Qatar MotoGP Test II, Losail - Wednesday lap times (4pm)
The second and final 2021 Official MotoGP pre-season test is underway at Losail in Qatar.
After the March 5 Shakedown (led by Stefan Bradl) and then opening Official Test from March 6-7 (which saw new Monster Yamaha signing Fabio Quartararo fastest), riders and teams have had just two days to analyse their data before the final three-day test.
The MotoGP regulars are again joined by Factory test riders Bradl (Honda) - also substituting for the injured Marc Marquez - new Yamaha signing Cal Crutchlow, Dani Pedrosa (KTM), Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki) and Michele Pirro (Ducati).
Crutchlow has been sharing M1s with Yamaha's Japanese test riders Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Kohta Nozane. The three bikes, which appear to include 2019 (A-Spec) plus 2020 and 2021 Factory-spec machines, are labelled '#T1', '#T2' and '#T3'. Official timing only lists the bike, not the rider, although one of Crutchlow's (Factory-spec) bikes is in a special 60th anniversary Yamaha livery for the final test.
Testing takes place from 2pm to 9pm each day, followed by ten minutes reserved for practice starts.
CLICK HERE for live updates during the 2021 Qatar MotoGP Tests...
| 2021 Qatar MotoGP Test II - Wednesday (4pm) | |||||
| Rider | Nat | Team | Time | Lap | |
| 1 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) | 1m 55.049s | 6/6 |
| 2 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.016s | 4/7 |
| 3 | Joan Mir | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.673s | 7/17 |
| 4 | Alex Rins | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.742s | 9/20 |
| 5 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.825s | 5/5 |
| 6 | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | KTM Test Rider (RC16) | +1.373s | 17/17 |
| 7 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +1.393s | 6/6 |
| 8 | Iker Lecuona | SPA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.461s | 4/7 |
| 9 | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.526s | 6/6 |
| 10 | Valentino Rossi | ITA | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +1.748s | 3/3 |
| 11 | Yamaha Test2 | N/A | Yamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1) | +1.902s | 4/4 |
| 12 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* | +2.113s | 9/9 |
| 13 | Michele Pirro | ITA | Ducati Test Rider (GP21) | +2.206s | 25/29 |
| 14 | Takuya Tsuda | JPN | Suzuki Test Rider (GSX-RR) | +2.746s | 25/27 |
| 15 | Yamaha Test1 | N/A | Yamaha Test Rider (YZR-M1) | +3.857s | 12/17 |
| 16 | Luca Marini | ITA | Sky VR46 Avintia (GP19)* | +12.156s | 2/3 |
* Rookie
Fastest Qatar Test 1 Time:
Fabio Quartararo FRA Yamaha 1m 53.940s
Official Qatar MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Marc Marquez SPA Honda 1m 53.380s (2019)
Fastest race lap:
Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha 1m 54.927s (2016)
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
