Submitted by David Emmett on
Alex Rins has topped the timesheets at the end of the first day of the MotoGP test at Qatar, the Suzuki Ecstar rider getting half a second under the race lap record, and within two tenths of the best time set at the test here last year. But Rins was over a tenth of a second quicker than his fastest lap of the 2019 test, showing solid improvement.
Rins' advantage was small, however: the Spaniard was just two thousandths of a second quicker than his Suzuki teammate Joan Mir, who ended the day in second spot. Monster Energy Yamaha's Maverick Viñales followed close behind, the Spaniard just three hundredths of a second off the time of Rins, and nearly two tenths quicker than Danilo Petrucci on the factory Ducati.
Franco Morbidelli was the second Yamaha home, the Petronas Yamaha rider fifth on the A-Spec Yamaha, less than a quarter of a second behind Rins. Reigning champion Marc Marquez ended the day as sixth fastest, the Repsol Honda rider a tenth of a second behind Morbidelli. Marquez led the other brace of Yamahas, Valentino Rossi fractionally ahead of Fabio Quartararo.
Pecco Bagnaia was the second fastest Ducat on the day, three quarters of a second behind Alex Rins, and a few hundredths head of Aleix Espargaro on the Aprilia RS-GP.
Times at the end of the first day of the test:
| Pos | No | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
| 1 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:54.462 | ||
| 2 | 36 | Joan Mir | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:54.464 | 0.002 | 0.002 |
| 3 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | Yamaha M1 | 1:54.494 | 0.032 | 0.030 |
| 4 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati GP20 | 1:54.634 | 0.172 | 0.140 |
| 5 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha M1 | 1:54.700 | 0.238 | 0.066 |
| 6 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda RC213V | 1:54.823 | 0.361 | 0.123 |
| 7 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha M1 | 1:54.876 | 0.414 | 0.053 |
| 8 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha M1 | 1:55.074 | 0.612 | 0.198 |
| 9 | 63 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati GP20 | 1:55.204 | 0.742 | 0.130 |
| 10 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:55.268 | 0.806 | 0.064 |
| 11 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati GP20 | 1:55.308 | 0.846 | 0.040 |
| 12 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Ducati GP19 | 1:55.360 | 0.898 | 0.052 |
| 13 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati GP20 | 1:55.430 | 0.968 | 0.070 |
| 14 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | KTM RC16 | 1:55.449 | 0.987 | 0.019 |
| 15 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda RC213V | 1:55.627 | 1.165 | 0.178 |
| 16 | 33 | Brad Binder | KTM RC16 | 1:55.644 | 1.182 | 0.017 |
| 17 | 53 | Tito Rabat | Ducati GP19 | 1:55.707 | 1.245 | 0.063 |
| 18 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | KTM RC16 | 1:55.737 | 1.275 | 0.030 |
| 19 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda RC213V | 1:55.757 | 1.295 | 0.020 |
| 20 | 27 | Iker Lecuona | KTM RC16 | 1:56.135 | 1.673 | 0.378 |
| 21 | 73 | Alex Márquez | Honda RC213V | 1:56.552 | 2.090 | 0.417 |
| 22 | 38 | Bradley Smith | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:57.027 | 2.565 | 0.475 |
Records and best times set in Qatar:
| Pole Lap: | 2019 | Maverick Viñales | 1:53.546 |
| Fastest Lap: | 2019 | Fabio Quartararo | 1:55.039 |
| Best Race Lap.: | 2016 | Jorge Lorenzo | 1:54.927 |
| All Time Lap Record: | 2019 | Marc Marquez | 1:53.380 |
| MotoGP | 2019 | Maverick Viñales | 1:54.208 |
Comments
Look like Zarco found some
Look like Zarco found some pace
"Just testing," yes, but
"Just testing," yes, but there is much to see (increasingly so?). Aside from the newborn Aprilia, the only bike question mark left is over the Ducati, to be seen in the race at Qatar.
Most of the riders too have displayed much. Testing is up at a much higher bar.
Anyone have trap speeds to paste here? Curious. Thanks!
Records and best times
David, can you explain the fastest lap numbers? Pole and all time lap record are straightforward, but how is the fastest lap time higher than the best race lap? What is the MotoGP time?
Times
I suspect MotoGP 2019 time is last year's test.
Fastest race lap was Jorge's from 4 years ago, as opposed to Fabio's from last year.