Ducati’s Jack Miller headed the timesheets on the first day of the final MotoGP pre-season test in Qatar, the Aussie heading Fabio Quartararo by just 0.080.
Quartararo fired in the fastest time of the test so far- a 1:53.263s- as Wednesday running headed into its final hour, a gambit three-tenths quicker than Maverick Vinales’ pole time at the Losail International Circuit the last time the venue hosted a grand prix two years ago.
Miller led the way prior to Quartararo’s stunning tour, though not content with second he posted a time just 0.080 up on the Frenchman in the final 15 minutes-an effort enough to keep him atop the timing pylon as the clock ticked down to zero.
Maverick Vinales backed up his team-mates speed on the second factory M1 in third position 0.327 down on Miller, while Johann Zarco wheeled his Pramac-run Ducati to the fourth quickest time.
Pol Espargaro continued his encouraging form as he learns the Honda RC213-V ahead of his competitive debut on the machine in the Qatar GP in two weeks time with fifth on the timesheets, his best effort exactly the same as Zarco’s own time.
Aleix Espargaro made sure Aprilia was part of the conversation towards the head of the times in a solid sixth overall, the Spaniard heading countryman and reigning MotoGP world champion Joan Mir on the first of Suzuki’s GSX-RR’s.
Mir’s team-mate Alex Rins slotted in closely behind in eighth position, while Francesco Bagnaia and Takaaki Nakagami completed the top ten at the end of Wednesday.
Nakagami’s day wasn’t without calamity though, the LCR racer suffering a minor spill at Turn 1 earlier in the day, while Honda stable-mate Stefan Bradl also suffered a crash.
The German went down fairly heavily at Turn 2 before the lunch break, a get-off that would ultimately end his day as he left the track early in order to be in the best form for the final couple days of testing-a decision that would leave him 16th by the end of the session.
KTM continued to evade the top ten times as the Austrian manufacturer did last week, new factory recruit Miguel Oliveira its highest classified runner in 12th 1.343s off the pace, with fellow RC16 pilots Danilo Petrucci, Brad Binder and Iker Lecuona all languishing outside the top 15.
Enea Bastianini continued to lead the way as far as rookies go, the Avintia man eclipsing Pramac’s Jorge Martin for the accolade by three-tenths in 14th versus the ’18 Moto3 world champion’s 19th overall.
Valentino Rossi once again cast a quiet shadow down in 13th, Petronas SRT team-mate Franco Morbidelli two places clear of the veteran in 11th.
