Maverick Vinales will head into the MotoGP season opener as favourite for victory after ending all four pre-season tests as the fastest rider. The Spaniard set the pace on the final evening of running at Losail ahead of Andrea Dovizioso to add to his timesheet-topping performances in Valencia, Malaysia and Australia.
Ducati had turned heads on day two with the debut of their new ‘Hammerhead’ fairing but it was Honda’s turn to roll out aerodynamic upgrades on Sunday night with their own aero-fairing. While Dani Pedrosa enjoyed a positive day though, Marc Marquez had another session dominated by crashes with the reigning champion finishing down in tenth as a result.
Ducati had reverted back to their previous fairing and Dovizioso took the Desmosedici to second place, just seven hundredths down on Vinales. Pedrosa took third for Repsol Honda while Jorge Lorenzo confirmed Ducati’s impressive pace around Losail, finishing 0.189s adrift in fourth.
Despite a crash of his own, Alvaro Bautista finished fifth on the Aspar Ducati GP16 while Scott Redding closed a tricky winter on a high in sixth. Monster Yamaha Tech 3’s rookie line-up signed off in impressive fashion with Jonas Folger and Johann Zarco seventh and ninth, either side of Cal Crutchlow, while Valentino Rossi heads into the season opener with more questions than answers after only managing eleventh.
2017 MotoGP Official Pre-Season Test: Losail (Day Three)
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