2015 MotoGP Qatar Test Day 1 Times Final: Ducatis Dominate First Day Of Testing

By David Emmett | Sat, 14/03/2015 - 20:07

The Factory Ducati men have dominated the first day of testing at Qatar. Andrea Iannone ended the day as fastest, after swapping the top spot with teammate Andrea Dovizioso all evening long. In the end, less than a tenth separated the two GP15s. With the extra soft tire at their disposal, it was easier to set fast times.

Marc Marquez ended the evening as 3rd fastest, a couple of tenths behind Dovizioso. Aleix Espargaro finished behind the Repsol Honda rider, 4th place impressive for the Suzuki man, and within half a second of Iannone. Dani Pedrosa ended the day in 5th, ahead of Jorge Lorenzo, the first of the Yamaha riders. Cal Crutchlow put his CWM LCR Honda between the Movistar Yamaha riders, Crutchlow taking 7th ahead of Valentino Rossi. Rossi had taken a tumble early, but walked away unscathed.

Bradley Smith was the fastest of the Monster Tech 3 Yamaha riders, taking 9th spot with a lap under seven tenths off the pace of Iannone, while Scott Redding showed excellent improvement on the Marc VDS Honda, rounding out the top ten.

Final times at the end of the first day of the test:

Pos No Rider Bike Time Diff Prev
1 29 Andrea Iannone Ducati GP15 1:55.265    
2 4 Andrea Dovizioso Ducati GP15 1:55.363 0.098 0.098
3 93 Marc Márquez Honda RC213V 1:55.554 0.289 0.191
4 41 Aleix Espargaro Suzuki GSX-RR 1:55.698 0.433 0.144
5 26 Dani Pedrosa Honda RC213V 1:55.813 0.548 0.115
6 99 Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha M1 1:55.828 0.563 0.015
7 35 Cal Crutchlow Honda RC213V 1:55.837 0.572 0.009
8 46 Valentino Rossi Yamaha M1 1:55.938 0.673 0.101
9 38 Bradley Smith Yamaha M1 1:55.954 0.689 0.016
10 45 Scott Redding Honda RC213V 1:56.112 0.847 0.158
11 25 Maverick Viñales Suzuki GSX-RR 1:56.130 0.865 0.018
12 9 Danilo Petrucci Ducati GP14 1:56.132 0.867 0.002
13 68 Yonny Hernandez Ducati GP14.2 1:56.301 1.036 0.169
14 44 Pol Espargaro Yamaha M1 1:56.615 1.350 0.314
15 17 Karel Abraham Honda RC213V-RS 1:56.638 1.373 0.023
16 63 Mike Di Meglio Ducati GP14 Open 1:56.719 1.454 0.081
17 69 Nicky Hayden Honda RC213V-RS 1:57.099 1.834 0.380
18 6 Stefan Bradl Forward Yamaha 1:57.146 1.881 0.047
19 43 Jack Miller Honda RC213V-RS 1:57.228 1.963 0.082
20 76 Loris Baz Forward Yamaha 1:57.376 2.111 0.148
21 8 Hector Barbera Ducati GP14 Open 1:57.405 2.140 0.029
22 50 Eugene Laverty Honda RC213V-RS 1:57.500 2.235 0.095
23 51 Michele Pirro Ducati GP14.2 1:57.664 2.399 0.164
24 15 Alex De Angelis Aprilia ART 1:58.026 2.761 0.362
25 19 Alvaro Bautista Aprilia 1:58.459 3.194 0.433
26 33 Marco Melandri Aprilia 1:58.990 3.725 0.531

 

2015
MotoGP
Losail, Qatar
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Comments

Yes yes, it is "just testing" but we are left with fewer questions aren't we? There are some clear statements made on the track today.

And now we await the race simulations. My guess is that the Ducati can manage rear tire wear lots further than the Suzuki will. And my guesses about Cal will continue to look pretty good.
;)

Clear statements ? The only clear statements are that certain bikes and riders achieved certain test results. Whether those test results will translate to race results remains to be seen.

The Ducati can set faster laps with the stickier tires they are allowed to use.
That won't put Ducati at the top of the podium at the end of the race.

Yamaha and Honda factory teams know testing is not where you pull out the last bit speed you have held in reserve. Risks in testing are not taken by
those who understand the objective, which is to amass useful data that can
be used to advantage in races.

The usual suspects will still be at the front when it counts.

Super soft rear = 4+ tenths for the first half to 3/4 race depending on ?
Yamaha seamless = 2 tenths
Honda's "rideability" development bias error = -(?) tenths under what fuel load etc
Lorenzo's fitness relative to Qatar 2014 = 2 to 3 tenths
Rossi at Qatar last yr = solid baseline

This year's Bstone tire relative to a yr ago = +2 to 3 tenths for Yamaha and ? for Honda

Use your own calculator...we have more Honda to Yamaha parity, and with race simulations we are about to see if Ducati can make the super soft rear last past half distance and be a contender.

And what is the name of the KTM suspension super again?
And what was the criticism of Crutchlow again?
(And to be fair, directed at myself, what was the HP deficit on the Suzuki again?)
;)

Crash reported "However Dovizioso made clear that his best lap time was set on the harder tyre - the same as the softer tyre available to Honda and Yamaha and the most popular race choice for Losail . . ."