DOHA (Qatar): Honda Racing Corporation (HRC) test driver Stefan Bradl topped the charts on the first day of the pre-season testing at the Losail International Circuit on Friday.
The German took in his stride the windy conditions which made it difficult for the riders to notch good timings.
After seven hours of track activity, Bradl was fastest with a 1m 55.614s, which is around seven tenths off the fastest race record in Qatar set in 2016.
Friday’s shakedown for test riders and rookies officially kick-started the 2021 MotoGP season in Qatar ahead of five full days of premier-class action this week.
Four rookies will start the 2021 campaign this month in Qatar, although Aprilia’s Lorenzo Savadori already has three races under his belt from last year.
Typically, Pramac’s Jorge Martin and Avintia duo Luca Marini and Enea Bastianini would have already had two days of running under their belts at the end of last season, but the COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the traditional end-of-season two-day test at Jerez.
Joining the test riders on track in Qatar for the shakedown, was reigning Moto2 world champion Bastianini. He was the fastest of the new crop with a 1m 58.051seconds on his GP19 Ducati in fourth overall having managed 35 laps.
Team-mate Marini was eighth fastest with a 1m58.376s, but encountered various technical problems with both of his bikes which limited his running to 33 laps.
“The first day was a little bit tricky, because we had some problems, different problems on both bikes,” Marini told motogp.com
Pramac’s Martin had the hardest day of the rookie riders, crashing his works Ducati at Turn 3 on the final lap of his 31-lap run plan. This left him tenth overall with a 1m58.875s, but the Spaniard was pleased with his performance overall – though admitted the seamless-shift gearbox took him by surprise
Britain’s Cal Crutchlow, having retired from full-time racing at the end of the 2020 season, made his debut as the official Yamaha test rider alongside fellow M1 riders Katsuyuki Nakasuga and Kohta Nozane.
Testing gets underway properly on Saturday with the first of two days this weekend, followed by three final days beginning on Wednesday.
(Source: MotoGP)
