2016 Qatar Moto2 Test Times, Day 3: Lowes Makes a Statement to End Testing

Submitted by David Emmett on

Sam Lowes has laid out his intentions with his final run of 2016 preseason testing for the Moto2 class, using his final run of the day at Qatar to break his existing pole record by a couple of hundredths of a second. Lowes has been consistently fast throughout testing, and ended the three-day test with an advantage of over two tenths of a second over the rest of the Moto2 field.

Behind Lowes are a group of familiar names, the cream of the Moto2 crop starting to rise to the top of the timesheets. Tom Luthi - who has a very strong record at Qatar - ended the day in second, improving his time as almost everyone did on the final day of testing. Jonas Folger was third quickest, the AGR rider continuing his strong form, and finishing ahead preseason title favorite Alex Rins. Rins was just a few thousandths quicker than Lorenzo Baldassarri, Forward Racing's Italian youngster having also impressed throughout testing, while Takaaki Nakagami ended in fifth, ahead of Sandro Cortese. Reigning Moto2 world champion Johann Zarco finished in eighth, less than six tenths off the pace of Lowes.

Times from Sunday:

Pos No Rider Bike Time Diff Prev
1 22 Sam Lowes Kalex 1:59.405    
2 12 Thomas Luthi Kalex 1:59.608 0.203 0.203
3 94 Jonas Folger Kalex 1:59.652 0.247 0.044
4 40 Alex Rins Kalex 1:59.762 0.357 0.110
5 7 Lorenzo Baldassarri Kalex 1:59.770 0.365 0.008
6 30 Takaaki Nakagami Kalex 1:59.815 0.410 0.045
7 11 Sandro Cortese Kalex 1:59.927 0.522 0.112
8 5 Johann Zarco Kalex 1:59.979 0.574 0.052
9 73 Alex Marquez Kalex 2:00.129 0.724 0.150
10 21 Franco Morbidelli Kalex 2:00.234 0.829 0.105
11 52 Danny Kent Kalex 2:00.260 0.855 0.026
12 24 Simone Corsi Speed Up 2:00.294 0.889 0.034
13 23 Marcel Schrotter Kalex 2:00.429 1.024 0.135
14 77 Dominique Aegerter Kalex 2:00.459 1.054 0.030
15 55 Hafizh Syahrin Kalex 2:00.509 1.104 0.050
16 54 Mattia Pasini Kalex 2:00.566 1.161 0.057
17 60 Julian Simon Speed Up 2:00.573 1.168 0.007
18 14 Ratthapark Wilairot Kalex 2:00.672 1.267 0.099
19 97 Xavi Vierge Tech 3 2:00.685 1.280 0.013
20 57 Edgar Pons Kalex 2:00.834 1.429 0.149
21 44 Miguel Oliveira Kalex 2:00.899 1.494 0.065
22 19 Xavier Simeon Speed Up 2:01.112 1.707 0.213
23 39 Luis Salom Kalex 2:01.289 1.884 0.177
24 10 Luca Marini Kalex 2:01.293 1.888 0.004
25 70 Robin Mulhauser Kalex 2:01.607 2.202 0.314
26 2 Jesko Rafin Kalex 2:01.990 2.585 0.383
27 32 Isaac Viñales Tech 3 2:02.105 2.700 0.115
28 33 Alessandro Tonucci Kalex 2:02.806 3.401 0.701
29 8 Efren Vazquez Suter 2:04.103 4.698 1.297

Combined times from all three days of testing:

Pos No Rider Bike Time Diff Prev Session
1 22 Sam Lowes Kalex 1:59.405     Sunday
2 12 Thomas Luthi Kalex 1:59.608 0.203 0.203 Sunday
3 94 Jonas Folger Kalex 1:59.652 0.247 0.044 Sunday
4 40 Alex Rins Kalex 1:59.762 0.357 0.110 Sunday
5 7 Lorenzo Baldassarri Kalex 1:59.770 0.365 0.008 Sunday
6 30 Takaaki Nakagami Kalex 1:59.815 0.410 0.045 Sunday
7 11 Sandro Cortese Kalex 1:59.927 0.522 0.112 Sunday
8 5 Johann Zarco Kalex 1:59.979 0.574 0.052 Sunday
9 73 Alex Marquez Kalex 2:00.129 0.724 0.150 Sunday
10 21 Franco Morbidelli Kalex 2:00.234 0.829 0.105 Sunday
11 52 Danny Kent Kalex 2:00.260 0.855 0.026 Sunday
12 24 Simone Corsi Speed Up 2:00.294 0.889 0.034 Sunday
13 23 Marcel Schrotter Kalex 2:00.379 0.974 0.085 Saturday
14 77 Dominique Aegerter Kalex 2:00.459 1.054 0.080 Sunday
15 55 Hafizh Syahrin Kalex 2:00.509 1.104 0.050 Sunday
16 54 Mattia Pasini Kalex 2:00.566 1.161 0.057 Sunday
17 60 Julian Simon Speed Up 2:00.573 1.168 0.007 Sunday
18 14 Ratthapark Wilairot Kalex 2:00.672 1.267 0.099 Sunday
19 97 Xavi Vierge Tech 3 2:00.685 1.280 0.013 Sunday
20 57 Edgar Pons Kalex 2:00.834 1.429 0.149 Sunday
21 44 Miguel Oliveira Kalex 2:00.899 1.494 0.065 Sunday
22 19 Xavier Simeon Speed Up 2:01.112 1.707 0.213 Sunday
23 39 Luis Salom Kalex 2:01.190 1.785 0.078 Saturday
24 10 Luca Marini Kalex 2:01.293 1.888 0.103 Sunday
25 70 Robin Mulhauser Kalex 2:01.607 2.202 0.314 Sunday
26 49 Axel Pons Kalex 2:01.793 2.388 0.186 Friday
27 2 Jesko Rafin Kalex 2:01.990 2.585 0.197 Sunday
28 32 Isaac Viñales Tech 3 2:02.105 2.700 0.115 Sunday
29 33 Alessandro Tonucci Kalex 2:02.806 3.401 0.701 Sunday
30 8 Efren Vazquez Suter 2:04.103 4.698 1.297 Sunday

 

2016
Moto2
Losail, Qatar
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Comments

rockhen replied on
Site Supporter

Has anyone heard whether Remy Gardner is going to be racing Moto 2 this year, I haven't seen anything
although he does appear in the riders list? Now that Ant West has gone from Moto 2 I was hoping to still have a Aussie to cheer on.

torque_monster replied on

Remember that racing teams are in the business of racing, not developing motorcycles, so are very happy with the lack of variety.

Fans and manufacturers might want variety and competition/innovation in terms of the equipment, but most teams would be very happy with a single-make class, as this provides (comparitively) cheap racing and a (more) level playing field, allowing the pit team and rider to make more of a difference.

On2Whls replied on
Site Supporter

but not like anyone can say "Moto2 is one step below the pinnacle of motorcycle road racing" with a straight face when World Super Sport has a greater variety of frames (and motors) than Moto2.

jchampjchamp replied on

Really happy to see Folger near the top, I've always thought that he's got bags of talent but he's never had the best ride.
Also you might want to change the article a bit, as he no longer rides for AGR. Now he partners Cortese in the Dynavolt Intact GP team.