Repsol Honda Team final test in Qatar
The 2017 MotoGP pre-season came to an end today with the third and final night of testing in Qatar. The timesheets saw Dani Pedrosa ending in third place (1’54.469” on lap 46 of 50), with teammate Marc Marquez 10th (1’54.990” on lap 12 of 47).
2017 Qatar MotoGP test saw Pedrosa 3° and Marquez 10°
Both of the Repsol Honda Team men spent a productive night completing their testing plans, which included electronics, aerodynamics and refinement of general race setup, with the focus on keeping a good race pace. Dani Pedrosa continued until almost the end of the session, further improving his lap time at the end.
Marc Marquez ( discover more about the Spaniard Talented Rider fell once very early in the session and twice after 9 p.m. with no consequences, but he had to abort his race simulation on his sixth lap in the mid-1’55” range.
Action will resume at the same track on Thursday, 23 March, with FP1 for the Grand Prix of Qatar, the opening race of the 2017 MotoGP Championship.
Repsol Honda Team final test in Qatar
Dani Pedrosa 3RD 1’54.469
“I think today was a positive day in general. We had a few things to sort out from yesterday, and step-by-step we improved our feeling, the lap times and our rhythm in general. The improvement was general and even if we still have work to do, we gained confidence and this was a positive end to the pre-season. This track is not one of my favourites, but the team did a great job and things kept improving. We’re in better shape than last year and we’ll try to add this confidence to the motivation for the GP and to do our best at the first race.”
Marc Marquez 10TH 1’54.990
“I’m happy with the pace we were able to keep today but of course it hasn’t been the best test of the pre-season for us. I crashed three times, the first at the very beginning because the bike had a wobble at turn 4 and I braked late. Then later in the night I lost the front twice, and especially the last crash during my race simulation was my fault. But when you’re doing a long run you must try and push, otherwise you can’t understand where you really are. Anyway, better if this kind of thing happens now, during a test, and hopefully when we come here again for the race we’ll be able to manage things better. As I said, our rhythm is quite good; only Maverick [Viñales] is faster than everyone here, and if we were to race tomorrow I believe we should be able to fight for the podium.”
2017 Qatar MotoGP Official Test Results
Losail International Circuit in Qatar
Losail International Circuit in Qatar
Information about the Circuit
The fabulous Qatar MotoGP Circuit Losail International Circuit lies on the outskirts of Doha, the capital city of Qatar. Built in little over a year, the track cost $58 million USD and required round-the-clock dedication from almost 1,000 workers in order to get it ready for the inaugural event – the Marlboro Grand Prix of Qatar on the 2nd October 2004. The track itself is a flowing layout of 5.4 kilometres, surrounded by artificial grass designed to prevent sand from the neighbouring desert from blowing onto the circuit. The main straight is over a kilometre in length and there is a good mix of medium and high-speed corners, including a couple of quick left-handers which has proved particularly popular with the riders. In 2008 Qatar celebrated the first night time Grand Prix in history, following the construction of permanent outdoor lighting. The switch to night time racing was a success and has continued to be so, with the Qatar event now established as one of the most spectacular on the MotoGP calendar.
MotoGP Qatar 2017 Dates
24-26 March 2017
Losail International Circuit on Google Maps
Losail MotoGP Packages
Front rank locations and catering, an excellent service and the best of the two wheels Hospitality: this is the MotoGP VIP Village click here to know more about Qatar MotoGP Packages
