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The opening day of the 2021 MotoGP official practice in Qatar ended with Aleix Espargaro and Aprilia, causing a surprise at the top of the timesheets.
Despite choosing to be away from yesterday’s Shakedown, Espargaro made repeated appearances in P1 throughout the day, staying out of reach throughout the final hour.
The Spaniard carried the updated RS-GP – which features changes to the engine, aerodynamics, chassis and electronics after last year’s best race result with eighth place – to a time of 1m 54.687s, which is under Losail’s official lap record, but 1.2s off the pole record.
Closest to Espargaro was Honda test rider Stefan Bradl, Shakedown’s fastest and busiest MotoGP rider so far this year with several private tests in Jerez already under his belt. The German, ready to replace Marc Marquez if the No. 93 remains unsuitable for the opening races, has three motorcycles at Losail.
Despite being one of the last riders on the track, reigning world champion Joan Mir finished the day in third place for Suzuki, with new Factory Ducati Team rider Jack Miller fourth, Johann Zarco of Pramac Ducati fifth and Miguel Oliveira making five different manufacturers in the top six (+ 0.397s).
Franco Morbidelli started 2021 by ending 2020 – as the best Yamaha rider on his A-Spec machine, sixth. New Petronas teammate Valentino Rossi finished 13th, just ahead of Monster Yamaha substitute Fabio Quartararo, with Maverick Vinales eighth.
Pol Espargaro was the first on-track racing driver to make his Repsol Honda debut, eventually placing 17th. Danilo Petrucci was another early rookie, en route to 23rd in his first Tech3 KTM outing.
Alex Marquez recovered from an early crash to finish ninth on his LCR Honda debut while Jorge Martin, who crashed in Shakedown, was the fastest rookie in 18th.
Apart from Bradl, other factory test riders joining MotoGP regulars in the test include Cal Crutchlow, new Yamaha signing Dani Pedrosa (KTM), 31-time MotoGP race winner and former World Superbike champion Sylvain Guintoli (Suzuki).
Crutchlow shares M1s with Japanese Yamaha test riders Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Kohta Nozane. All three bikes, which appear to include the 2019 (A-Spec) and 2020 (Factory-Spec) models, are labeled “# T1”, “# T2” and “# T3”. Official timing only lists the bike, not the rider.
The tests, which took place from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m., end on Sunday evening. A second and final test in Qatar will then take place on March 10 and 12.
CLICK HERE for Qatar 2021 test updates
| MotoGP Qatar 2021 test hours – Saturday (FINAL) | ||||||
| Rider | Nat | Team | Time | Knees | ||
| 1 | = | Aleix Espargaro | ITA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) | 1m 54.687s | 42/50 |
| 2 | = | Stefan Bradl | GER | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | + 0.256 s | 45/45 |
| 3 | = | Joan mir | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | + 0.293 s | 33/33 |
| 4 | = | Jack miller | OUTSIDE | Ducati Team (GP21) | + 0.335 s | 44/45 |
| 5 | = | Johann zarco | OF | Pramac Ducati (GP21) | + 0.423 s | 49/54 |
| 6 | = | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | + 0.487 s | 47/53 |
| 7 | = | Alex Rins | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | + 0.511 s | 29/34 |
| 8 | = | Maverick Vinales | SPA | Yamaha Monster (YZR-M1) | + 0.572 s | 33/37 |
| 9 | = | Alex Marquez | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | + 0.591 s | 39/41 |
| ten | = | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | + 0.780 s | 45/45 |
| 11 | = | Brad binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | + 0.848 s | 40/46 |
| 12 | = | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Team (GP21) | + 0.885 s | 41/42 |
| 13 | = | Valentino rossi | ITA | Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) | + 0.897 s | 45/49 |
| 14 | = | Fabio Quartararo | OF | Yamaha Monster (YZR-M1) | + 1.020 s | 35/56 |
| 15 | = | Yamaha Test2 | N / A | Yamaha Test Driver (YZR-M1) | + 1.120 s | 15/20 |
| 16 | = | Miguel Oliveira | FOR | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | + 1.123 s | 29/48 |
| 17 | = | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | + 1.191 s | 52/67 |
| 18 | = | Jorge martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP21) * | + 1,460s | 26/37 |
| 19 | = | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) * | + 1.876 s | 32/34 |
| 20 | = | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Avintia Esponsorama (GP19) * | + 1.906s | 34/44 |
| 21 | = | Yamaha test1 | N / A | Yamaha Test Driver (YZR-M1) | + 2.020s | 23/27 |
| 22 | = | Iker Lecuona | SPA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | + 2.233 s | 50/51 |
| 23 | = | Danilo Petrucci | ITA | KTM Tech3 (RC16) | + 2.498s | 37/54 |
| 24 | = | Luca Marini | ITA | Sky VR46 Avintia (GP19) * | + 2,648 s | 25/48 |
| 25 | = | Sylvain Guintoli | OF | Suzuki Test Driver (GSX-RR) | + 2.773 s | 41/43 |
| 26 | = | Dani Pedrosa | SPA | KTM Test Driver (RC16) | + 2.930 s | 14/32 |
| 27 | = | Yamaha3 test | N / A | Yamaha Test Driver (YZR-M1) | + 4.009 s | 22/23 |
| 28 | = | Michele pirro | ITA | Ducati test driver (GP21) | + 4.230 s | 16/16 |
| 29 | = | Takuya Tsuda | JPN | Suzuki Test Driver (GSX-RR) | + 5,006s | 26/26 |
* Beginner
Key:
^ X The jumper is X positions higher than the previous hour.
= The jumper is in the same position as the previous hour.
X The jumper is X positions lower than the previous hour.
Shakedown test in Qatar 2021:
Best lap:
Stefan Bradl GER Honda 1m 55.614s
Qatar MotoGP official records:
Best lap:
Marc Marquez Honda SPA 1m 53.380s (2019)
Fastest race lap:
Jorge Lorenzo Yamaha SPA 1 min 54.927s (2016)
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