Submitted by David Emmett on
Maverick Viñales has topped the final session of free practice for the MotoGP class at Qatar, and goes into qualifying on Saturday as the fastest man of the field. The Movistar Yamaha rider did not chase a fast lap like the other riders, comfortable as he was knowing that he had already qualified for Q2.
Andrea Iannone put in an astonishing lap to come out of nowhere and take second place, just a hundredth of a second behind Viñales' FP3 time, but still over half a second slower than the Yamaha rider's best time set in FP1. Johann Zarco ended FP3 in third, ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Dani Pedrosa. Cal Crutchlow set the sixth fastest time, but crashed in Turn 2 near the end of the session.
Marc Marquez was seventh in FP3, but was third quickest overall thanks to his time yesterday. Danilo Petrucci and Jorge Lorenzo were eighth and ninth, but were not quick enough to qualify straight for Q2, and will have to pass through Q1 on Saturday.
Combined results:
Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
1 | 25 | Maverick Viñales | Yamaha | 1'54.316 | ||
2 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 1'54.848 | 0.532 | 0.532 |
3 | 93 | Marc Marquez | Honda | 1'54.912 | 0.596 | 0.064 |
4 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Yamaha | 1'55.008 | 0.692 | 0.096 |
5 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1'55.042 | 0.726 | 0.034 |
6 | 45 | Scott Redding | Ducati | 1'55.085 | 0.769 | 0.043 |
7 | 26 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 1'55.113 | 0.797 | 0.028 |
8 | 94 | Jonas Folger | Yamaha | 1'55.713 | 0.892 | 0.095 |
9 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 1'55.211 | 0.895 | 0.003 |
10 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | 1'55.414 | 1.098 | 0.203 |
To Q1 | ||||||
11 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati | 1'55.435 | 1.119 | 0.021 |
12 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | 1'55.461 | 1.145 | 0.026 |
13 | 19 | Alvaro Bautista | Ducati | 1'55.581 | 1.265 | 0.120 |
14 | 76 | Loris Baz | Ducati | 1'55.624 | 1.308 | 0.043 |
15 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 1'55.634 | 1.318 | 0.010 |
16 | 43 | Jack Miller | Honda | 1'55.959 | 1.643 | 0.325 |
17 | 17 | Karel Abraham | Ducati | 1'56.003 | 1.687 | 0.044 |
18 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 1'56.179 | 1.863 | 0.176 |
19 | 53 | Tito Rabat | Honda | 1'56.368 | 2.052 | 0.189 |
20 | 8 | Hector Barbera | Ducati | 1'56.725 | 2.409 | 0.357 |
21 | 22 | Sam Lowes | Aprilia | 1'56.854 | 2.538 | 0.129 |
22 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | KTM | 1'57.116 | 2.800 | 0.262 |
23 | 38 | Bradley Smith | KTM | 1'57.654 | 3.338 | 0.538 |
FP3 only results:
Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
1 | 25 | Maverick Viñales | Yamaha | 1'54.834 | ||
2 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 1'54.848 | 0.014 | 0.014 |
3 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Yamaha | 1'55.008 | 0.174 | 0.160 |
4 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1'55.042 | 0.208 | 0.034 |
5 | 26 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 1'55.113 | 0.279 | 0.071 |
6 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 1'55.211 | 0.377 | 0.098 |
7 | 93 | Marc Marquez | Honda | 1'55.296 | 0.462 | 0.085 |
8 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati | 1'55.435 | 0.601 | 0.139 |
9 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati | 1'55.461 | 0.627 | 0.026 |
10 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 1'55.634 | 0.800 | 0.173 |
11 | 19 | Alvaro Bautista | Ducati | 1'55.676 | 0.842 | 0.042 |
12 | 94 | Jonas Folger | Yamaha | 1'55.713 | 0.879 | 0.037 |
13 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | 1'55.790 | 0.956 | 0.077 |
14 | 17 | Karel Abraham | Ducati | 1'56.095 | 1.261 | 0.305 |
15 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 1'56.249 | 1.415 | 0.154 |
16 | 53 | Tito Rabat | Honda | 1'56.617 | 1.783 | 0.368 |
17 | 45 | Scott Redding | Ducati | 1'56.662 | 1.828 | 0.045 |
18 | 43 | Jack Miller | Honda | 1'56.692 | 1.858 | 0.030 |
19 | 22 | Sam Lowes | Aprilia | 1'56.854 | 2.020 | 0.162 |
20 | 76 | Loris Baz | Ducati | 1'56.935 | 2.101 | 0.081 |
21 | 8 | Hector Barbera | Ducati | 1'57.005 | 2.171 | 0.070 |
22 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | KTM | 1'57.630 | 2.796 | 0.625 |
23 | 38 | Bradley Smith | KTM | 1'57.654 | 2.820 | 0.024 |
Comments
Iannone on the Suzuki Faster than MM93 on the Honda
Surely this is not possible. A.I. the maniac six tenths of a second per lap quicker than JLo.
Makes me wonder why the red team sacked A.I. Ducati could have saved a lot of money.
But it is worth it to see Maverick on the Yamaha. Two blue bikes at the top.
Perhaps blue is the colour for this weekend. I love the blues.
Iannone
Speed has never been A.I.'s problem. It's the whole struggling to finish races without recklessly crashing into other riders thing that tends to diminish his value. Talent without discipline just isn't worth much. If Iannone ends the season ahead of Lorenzo in the points, I'll be shocked.
Weather and track conditions
Weather and track conditions - could we be stepping into another season in which it plays a major role? Maybe even more so?
It got downright weird last yr. Just the sheer number of events affected. Hoping for better and ready for worse.
A.Espargaro and Aprilia are in good company. Poncheral's Tech3 Tots are trotting impressively. And yes, meatball head maniac is looking as I thought he might on the Suzuki and this is good indeedy.
Pedrosa et al gain and Rossi et al loss on the softer Michelins. Tire management issues may be even more important this season. Ducati is a question mark for me there.
Maverick is here, Yamaha is on. Qatar time! Let's line em up and go.
Zarco
Yamaha could have saved a lot of money by replacing Rossi with Zarco.
Well....not exactly
Even though Rossi is quite a bit slower so far, Yamaha makes WAY more money having Rossi on its bike than it would save by hiring Zarco. But Zarco's speed has been pretty impressive thus far. As is his likely ability to finish, if Moto2 is any indication.
Possible long season of woes for Rossi :-(
The change in the tyre stiffness and compound has caught Rossi off guard. It looks like the setup woes haven't been sorted out.
Kudos to Ianonne. It seems like he has come to grips with changing his breaking style. Let's hope he can keep it on two wheels for the entire race.
Kudos to Zarco and Folger. They made it to QP2 at the first GP. Tech 3 may be the cream of the satellite crop this season.
I can't wait. The season is in full swing.
1st, 4th, 8th and 10th
how does Yamaha qualify in those positions, especially with two rookies on year old bikes being in the middle? I know Rossi is thrown a bit by the tyre stiffness but how then are the year old bikes masking this or do the riders not care?