MotoGP: Qatar preseason test roundup

Now that the dust has settled on all three classes after their pre-season testing is over, let’s take a look at where everyone stands. Of course, there will always be a few aberrations, but by and large it looks to be shaping up to be a Spanish rider war on Japanese machinery. 

Honda has gone and switched to the ‘big bang’ firing order for its engines, which is supposed to make the RC213V more manageable. The Honda never lacked power; what it lacked was the ability to put down that power. Marc Marquez crashed thrice in the Qatar test and could only finish tenth fastest on the timesheets, but is happy with the progress made. One of the reasons for his crashing was the new aero package, which was bottoming out his front forks – that means it is working. This is a change from the previous tests, where he sandbagged just so he wouldn’t be far in the front of the field, and yet was unhappy with the motorcycle. Dani Pedrosa had a throwback test at Qatar, ending up third on the timesheets. If Pedrosa with his lack of weight can put the power down, the other Honda riders shouldn’t have a problem with it.

Yamaha has two different stories to tell – Maverick Vinales is fast, whether or not he’s going for a hot lap or doing a race simulation. He’s so quick that he now has the full attention of Marc Marquez. Interviews with him see him rattling off a string of positives. The old man of the paddock, on the other hand, had a lot of frustration until a breakthrough on the final day gained him better braking and corner entry. He still isn’t quite up there with the frontrunners, but his crew is known for managing to give him a motorcycle that is quick on race-day. At his current pace, there’s a very good chance he’ll be jostling for position with Jorge Lorenzo, which isn’t bad TV, now, is it? The one rider in the Yamaha camp that is starting to turn heads now, though, is Monster Tech 3 rider Jonas Folger. The rookie has consistently kept pace with the factory riders on a satellite machine, and we’re sure if this translates into race pace as well, he’ll have a factory ride before long.

Ducati finally debuted its new aero package on the second day of the test, and it isn’t exactly pretty. They’ve relocated some bits and bobs under the seat to free up space where the headlight would otherwise be on a road-going motorcycle, and there are two massive winglets incorporated there. Dovizioso has the most experience with the GP16 and his opinion is that they’re not as good as the winglets, but they’re almost as good. The motorcycle has always been quick at Qatar, and while the results of the Ducati factory riders have been satisfactory, they haven’t been as quick as they would like to be.  There are some encouraging signs from the satellite riders, though, most notably Alvaro Bautista and Scott Redding, who managed times that weren’t too far off from the factory machinery. 

Suzuki has lost its most valuable asset, Vinales, but with a combination of experience in Iannone and youth in Alex Rins they should find their footing soon. They didn’t come away from the Qatar test with any truly impressive times, the riders finishing 13th and 15th on the timesheets, but the feeling from the garage was positive. One wishes that Vinales wasn’t quite so fast last year, and that Suzuki could continue developing the bike mid-season. It would certainly have made the racing more interesting.

Aprilia kept making steady progress, with Aleix Espargaro managing fifth place on day 2. There wasn’t much else for the team to write home about, but look out for the Aprilias to fight near the front most days. However, winning a race seems unlikely unless something unpredictable happens. 

KTM: The new kid on the block had a quiet Qatari test. All three riders from KTM had a full test program to go through, which meant that they occupied the final three spots on the timesheets. They were over 2 seconds off the leader, and are convinced that this is not the engine they want to use going forward. This makes sense – it is the last of the ‘screamer’ configuration engines, and the team is having problems getting the electronics to work with the power of the motor. However, the new engine won’t be available until the fourth race of the season, at Jerez. If the new configuration motor works, expect the KTM squad to start fighting for points from that round onwards. 

Whatever the results of the test, the results that matter will show during this upcoming weekend, at the opening round of the championship.