“This weekend in motorsport”- 6-7 March 2021

After some good weather and excellent riding by all, here’s what transpired after the Official MotoGP Shakedown Test at the Losail International Circuit, Qatar.

The riders are well and truly back into the swing of things, starting off with a bang, Fabio Quartararo ended day 2 with a 1:53:940, a massive improvement from his day 1 performance, this is to be expected after a long off season.

Other notable performances came from Franco Morbidelli after he recorded a top 5 finish.

Both factory Ducati riders also found themselves in the top 10 after a great end to their test with Jack Miller taking P2 with a 1:54:00. Enea Bastianini was the pick of the rookies after finishing in P16.

Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) followed up his day 1 P1 with a P3, with 2020 champion Joan Mir (Suzuki) taking P8.

KTM riders will be slightly disappointed with none of their riders in the top 10 with Miguel Oliveira landing himself in 11th spot.

Here are the results from Sunday’s testing:

No:         Rider:                                    Team:                                                   Time:

1              Fabio Quartararo              Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1)          1m 53.94s

2              Jack Miller                           Ducati Team (GP21)                        +0.077s

3              Aleix Espargaro                 Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)                   +0.212s

4              Franco Morbidelli             Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1)         +0.213s 5

5              Stefan Bradl                        Repsol Honda (RC213V)                 +0.270s

6              Johann Zarco                      Pramac Ducati (GP21)                    +0.416s

7              Maverick Viñales              Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1)          +0.455s

8              Joan Mir                               Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)                  +0.575s

9              Francesco Bagnaia           Ducati Team (GP21)                        +0.711s

10           Alex Rins                              Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)                  +0.718s

11           Miguel Oliveira                  Red Bull KTM (RC16)                       +0.726s

12           Pol Espargaro     PA          Repsol Honda (RC213V)                 +0.733s

13           Takaaki Nakagami            LCR Honda (RC213V)                       +0.750s

14           Alex Marquez                    LCR Honda (RC213V)                       +1.012s

15           Yamaha Test1                    Yamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1)       +1.366s

16           Enea Bastianini                  Avintia Esponsorama (GP19)*    +1.546s

17           Lorenzo Savadori              Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)*                 +1.630s

18           Luca Marini                         Sky VR46 Avintia (GP19)*             +1.665s

19           Jorge Martin                       Pramac Ducati (GP21)*                 +1.692s

20           Valentino Rossi                 Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1)         +1.768s

21           Danilo Petrucci                  KTM Tech3 (RC16)                           +1.855s

22           Yamaha Test2                    Yamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1)       +1.927s

23           Iker Lecuona                      KTM Tech3 (RC16)                           +1.933s

24           Brad Binder                        Red Bull KTM (RC16)                       +2.004s

25           Dani Pedrosa                     KTM Test Rider (RC16)                   +2.512s

26           Sylvain Guintoli                 Suzuki Test Rider (GSX-RR)          +2.822s

27           Michele Pirro                     Ducati Test Rider (GP21)               +3.955s

28           Takuya Tsuda                     Suzuki Test Rider (GSX-RR)          +4.970s

 

All eyes will be at the Losail International Circuit for the Qatar Moto2™ & Moto3™ Official Test on the 19th of March with racing to commence on the 28th of March.

 

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