Yamaha riders topped the final pre-season MotoGP tests in Qatar, with Frenchman Johann Zarco topping the timesheets on his satellite YZR-M1, ahead of Valentino Rossi of the latest works bike.
Zarco, two time Moto2 world champion and last year’s MotoGP rookie of the year, stopped the clock with a best lap of 1:54.029 on the third and final day, 0.247 seconds ahead of Rossi and 0.287 seconds inside Maverick Vinales’ pole position time from last year.
Third in Qatar was Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso, last year’s runner up, with Brit Cal Crutchlow continuing this impressive pre-season testing programme as top Honda rider, in fourth place overall. Despite his pace, Crutchlow was not too optimistic about his chances over race distance, adding: “Today was the third day of testing and the final one before the season-opener in two weeks’ time, but we are quite positive about the feeling with the bike in the dry. We definitely still have to improve, but at least the team have the information to work with Honda over the next couple of weeks to evaluate the situation. Our front feeling is not perfect yet, but I was able to be consistently fast over the day which is important”.
The bikes will now stay in Qatar ahead of the opening race of the 2018 MotoGP championship, which takes place at the Losail circuit on March 18.