinales
Warm Up	1'33.068 Marc Marquez
Course	Pedrosa, Rossi, Lorenzo
All time lap record	1'31.868 Lorenzo 2016

 

The start was slightly delayed for a Petrucci on the bike not quite ready. In 1'33.654, Marc Marquez, he wasted no time in taking the lead in front of Lorenzo et Vinales, But also Folger. Barbera fell at turn 6 and Abraham at turn 14.

The idea of ​​the field was to determine if a pair of medium rubbers was playable for the race rather than a medium front married to a hard rear. At the start of the last quarter of an hour, Marquez, equipped with hard front and medium rear, still kept the rest of the field in check in 1'33.543, just ahead Lorenzo. Then came Vinales et Pedrosa, the latter rolling with two mediums. Baptist fell at turn 3. and Pirro at turn 1. Which made us the fourth Ducati on the mat.

Dovizioso was then only sixteenth with a couple of mediums on his GP17 equipped with the old fairing. At the house of Folger, we also drove with this rubber option also popular with Crutchlow et zarco.

In the last minute, Dovizioso revealed itself and was third in mediums. He did even better in the final seconds in 1'33.338, the best performance under the nose of a Marquez untouchable since the start of the exercise. Vinales, Lorenzo et Baptist follow as well as Pedrosa, Crutchlow. zarco et Folger make a nice group shot for Tech3, leaving it to Petrucci, on medium hard, to close the top 10.

#SanMarinoGP MotoGP FP4: Chronos

1	4	Andrea Dovizioso	Ducati	1'33.338
2	93	Marc Márquez	Honda	1'33.446	0.108	0.108
3	25	Maverick VIÑALES	Yamaha	1'33.527	0.189	0.081
4	99	Jorge Lorenzo	Ducati	1'33.555	0.217	0.028
5	19	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Ducati	1'33.934	0.596	0.379
6	26	Dani PEDROSA	Honda	1'33.939	0.601	0.005
7	35	Cal Crutchlow	Honda	1'34.092	0.754	0.153
8	5	johann zarco	Yamaha	1'34.125	0.787	0.033
9	94	Jonas Folger	Yamaha	1'34.176	0.838	0.051
10	9	Danilo PETRUCCI	Ducati	1'34.237	0.899	0.061
11	41	Aleix Espargaro	Aprilia	1'34.251	0.913	0.014
12	53	Tito RABAT	Honda	1'34.381	1.043	0.130
13	51	Michael PIRRO	Ducati	1'34.426	1.088	0.045
14	43	Jack Miller	Honda	1'34.455	1.117	0.029
15	76	Loris BAZ	Ducati	1'34.606	1.268	0.151
16	29	Andrea Iannone	Suzuki	1'34.688	1.350	0.082
17	44	Pol Espargaró	KTM	1'34.695	1.357	0.007
18	45	Scott REDDING	Ducati	1'34.852	1.514	0.157
19	38	Bradley SMITH	KTM	1'35.109	1.771	0.257
20	42	Alex Rins	Suzuki	1'35.128	1.790	0.019
21	22	Sam LOWES	Aprilia	1'35.149	1.811	0.021
22	17	Karel ABRAHAM	Ducati	1'35.150	1.812	0.001
23	8	Hector BARBERA	Ducati	1'35.260	1.922	0.110