First MotoGP-tests in Quatar

01.03.2018
The first day of testing at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar came to an end at 9 pm this evening (19.00 CET). The MotoGP riders took to the track at 1 pm for a single session of eight hours, which finished under the floodlights that will also illuminate the circuit on the outskirts of Doha on Sunday 18th March for the opening round of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship.

Both Ducati Team riders made the most of today’s session to carry out back-to-back tests with the different aerodynamic configurations at their disposal and to test some new parts on their 2018 version of the Desmosedici GP.

Andrea Dovizioso ended the day in second place with a time of 1’55.104, while Jorge Lorenzo finished in fifth with a lap of 1’55.423.

The official tests will continue tomorrow and the day after and will conclude Saturday evening with a final session on a wet track surface, which has been organized to evaluate the possibility of racing the Grand Prix of Qatar in rainy conditions.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd – 1’55.104 (48 laps)
“For me today was a positive day. We did several important tests with the fairings and then we focused on the set-up, but the track conditions weren’t ideal because there wasn’t much grip. All in all the lap times came quite easily but we’ve still got a lot of work to do and, even though my feeling with the bike is good, now we still have to fine-tune it for the race.”

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 5th – 1’55.423 (55 laps)
“This first day of testing in Qatar went quite well and in general I had a good feeling with my bike, for sure much better than in Thailand. We also managed to set a good time, but we still have to work on our pace and this will be our objective for tomorrow. We have to make the most of the day to improve the bike setting and be more consistent.”

Pos.	Name	Team	Zeit	Runden
1.	Viñales M.	Movistar Yamaha	1:55.053	64
2.	Dovizioso A.	Ducati Team	+0.051	48
3.	Iannone A.	Team Suzuki Ecstar	+0.054	58
4.	Zarco J.	Monster Tech 3	+0.133	52
5.	Lorenzo J.	Ducati Team	+0.370	55
6.	Rins Á.	Team Suzuki Ecstar	+0.379	67
6.	Rossi V.	Movistar Yamaha	+0.379	54
8.	Petrucci D.	OCTO Pramac Racing	+0.475	47
9.	Crutchlow C.	LCR Honda	+0.483	45
10.	Márquez M.	Repsol Honda	+0.492	47
11.	Pedrosa D.	Repsol Honda	+0.502	37
12.	Miller J.	OCTO Pramac Racing	+0.635	44
13.	Bautista Á.	Angel Nieto Team	+0.795	53
14.	Nakagami T.	LCR Honda	+0.800	64
15.	Redding S.	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	+0.878	45
16.	Rabat T.	Avintia Racing	+0.976	69
17.	Espargaró A.	Aprilia Racing Team Gresini	+1.009	50
18.	Abraham K.	Angel Nieto Team	+1.215	54
19.	Espargaró P.	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	+1.222	56
20.	Smith B.	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	+1.368	64
21.	Morbidelli F.	Marc VDS Racing Team	+1.555	60
22.	Syahrin H.	Monster Tech 3	+1.678	58
23.	Lüthi T.	Marc VDS Racing Team	+2.239	64
24.	Simeon X.	Avintia Racing	+2.660	46

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