Andrea Dovizioso went quicker than the current Losail circuit record to keep Ducati’s noses in front of Honda at the end of day two in Qatar. The Italian was the only rider to lap Losail in sub-1:55, ensuring he would outpace Marc Marquez by 0.184s, as Ducati’s GP15 continues to showcase its potential.
The new Desmosedici was sporting a fairing with striking new winglets and Dovizioso was also catching the eye with his lap times on old and new tyres. Despite a bright start to the evening by Marquez, Dovizioso sneaked ahead in the closing stages with a 1:54.907 with Saturday pacesetter Andrea Iannone following up his teammate in third, just 0.013s down on Marquez.
Movistar Yamaha bounced back after a difficult day one with Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi fourth and fifth, fractionally faster than the second Repsol Honda of Dani Pedrosa, while British pair Cal Crutchlow and Bradley Smith continue to be closely matched in the battle to be leading satellite rider, the compatriots just two hundredths apart in seventh and eighth.
Pol Espargaro was among the riders to struggle on the opening night but the Spaniard climbed to ninth on Sunday, hot on the heels of his teammate, but the biggest improvement of all came from Karel Abraham who clocked a 1:55.765 to complete the top ten, proving that the production-spec Honda RC213V-RS will still be a competitive package this season.
2015 MotoGP Testing: Losail – March 15
1 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | Ducati Team | 1:54.907 |
2 | Marc Marquez | Honda | Repsol Honda Team | 1:55.091 |
3 | Andrea Iannone | Ducati | Ducati Team | 1:55.104 |
4 | Jorge Lorenzo | Yamaha | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | 1:55.500 |
5 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | 1:55.581 |
6 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | Repsol Honda Team | 1:55.582 |
7 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | CWM LCR Honda | 1:55.624 |
8 | Bradley Smith | Yamaha | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1:55.648 |
9 | Pol Espargaro | Yamaha | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1:55.658 |
10 | Karel Abraham | Honda | AB Motoracing | 1:55.765 |
11 | Yonny Hernandez | Ducati | Pramac Racing | 1:55.772 |
12 | Aleix Espargaro | Suzuki | Team Suzuki MotoGP | 1:55.795 |
13 | Scott Redding | Honda | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | 1:55.803 |
14 | Maverick Vinales | Suzuki | Team Suzuki MotoGP | 1:55.810 |
15 | Hector Barbera | Ducati | Avintia Racing | 1:56.058 |
16 | Nicky Hayden | Honda | Drive M7 Aspar | 1:56.104 |
17 | Mike di Meglio | Ducati | Avintia Racing | 1:56.259 |
18 | Eugene Laverty | Honda | Drive M7 Aspar | 1:56.342 |
19 | Michele Pirro | Ducati | Ducati Test Team | 1:56.476 |
20 | Stefan Bradl | Forward Yamaha | Forward Racing | 1:56.724 |
21 | Jack Miller | Honda | CWM LCR Honda | 1:56.758 |
22 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati | Pramac Racing | 1:56.762 |
23 | Loris Baz | Forward Yamaha | Forward Racing | 1:56.936 |
24 | Alvaro Bautista | Aprilia | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1:57.273 |
25 | Alex de Angelis | ART | Octo IodaRacing Team | 1:57.390 |
26 | Marco Melandri | Aprilia | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1:57.982 |