MotoGP rider Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) in action during a pre-season testing session held under lights at Losail International Circuit last night. The three-day pre-season testing will end tomorrow with entry to the circuit free for fans, organisers
After Yamaha topped all three days of the Sepang Test with Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Suzuki struck back in Qatar as Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) led teammate Joan Mir to lock out the top and the two Hamamatsu factory machines were split by just 0.002.
Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) kept it close, ending the day just 0.032 in arrears, but it was Ducati who stole many a headline with what looks like a ride height adjuster.
Team Suzuki Ecstar Team Manager Davide Brivio confirmed that there’s nothing new to test in Qatar, but after success at Sepang – and a 1-2 on Day 1 in Qatar – it’s looking good for the Hamamatsu factory.
Their engine choice is also clear as they switch their main focus to back-to-back chassis testing; the one tested in Sepang that was well-received.
In addition, Rins has said a Suzuki holeshot device will arrive in time for the Qatar GP, if not here at the test, while Mir continues to work on his position on the GSX-RR.
Can they keep setting the pace on Day 2?
At Yamaha, the 2020 engine also seems to be set in stone and the factory riders of Viñales and Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) have the holeshot devices fitted, with the quartet of Yamaha riders confirming parts and electronics work on a different circuit.
Sepang Test pacesetter Fabio Quartararo tried the holeshot device on Saturday and was pretty positive about it, and he continued getting to grips with the 2020 YZR-M1, finishing P8 with a best time of 1:55.204 and working more on his race rhythm.
Team-mate Franco Morbidelli – who is on the YZR-M1 2020 A-spec – finished P5. The Yamahas look strong once again as all four finished inside the top eight, with Rossi slotting into P7.
Arguably the biggest talking point on Day 1 was the rumoured ride height adjuster that was predominantly seen on Jack Miller’s Pramac Racing GP20. Ducati Team Manager Davide Tardozzi admitted they have “something” new they are trying, but wouldn’t say much else.
Both Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and teammate Danilo Petrucci stonewalled.
Other than that, the goal for the Borgo Panigale factory was to work more on Michelin’s new tyre, something that both Dovizioso and teammate Petrucci put time into at the Sepang Test.
Right at the end of the opening day, Petrux leapfrogged to P4 to sit just 0.172 off top spot.
Pramac Racing’s Francesco Bagnaia was P9 after getting another 56 laps under his belt on the GP20, with Dovizioso (P11), Johann Zarco (Reale Avinita Racing) – another solid outing for the Frenchman in P12 – and Miller (P13) all within a second of the Suzukis.
