MotoGP Qatar Test Final Day Results: Fabio Quartararo leads the pack

March 7, 2021March 7, 2021 EMR Writer

Day 2 of the Qatar test for all the riders has been concluded with Quartararo on top.

Fabio Quartararo was the only rider to break into the 1:53 barrier today at Qatar setting his P1 time late into the session, after initially struggling in the factory team after the winter break which was spent riding street bikes, the Frenchman seems to have found his way on the Monster Energy Yamaha with a setting which is working for the 21-year old who took the top spot in Doha.

Aprilia are working harder than ever to make sure their bike is finally competitive and reliable in MotoGP, this was proven today with Aleix Espargaro shaving 0.500 from yesterdays time which put him atop of the sessions times, today he was able to go 0.535 faster with better track conditions placing in P3 overall in the session with Jack Miller in P2.

Franco Morbidelli was the only other Yamaha in the top 5, the Italian once again working to improve his feeling with the M1 noting that he already has many good feelings with the set up of the bike and is already at a very good level with the machine, he feels that the bike is much faster on the straights and focused on testing some electronic upgrades today with the improved weather and track conditions.

Repsol Honda’s Stefan Bradl is showing that he isn’t a one-trick pony, the German test rider finishing the day in P5 overall saying that he feels incredibly comfortable on the bike already and has been testing the chassis for the RC213V to help aid the front end issues which has plagued the bike ever since the switch to Michelin tyres.

After confirming that the KTM and the Honda are completely different, Pol Espargaro has been working to find the limits of the RC213V and improving his comfort on the orange machine making steady but positive progress and has noted that his feeling in the front end is weak and a point which needs improvement, he finished in P12.

Pol Espargaro getting to grips with the RC213V.

Suzuki were able to break the top 10 today with Mir in P8 and Rins in P10, the duo looking to improve their consistency this year in qualifying and free practice sessions when they need to put in those quick single lap times. Suzuki test rider Sylvain Guintoli has been testing the 2022 engine for the squad in preparation for next season.

KTM opted to unveil their new front and rear holeshot device and adds their name to Aprilia, Honda, Suzuki and Ducati who are running front and rear holeshot devices. These devices help to lower the centre of gravity of the motorcycle, lowering the centre of gravity will improve acceleration, Ducati first introduced this device to Jack Miller at Motegi 2018 and have been developing it ever since, like with anything in MotoGP, Ducati do it first and then everyone else follows suit when they realise it’s a good idea.

Running a holeshot device on the front and rear of the motorcycle will reduce the centre of gravity even further than just reducing the rear centre of gravity, this effect will mean that the bike is much harder to wheelie which can cause major issues in acceleration.

The result of KTM’s new update has meant that their riders have not been focusing too much on lap times but more on adapting and improving their new technology, this has been evident in their lap times with Miguel Oliveira the fastest KTM rider in P11 with Petrucci in P21 and Lecuona and Binder heading up the rear in P23 and P24 respectively.

After majorly struggling with set up problems yesterday, Luca Marini has been able to find a set up which works for him and took the P18 slot within 0.100 of teammate Enea Bastianini who is impressing many at Ducati.

Yamaha also opted to not use their ‘TEST3’ bike which is a positive step given that this bike was their 2019 version of the machine which was favoured by Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli, now the riders are using either the 2020 or 2021 versions of the YZR-M1.

Ducati’s new radical aero on Miller’s GP21 which helps to improve the Ducati’s top speed.

Jack Miller once again tested out Ducati’s new aero following from yesterdays trial with the machine, he confirmed after yesterdays test that he is happy with the fairing and the benefit it includes and therefore has opted to test it again noting that yesterday he struggled to attempt a time trial given the strong winds. Today’s conditions improved greatly and enabled the times to pick up by nearly 2 seconds with Miller slotting into P2 with the new fairing mounted to his Factory Desmosedici.

Takaaki Nakagami aided Honda’s development once again this time trying out a new set of winglets on the RC213V which can be seen below, it is not understood if these wings made a positive impact to the Japanese riders feeling on the motorcycle but it’s noteworthy.