KTM Tech 3’s Danilo Petrucci is the only rider to have set a lap time during the opening two hours of the last day of MotoGP pre-season testing at Losail in Qatar.
The fifth and final day of 2021 Official MotoGP pre-season testing 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), Jack Miller beat the official lap record en route to putting Ducati on top at the start of the second test.
Maverick Vinales fought back for Yamaha on day two, but Miller’s 1m 53.183s remains the best of the test heading into Friday’s final day, when LCR Honda’s Alex Marquez will need to brave the pain of a small fracture in his foot.
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 is again 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.
However, windy conditions mean no riders set a lap time during the opening hour and only Danilo Petrucci has completed a timed lap by the close of the second hour.
