Vinales finishes pre-season on a high

Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) left the Losail International Circuit in Qatar having topped two of the three days of the final pre-season test.

He finished the three days with a best lap of 1:54.208, 0.233 clear of a surprise second place for rookie Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT).

Alex Rins (Suzuki Ecstar) was next, followed by reigning champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha), Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda) and Quartararo’s teammate Franco Morbidelli.

Australia’s Jack Miller was 11th on his Alma Pramac factory Ducati.

QATAR TESTING RESULTS

“Honestly, I have been riding really good on the track, I felt like I was going very fast with the amount of grip that the track provided today,” said Vinales. “But we need to improve. I don't have really good grip on the edge, so we need to keep working, especially in that area.

“On the acceleration side we improved quite a lot since Sepang, and at the moment I'm quite satisfied with what we have in the braking area. My race pace is not bad, I tried 10 laps just to understand how the bike is doing, but it was very cold for the medium tyres.

“Anyway, I rode quite well, with quite a good rhythm. Maybe I could have pushed a little more. However, we still need to improve for the race. I think we are going to be ready. The race will be very important for us. Our bike has really positive points, but also a few negatives, so we now need to come to a conclusion and see where we can improve.”

Miller said: “I’m satisfied with these three days of testing. We did a good job and the race pace was very good.

“At the end of the day, we tried a time attack with a good lap time even if the conditions of the track were not the best. There are still some details that we need to improve but we are in the right direction."

Repsol Honda was the only other team and manufacturer to mix it with Yamaha at the end of the test, although both Marquez and Lorenzo took tumbles – both okay.

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu), meanwhile, also had a solid final day as he finished the Qatar test in ninth despite a crash, one spot behind the impressive Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).

Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati Team) was 10th, five spots ahead of world No. 2
Andrea Dovizioso

Aprilia, meanwhile, was happy with its improvements and, although Aleix Espargaro was P14 and Andrea Iannone P18, they were focusing more on longer runs.

The pre-season is officially over – now all that remains is to race. With 15 riders ending the test overall within a second, KTM in the top 10, the likes of Quartararo looking incredibly fast…what will the Qatar race bring? Find out from March 8-10.