The first official MotoGP test of 2021 was a two-day affair completed last Saturday evening in Qatar. Fabio Quartararo, now a member of the factory Yamaha squad, posted the quickest lap time, followed by Jack Miller (Ducati) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia).
The heavily revamped Aprilia MotoGP bike was very quick throughout the test beneath Aleix Espargaro, and the team hopes to run with the front group this year. You can see full results of the test here. Testing will resume at Qatar in two days, and the opening round this year is also at Qatar (on March 28). Here is the press release from Quartararo’s team:
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team got into the swing of things on Day 2 of the Qatar MotoGP Official Test. Riders Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales spent today‘s seven hours of available track time to improve their feeling with their bikes and concluded the day in 1st and 7th place respectively.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team‘s Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales were on form at the Losail International Circuit today, taking 1st and 7th place respectively in the Day 2 and the combined Qatar MotoGP Official Test standings.
With some more laps under his belt, Quartararo quickly got back into the groove. Sticking to his testing plan for today, he put in a time attack towards the end of the session. He rocketed to the top spot in the Day 2 and combined results on lap 52 of 59. He was the only rider to drop under the 1‘54s-mark, with a fastest time of 1‘53.940s, and holds a 0.077s advantage over his closest rival.
Viñales enjoyed a productive and positive day. He concentrated on perfecting his riding style to suit the 2021 YZR-M1. Though he suffered a small crash in Turn 2 when the temperatures dropped, the Spaniard was unhurt and able to continue. His 1‘54.395s best time, set on lap 55 of 66, earned him seventh position in both today‘s and the combined Day 1-2 timesheets, 0.455s from first.
The team will be back at the Losail International Circuit on Wednesday, 10th March for Day 3 of the Qatar MotoGP Official Test, again held from 14:00 – 21:00 (GMT+3).
MASSIMO MEREGALLI, TEAM DIRECTOR
“We are not yet where we want to be with our schedule, but we have been able to gather quite a lot of information that we will closely study in the next two days. Each rider explored different areas of improvement. We will prepare a mix of all the positively evaluated solutions for Wednesday. Overall, we are quite satisfied with the pace that both our riders have been able to keep over these last two days. Fabio set a strong time during his time attack. Maverick hasn’t done one yet.“
FABIO QUARTARARO
“I’ve been doing a lot of training in the off-season, motocross and also flat track, but riding a MotoGP bike is a different story. I am looking forward to some days off now so the blisters on my hands can heal. Still, I am so happy that we get to ride again in two days, because I am enjoying it so much! We improved the pace, that’s something really positive that we take away from today. The feeling is great, and I made good lap times. We will use these upcoming two days off to look at the data and decide on the next steps.“
MAVERICK VIÑALES
“We are aiming for consistency this season. I am happy and pleased about the test. Yamaha has been working hard this winter. At the end of today‘s session, we did five or six laps that were really good for us. Those were the lap times we were looking for. I concentrated on my riding style and tried to go with the flow. I was surprised that I could ride 1‘54s even when there wasn‘t that much grip. I can‘t wait to be on the bike again on Wednesday and do more fast lap times.“
