Tomorrow we aim at the front row in order to fight for the podium on Sunday

Losail, Qatar, Mar 22nd 2014  – The desert setting of the Losail circuit makes it prone to wind-blown sand and this caused the usual low grip levels, with the first session of the weekend, FP1 creating particularly challenging conditions for the riders. As more sessions were run resulting in more rubber being laid down on the asphalt, grip levels improved slightly but some riders reported they were still at a poor level during FP3. Despite the typically low grip levels, the combination of the latest MotoGP™ machinery and the 2014 specification Bridgestone tyres yielded impressive gains in performance compared to last year’s Qatar Grand Prix, with Espargaro’s best time 1.3 seconds quicker than the best FP3 time last year and all riders in the top ten bettering their 2013 mark by at least half a second.
Losail circuit places a strong demand on cornering and braking stability and this was reflected in a strong preference among the riders for the hard compound front slick in the first three sessions of the weekend. Rear slick choice was more varied, although almost all riders switched to their softer rear slick option; soft compound for the Ducati and Open class, and medium compound for the remaining Factory bikes, to set a quick lap time in their effort to qualify directly for QP2. Tomorrow’s FP4 session will be important for the teams as it will provide an opportunity to work on setup for qualifying and identify their optimum tyre combination for Sunday’s race.

Aleix Espargaro – “I’m really happy to close the second day here in Qatar on top of the time sheets. We have a good race pace with the hard tyre and then we could make another step forward with the soft tyre. We have a good set up but we need to keep on working.  Tomorrow we aim at the front row in order to fight for the podium on Sunday.  We know that it won’t be easy as we loose a lot in terms of top speed on the long straight, but finishing on top for two days in arrow is already a fantastic result. Together with the team we are all very excited and motivated.”

An exciting FP3 sessionsaw Aleix Espargaro (NGM Forward Racing) on top again, outpacing Andrea Iannone (Pramac Racing) and Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Honda Gresini) in the top three.

The revelation of the winter and of the Qatar weekend so far, Espargaro posted a 1’54.773 best time on the ‘Open’ Forward Yamaha, with Iannone and Bautista trailing him by 0.413s and 0.467s respectively. The non-Factory riders who tested at Losail two weeks ago are enjoying this Grand Prix so far, as the usual order has been upset in the desert.

Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso and World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) completed the top five, neither of them having attended the test visit.

There was a big crash for Monster Yamaha Tech3’s Bradley Smith at turn 5, but the Englishman limped away from the huge highside and was able to post the sixth best time of the evening.

Former World title winner Jorge Lorenzo’s woes continued as he looked uncomfortable outside the top ten for most of the session and he was potentially heading for Q1 participation before pulling out a 1’55.495 to go seventh.

Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda) was eighth on Friday courtesy of his best FP2 time, whilst Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda) and Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) squeezed into the top ten, Rossi with a late best time in the final minutes.

Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) and the man he replaced on the Tech3 Yamaha, Cal Crutchlow (Ducati Team), were the two big names to miss out on automatic Q2 participation. Crutchlow walked away from a crash at turn 10 and will look to improve on Saturday.

 

Moto2

Cortese set down a 2’00.579s marker towards the end of the only outing for the intermediate class on Friday, but Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) stays fastest on combined times by 0.057s from the German.

Behind Cortese, Aegerter was just 0.016s off P1 whilst third placed Rabat provisionally led the session and finished 0.067s off the top.

Both in the top five, meanwhile, were impressive rookie Maverick Viñales (Pons HP 40) and the quickest Thursday rider Nakagami.
Completing the top ten were Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Paddock Moto2), Xavier Simeon (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), Johann Zarco (AirAsia Caterham Moto Racing), Mattia Pasini (NGM Forward Racing) and Mika Kallio Marc (VDS Racing Team).

There was a crash for Gino Rea (AGT REA Racing) at turn 6 but he walked away unhurt and ended up 26th.

Moto3

Romano Fenati (SKY Racing Team VR46) led FP3 for in Qatar with the best ever lap of Losail on a Moto3™ machine, with Alex Rins (Estrella Galicia 0,0) and his teammate Alex Marquez also in the top three.

Fenati battled for the top spot with the Spanish pair as they pushed their Honda bikes towards the business end of the timesheet and ultimately the Italian KTM-equipped rider prevailed with a 2’06.121 hot lap.

In fourth place another KTM rider Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was on a fast lap at the end of the session but missed out by 0.159s, slowing in the final sector.

Behind the Australian on the timesheet were provisional pacesetter Jakub Kornfeil (Calvo Team), John McPhee (SAXOPRINT RTG) and Alexis Masbou (Ongetta-Rivacold) in fifth to seventh respectively. Kornfeil remained third overall in the combined times, but was unable to match his Thursday best.

The top ten was completed by Fenati’s teammate Francesco Bagnaia (SKY Racing Team VR46), rookie Karel Hanika (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Niccolo Antonelli (Junior Team GO&FUN).

There was a big crash for Efren Vazquez (SAXOPRINT RTG) towards the end of the session but he walked away without serious injury.