7 wonders of MotoGP's Qatar test

1. The top 18 riders were separated by less than one second

This time last year, the combined times for the Qatar preseason three-day test saw the top 12 riders separated by a single second across the 1m55s lap time, but this year there’s another six riders in the mix. Just 0.972s stand between Maverick Viñales, on a seemingly much-improved factory Yamaha YZR-M1, and LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow, who has a 2020-spec RC213V at his disposal down in 18th place. See the full listing of combined times below.

2. Yamaha and Suzuki are now title contenders

The previous four seasons of MotoGP have culminated into a straight-out battle between Honda and Ducati. But three Yamaha’s locked out the top three spots in the final and combined Qatar test times, and the factory Suzukis of Alex Rins and Joan Mir finished the last test in fourth and sixth place respectively. Perhaps more telling is while Ducati and Honda – and to lesser extent KTM and Aprilia – used the last day scrambling about to find a decent base setting to start next weekend’s race, Suzuki and Yamaha used the final day to simply bed in what they each described as a very good base setting for the Qatar curtain raiser.

3. Honda has had a less than ideal pre-season

Not only is Honda’s main man Marc Marquez recovering from invasive shoulder surgery, leaving all of the testing leg work to factory-supported LCR Honda rider Cal Crutchlow, but it appears the Honda hasn’t taken the same development strides forward as the likes of Yamaha, Ducati and Suzuki. To make matters worse, Crutchlow crashed after 27 laps on the second day of the three-day event which halted Sunday’s proceedings. On top of that, the factory squad admitted to getting ‘lost’ on the final day, having to resort to borrowing Taka Nakagami’s 2019-spec bike in order to redefine the base line. The quickest Honda on the combined timesheets before the opening round is Marc Marquez in seventh place. He is only three tenths off the pace though. Marc said the number of right-hand corners at Qatar compared to Malaysia has aggravated his shoulder, but the eight-time world champ suffered three crashes across the three days – highly unusual given he was riding with plenty in reserve in a bid to not re-injure his shoulder so close to the start of the season.

4. Ducati ups the innovation ante…again

Ducati Corse’s general manager Gigi Dall’Inga has bought another never-before-seen innovation to the MotoGP grid; this time in the form of what appears to be a mechanically operated ride-height adjuster. It follows on from a couple of similarly innovative parts which have since been copied by most of the Italian factory’s rivals. This latest gadget gives the rider the ability to squat the rear of the motorcycle when he wants during a race; either down the straight or on the exit of a corner. Not only does it reduce the height of the bike and therefore reduce aerodynamic drag in a straight line, but it reduces wheelie and improves grip, getting the most out of acceleration on the exit of a corner.
In Qatar, Jack Miller revealed the new ride-height gadget was on his bike and in use for the last five rounds of 2019, going so far as to divulge it was the cause of him stalling on the grid and having to start the Thai GP from pit lane. It was under our noses the whole time.

5. Brad Binder is the fastest rookie

While all eyes were on Marc Marquez’s younger brother Alex, who joins him this year in the Repsol Honda garage for 2020, South African MotoGP rookie Brad Binder (KTM) posted a quicker combined time than the likes of Valentino Rossi (Yamaha) and both factory Ducati riders Andrea Dovizioso and Danilo Petrucci. Thanks in part to the newly recruited KTM test rider Dani Pedrosa, the once notoriously hard-to-ride KTM RC16 appears to be a much tamer beast for KTM’s fourth season in the premier class. The Austrian firm has ditched its signature steel-trellis chassis for 2020, replacing it with a more conventional – though still fabricated from tubular steel – twin-spar chassis. Binder’s fastest lap was less than half a second (0.425s) off the fastest lap set by Maverick Viñales. The next best rookie was Tech3 KTM rider Iker Lecuona in 20th place and 1.443s down, one place ahead of Marquez in 21st and 1.661s off the pace.

6. Michelin’s new rear tyre will make for even closer racing

Once all factories come to terms with the new construction Michelin rear tyre, it will make the 2020 season less about a race of best tyre management and more of a race of who’s the quickest rider. According to Michelin’s Pierre Taramasso, it not only offers more traction, and more grip, but the improved level of grip stays longer. In the past, the grip may start to drop off after 10 or so laps. Taramasso says the new construction means you’ll get more grip for longer, maybe 15 or 16 laps, but when it does start to drop, the grip will drop off much more slowly.
It will be used for all races, except Thailand and Austria, for where Michelin has a special construction specifically for those rounds. Ducati seems to be struggling the most in terms of finding a set-up to get the most out of the new tyre, while Suzuki appeared to have found a perfect setting without even trying.

7. Marc Marquez will ride a RC213V for the next five seasons

In the days leading into the last test before season 2020 kicks off, the reigning world champ inked an unprecedented four-year deal with HRC which will see the Spanish star remain with the factory Honda squad until the end of 2024. It’s a smart move on HRC’s behalf and one that Marquez confirmed was instigated by the Japanese factory. With the eight-time world champ recently celebrating his 27th birthday, it means Honda will have him for what will arguably be his most competitive years. And Marquez dismisses any criticism that says you’re not a true champions until you’ve won races and titles with different manufacturers
“I don’t care how, or who, I mean, I just want to win,” he said when asked the question.

Combined times after 2020 Qatar three-day test:

1 M Vinales Yamaha 1m53.858s
2 F MorbidellI Yamaha +0.033s
3 F Quartararo Yamaha +0.180s
4 A Rins Suzuki +0.210s
5 J Miller Ducati +0.247s
6 J Mir Suzuki +0.271s
7 M Marquez Honda +0.291s
8 T Nakagami Honda +0.381s
9 B Binder KTM +0.425s
10 A Dovizioso Ducati +0.454s
11 P Bagnaia Ducati +0.468s
12 V Rossi Yamaha +0.474s
13 A Espargaro Aprilia +0.574s
14 J Zarco Ducati +0.707s
15 P Espargaro KTM +0.765s
16 D Petrucci Ducati +0.776s
17 T Rabat Ducati +0.816s
18 C Crutchlow Honda +0.972s
19 M Oliveira KTM +1.150s
20 I Lecuona KTM +1.443s
21 A Marquez Honda +1.661s