motogp.com
Losail International Circuit will host the second and final
MotoGP preseason test of 2019 from February 23 to 25, two weeks before the
season opener which will take place at the same venue.
Fans can witness their
favourite stars in action during the Qatar test from 4pm to 10pm on all three
days as the entrance to the grandstand will be free of charge. The spectators
who have already purchased tickets for the Grand Prix of Qatar can enter the
paddock during the test. After the first outing in Malaysia, teams now have to
make their final preparations for the year on everything from aero to engines,
and they’ll be trying new things as well as comparing new data with their
findings from the very different venue of Sepang.
Engines, for those without
concessions – which now includes Team Suzuki Ecstar after their stellar 2018 –
are one of the biggest keys. From the start of the season factories aren’t able
to make changes and the very same Suzuki showed in 2017 how a slight misstep
can wreak havoc on the season as a whole. There’s no sign of that from the
Hamamatsu factory so far in 2019 though, and Ducati and Honda both also seem
happy after Sepang, the latter trying two specs.
Yamaha, after a more difficult
couple of seasons, also saw plenty of positive comments Wabout the engine
coming from Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) in Malaysia. They’ve
had one to work with and no direct choice in 2019 per se, but the Spaniard
specifically pointed out improvements in acceleration. That’s been a key issue
for the Japanese factory. Aerodynamics – formerly winglets, now “aero
fairings”; specificity important – are another key component that teams must
make a final decision on during the Qatar Test.
This year it’s a simple choice
of two fairings for the year, one of which must be decided upon before the
season begins, the other mid-way through, and neither of which can be changed
once homologated. And this time around, they also have to fit in a specially
designed homologation unit that judges the legality of the fairing – if it
doesn’t fit, it doesn’t race.
At Sepang, Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati
Team) and Jack Miller (Alma Pramac Racing) crashed on their different aero
fairings they were trying so they’ll want to get a little more track time under
their belts in Qatar before decisions are made, and past Ducati, traditionally
the masters of aero innovation, we saw plenty of different options up and down
pitlane.
“There are always positives and negatives,” said Vinales of aero, and
the Qatar Test is the last chance for teams to decide which positives outweigh
which negatives.
Another man who will finally be able to continue his own
adaptation in Qatar is Jorge Lorenzo. After breaking his scaphoid and being
forced to miss the Sepang Test, the five-time World Champion will be able to
get back on his new Repsol Honda machine at Losail and continue getting up to
speed. So as well as the final adjustments to the machinery, he’s sure to be a
key talking point of the Qatar Test come struggle or shine, as will new
team-mate Marc Marquez after surgery on his shoulder.
Will their fights back to
fitness steal the headlines from Honda’s testing program? And is that because –
cue the Jaws music – it’s all going so scarily well behind the scenes? From the
rookies to the veterans, innovation, re-evaluation and acclimatisation will be
buzz words up and down pitlane as the final decisions are made ahead of the
first Grand Prix of the year.