Thats a wrap! Miller ends Qatar Test on top

And just like that, 2021 pre-season testing for the MotoGP™ riders and teams is over. Five largely hectic days at Lusail International Circuit see Jack Miller and Ducati Lenovo Team head into Round 1 as the combination to beat, with Miller’s 1:53.183 taking the honour of the fastest ever two-wheel lap in Qatar. The Bologna factory are chased by a trio of Yamahas who are all within a tenth and a half, as Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), teammate Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) enjoy a successful pre-season to complete the top four.

Unfortunately, the final day of the Qatar Test flattered to deceive. High winds caused dust to scatter across the track, which in turn meant barely anyone ventured out. With just over two hours of the first and only pre-season test remaining, Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) and Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) were the only two riders to have set a lap time, but eight seconds slower than Miller. The red flags then came out as cleaning machines ventured out to try and improve the conditions, but the majority of the work was already done and dusted for the teams and it was an early pack up.

Nevertheless, we’ve seen plenty of laps laid down across the other four days of Official Test action, as well as the Shakedown for test riders and rookies last Friday. So where are we ahead of Round 1?

In the hands of a charismatic Australian, Ducati will head into the first Grand Prix as the fastest. Miller’s blistering time attack lap on Wednesday evening was proof that he and the new GP21 are looking like a formidable partnership this season, with the innovation kings of MotoGP™ – of course – bringing plenty of new parts to test in Qatar. The most notable was some new front aero, a significant change and something we’ve not seen before. Elsewhere, the famous ‘salad box’ is a different shape on the new bikes, and another big change we’ve seen in 2021 is the front holeshot device that most of the factories have now got. Ducati, along with Aprilia, Honda, KTM and Suzuki have been seen launching off the line with the bike squatted at the front as well as the rear.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) ends testing inside the top five behind his factory teammate and the trio of Yamahas, and sounded very positive about his work at Lusail. Pecco was visibly pleased with the race pace work he had done throughout and when he pushed for a qualifying-esque time, he wasn’t far away at all – 0.261s to be exact.

Thanks to Johann Zarco’s (Pramac Racing) 1:53.899, Ducati have all their non-rookie riders inside the top 10 ahead of Round 1. Consistently the quickest rider through the speed trap – Thursday seeing him reach a new unofficial record of 357.69km/h down the start/finish straight – Zarco was another rider who seemed happy with his performance overall. The Frenchman commented on Thursday that he had worked a lot on race pace and had plenty of things to try, not all of which were good, but that they got through a lot.

For the Ducati trio, the week in Qatar has been largely positive with lots of laps completed by all: Martin clocked 159 in the Official Test, Bastianini 178 and Marini 204. All will have been a learning curve as the trio now head back to Europe, do some homework and get set for their MotoGP™ Grand Prix weekend debuts.

Factory Team Manager Davide Tardozzi rated Ducati’s Qatar Test as a 9/10, the Italian was pleased with every aspect: speed, attitude, and morale of the team. Confidence is brimming in the red camp but one thing that must be said is that traditionally, Lusail is a great circuit for Ducati...

At Yamaha, the marque once again proved that their one-lap pace is meteoric. The aforementioned Viñales, Quartararo and Morbidelli all pushed for a fast lap time when they set their best times of the test, and even though they lost out to Miller, things are still looking good for Yamaha in that department. However, it’s race pace and lots of other intricate details that all four of their full-time riders have been working on most in Qatar.

So just like that, MotoGP™ 2021 pre-season testing is over. Next up: the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar. In two weeks’ time the premier class warriors will be back on track at Lusail, but it will be during a race weekend. Before that, the Moto2™ and Moto3™ riders will be taking part in a three-day Official Qatar Test,

(source: Motogp.com)