Generally FP1 for Qatar kicks off on Thursday, but this year they will only have 3 days. Both FP1 and 2 will run on Friday late into the night.
Similar schedule on Saturday with FP3 and Q1/2.
Pedrosa will make his 200th start. 8)
The race will run the early hours Monday here, can't wait.
FP1
Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (GP18) 1m 55.366s [Lap 12/14] 349km/h (Top Speed)
Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1m 55.427s +0.061s [16/18] 344k
Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 55.743s +0.377s [17/18] 346k
Andrea Iannone ITA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 55.816s +0.450s [17/17] 343k
Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (GP18) 1m 55.888s +0.522s [9/16] 345k
Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1) 1m 55.943s +0.577s [15/16] 343k
Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 55.989s +0.623s [9/16] 349k
Alex Rins ESP Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 55.997s +0.631s [16/17] 342k
Danilo Petrucci ITA Pramac Ducati (GP18) 1m 56.076s +0.710s [10/16] 351k
Tito Rabat ESP Reale Avintia (GP17) 1m 56.111s +0.745s [17/17] 340k
Maverick Viñales ESP Movistar Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1m 56.130s +0.764s [19/19] 344k
Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 56.265s +0.899s [17/17] 346k
Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 56.313s +0.947s [11/14] 344k
Alvaro Bautista ESP Angel Nieto Team (GP17) 1m 56.528s +1.162s [14/14] 344k
Hafizh Syahrin MAL Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 56.544s +1.178s [17/17] 341k
Jack Miller AUS Pramac Ducati (GP17) 1m 56.680s +1.314s [16/17] 344k
Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 1m 56.999s +1.633s [14/16] 345k
Scott Redding GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 57.115s +1.749s [13/15] 340k
Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V)* 1m 57.183s +1.817s [13/18] 343k
Thomas Luthi SWI EG 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)* 1m 57.211s +1.845s [14/14] 338k
Franco Morbidelli ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)* 1m 57.273s +1.907s [13/15] 339k
Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 1m 57.389s +2.023s [18/18] 343k
Xavier Simeon ESP Reale Avintia (GP16)* 1m 59.151s +3.785s [14/16] 345k
Karel Abraham CZE Angel Nieto Team (GP16) 1m 59.462s +4.096s [9/9] 340k
Top 5 in 2
Ducati
Ducati
Suzuki
Ducati
Suzuki
Dovi is on fire.
Looked like he could pretty much do whatever he wanted.
Quote from: kopfjäger on March 16, 2018, 09:57:44 AM
Looked like he could pretty much do whatever he wanted.
Yup...watch out for Danilo, and Rins too.
These new announcers suck
Quote from: duccarlos on March 16, 2018, 11:16:34 AM
These new announcers suck
I don't care for Steve Day, and the two guys announcing Moto2 and 3 are green as spring grass.
Matt Birt should be the lead.
Quote from: duccarlos on March 16, 2018, 11:16:34 AM
These new announcers suck
Lots of folks said the old guys sucked.
David Emmett said there's a yearly competition open to anyone who thinks they can announce a race.
Most entrants could do little more than stammer "Look at that pass!"
Harder job than it appears.
Quote from: Speeddog on March 16, 2018, 11:49:25 AM
Lots of folks said the old guys sucked.
David Emmett said there's a yearly competition open to anyone who thinks they can announce a race.
Most entrants could do little more than stammer "Look at that pass!"
Harder job than it appears.
I'm not saying I could do better, but I'm sure they could find a better pair of guys that are fans of the sport and are willing to get paid to travel the world.
Pos. Num. Rider Nation Team Bike Km/h Time Gap 1st/Prev.
1 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 350.7 1'54.361
2 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Alma Pramac Racing Ducati 349.8 1'54.367 0.006 / 0.006
3 42 Alex RINS SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 341.3 1'54.458 0.097 / 0.091
4 99 Jorge LORENZO SPA Ducati Team Ducati 348.4 1'54.831 0.470 / 0.373
5 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 345.3 1'54.841 0.480 / 0.010
6 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 347.2 1'54.850 0.489 / 0.009
7 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 347.8 1'54.851 0.490 / 0.001
8 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR LCR Honda CASTROL Honda 349.1 1'54.852 0.491 / 0.001
9 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 342.6 1'54.853 0.492 / 0.001
10 5 Johann ZARCO FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 343.7 1'54.912 0.551 / 0.059
11 25 Maverick VIÃ'ALES SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 345.2 1'55.195 0.834 / 0.283
12 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 345.0 1'55.236 0.875 / 0.041
13 53 Tito RABAT SPA Reale Avintia Racing Ducati 343.4 1'55.308 0.947 / 0.072
14 43 Jack MILLER AUS Alma Pramac Racing Ducati 344.4 1'55.360 0.999 / 0.052
15 30 Takaaki NAKAGAMI JPN LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda 341.0 1'55.694 1.333 / 0.334
16 45 Scott REDDING GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 341.4 1'55.718 1.357 / 0.024
17 44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 347.4 1'55.919 1.558 / 0.201
18 21 Franco MORBIDELLI ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 341.1 1'55.965 1.604 / 0.046
19 12 Thomas LUTHI SWI EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 337.3 1'56.242 1.881 / 0.277
20 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 338.9 1'56.260 1.899 / 0.018
21 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Angel Nieto Team Ducati 343.2 1'56.394 2.033 / 0.134
22 55 Hafizh SYAHRIN MAL Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 341.8 1'56.454 2.093 / 0.060
23 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Angel Nieto Team Ducati 342.8 1'56.990 2.629 / 0.536
24 10 Xavier SIMEON BEL Reale Avintia Racing Ducati 342.9 1'57.765 3.404 / 0.775
Quote from: duccarlos on March 16, 2018, 02:08:57 PM
I'm not saying I could do better, but I'm sure they could find a better pair of guys that are fans of the sport and are willing to get paid to travel the world.
I’m in!! Wow! Look at that pass!! [laugh]
Make sure the rear tire warmer is off before heading out on track.
Final minutes of Q2 was a nail biter.
Zarco
Márquez
Petrucci
Well that was quite a show!
I've always thought Zarco looked like a magician, this may prove it.
If Zarco can maintain pace in the race it will be his first win.
I like Petrucci for the win.
His race pace has been mid to low 55 since the test.
George better be sharpening his pencil or it will be an all Italian Ducati team next year, regardless of what Ducati says in public.
Qualifying 2:
Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1) 1m 53.680s [Lap 7/7] 338km/h
Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 53.882s +0.202s [Lap 7/7] 342k
Danilo Petrucci ITA Pramac Ducati (GP18) 1m 53.887s +0.207s [Lap 7/7] 345k
Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V) 1m 54.072s +0.392s [Lap 7/7] 344k
Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (GP18) 1m 54.074s +0.394s [Lap 3/7] 345k
Alex Rins ESP Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 54.339s +0.659s [Lap 7/7] 339k
Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda (RC213V) 1m 54.368s +0.688s [Lap 6/7] 337k
Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1m 54.389s +0.709s [Lap 7/7] 335k
Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (GP18) 1m 54.431s +0.751s [Lap 5/6] 339k
Jack Miller AUS Pramac Ducati (GP17) 1m 54.449s +0.769s [Lap 7/7] 339k
Andrea Iannone ITA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m 54.619s +0.939s [Lap 7/7] 335k
Maverick Viñales ESP Movistar Yamaha (YZR-M1) 1m 54.707s +1.027s [Lap 7/7] 339k
Qualifying 1:
Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 55.140s 333k
Franco Morbidelli ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)* 1m 55.169s 333k
Hafizh Syahrin MAL Monster Yamaha Tech3 (YZR-M1)* 1m 55.258s 335k
Tito Rabat ESP Reale Avintia (GP17) 1m 55.273s 334k
Scott Redding GBR Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m 55.380s 336k
Thomas Luthi SWI EG 0,0 Marc VDS (RC213V)* 1m 55.381s 333k
Karel Abraham CZE Angel Nieto Team (GP16) 1m 55.392s 338k
Bradley Smith GBR Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 1m 55.553s 336k
Alvaro Bautista ESP Angel Nieto Team (GP17) 1m 55.638s 338k
Pol Espargaro ESP Red Bull KTM Factory (RC16) 1m 55.706s 340k
Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V)* 1m 56.401s 331k
Xavier Simeon ESP Reale Avintia (GP16)* 1m 56.545s 337k
Quote from: ducpainter on March 17, 2018, 10:18:28 AM
If Zarco can maintain pace in the race it will be his first win.
I like Petrucci for the win.
His race pace has been mid to low 55 since the test.
George better be sharpening his pencil or it will be an all Italian Ducati team next year, regardless of what Ducati says in public.
https://twitter.com/Anna_Maria_09
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DYgSV6uXcAANULz.jpg)
Quote from: Speeddog on March 17, 2018, 02:58:50 PM
https://twitter.com/Anna_Maria_09
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DYgSV6uXcAANULz.jpg)
That graphic appears to corroborate.
KTM still running in the back of the pack. :P I was hoping that they would be, at least, in the middle somewhere. They better pick up or Zarco will really be pissed next year if he doesn't have a competitive machine.
I really thought Dovi had it when he pulled that low 1:54. He and Petrux have the race pace as long as they make a good start.
Gotta say Petrucci is looking the most threatening on race pace.
He did an even more crushing run in testing, did twenty laps of 1:55-56's.
Good stuff [thumbsup]
DOVI! DOVI! DOVI!!
He made it look easy, never really seemed to be on edge. MM and Rossi looked like they were on the limit just keeping up. Dare I hope that Ducati have finally developed the best bike on the grid? At least for Dovi.
Great start to the season for Dovi. Confidence inspiring for him, especially since it’s his first win there.
Quite the show!
Was it obvious what happened with Zarco (and a couple of others?) who suddenly started falling back? (I was just following live timing)
Quote from: stopintime on March 18, 2018, 02:15:55 PM
Was it obvious what happened with Zarco (and a couple of others?) who suddenly started falling back? (I was just following live timing)
Tires. At the end they were all shot, but since Zarco lead through most of the race, he maintained a hot pace that eventually ate the rear. Dovi just maintained it better than the rest.
That win makes Dovi the second most successful Ducati rider all time in MotoGP.
Quote from: duccarlos on March 18, 2018, 02:37:28 PM
+1
Tight racing through out
Did you catch the Moto2 race?
All 3 classes were good racing.
Quote from: kopfjäger on March 18, 2018, 03:12:11 PM
That win makes Dovi the second most successful Ducati rider all time in MotoGP.
All he needs now is a title.
Quote from: ducpainter on March 18, 2018, 03:31:05 PM
Did you catch the Moto2 race?
All 3 classes were good racing.
All he needs now is a title.
I watch the first half of the race. It was definitely a good half
Quote from: duccarlos on March 18, 2018, 09:34:17 PM
I watch the first half of the race. It was definitely a good half
Did you catch Alex Marquez' rear brake light show?
That was insane. I've seen them glow before but not coz the calipers were stuck. He did well to maintain 3rd place.
Is Bein not covering the races this year? I don’t/didn’t see the race listed anywhere and the DVR won’t pick it up on a search. WTF?
That was a good start to the season. Guys at work not formerly into Moto GP are going to watch the whole season after seeing that race.
Quote from: GregP on March 19, 2018, 08:02:25 PM
Is Bein not covering the races this year? I don’t/didn’t see the race listed anywhere and the DVR won’t pick it up on a search. WTF?
BeIN broadcasted all the races. The guide just showed it as “motorcycle racingâ€.
My boy talking about the race.
https://www.crash.net/motogp/news/891942/1/vinales-pissed-happy
Re announcers:
I don't mind the guys in the booth but Simon Crafar is terrible. Maybe he'll get better.
Mark
I watched every session, Crafar improved markedly each time.
Dovizioso added: “I didn't expect to have him [fighting me] in the last few laps. That is the bad thing of the victory of today.
https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/dovizioso-worried-by-marquez-qatar-performance-ducati-honda-1016339/
Quote from: ducpainter on March 18, 2018, 03:31:05 PM
Did you catch the Moto2 race?
All 3 classes were good racing.
All he needs now is a title.
I had not watched to the end, so I missed AM's brake drama until today. I've only seen brakes light up like that in Japan.
I'm hoping Moto2 is more interesting this year. FM was pretty dominant last year. Moto3 is always a hoot to watch.
Dovi's a humble and realistic bloke. You gotta like him. He makes an excellent point, if Marky does that well at a "bad" Honda track it doesn't bode well for his opponents.
Quote from: koko64 on March 21, 2018, 02:31:00 PM
Dovi's a humble and realistic bloke. You gotta like him. He makes an excellent point, if Marky does that well at a "bad" Honda track it doesn't bode well for his opponents.
There's Honda, Yamaha and Ducati tracks, but if you're not worried about MM in every race, then you haven't been paying attention since he joined MotoGP
https://motomatters.com/analysis/2018/03/21/what_i_missed_at_qatar_lorenzo_s_brakes.html
Good reading there. Cheers!
https://youtu.be/UJvULSfFiEk