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Cal Crutchlow in Impressive 2nd Place in FP, MotoGP Introduces #KneeDown Sensors

Action continued even more spectacularly in Free Practice 3 at the Losail Circuit in Qatar, with the biggest surprise of the timed sessions being of course Cal Crutchlow. The Isle of Man rider had a staggering pace and managed to finish FP3 second on the timesheets, just 0.096s off Marc Marquez who again, led the outing.
Marc  Marquez leads FP in Qatar 15 photos
Photo: motogp.com
Free Practice 3, Qatar 2015Free Practice 1,2,3 combined, Qatar 2015Free Practice 3, Qatar 2015 RossiFree Practice 3, Qatar 2015 MarquezFree Practice 3, Qatar 2015 DoviziosoFree Practice 3, Qatar 2015 LorenzoFree Practice 3, Qatar 2015 PedrosaFree Practice 3, Qatar 2015 MarquezFree Practice 3, Qatar 2015 RossiFree Practice 3, Qatar 2015 LorenzoFree Practice 3, Qatar 2015 BradlFree Practice 3, Qatar 2015 #KneeDownFree Practice 3, Qatar 2015 #KneeDownRossi shows #KneeDown sliders
Proud of such a performance, Crutchlow himself is however a bit reserved and prefers to refrain from making open claims for a possible race-winning battle. ”I’m not sure today’s speed and lap-times are relative to where we will finish the race, but I hope it is,” he adds. And the fact that he is riding a satellite Honda and managed to get in front of many factory bikes only makes things even more interesting ahead of the Qualifying session and the race itself.

Third in FP3 was Ducati Team’s Andrea Iannone, followed by Aleix Espargaro aboard his Suzuki Ecstar who was only 0.172 off Marquez and 2 thousandths of a second behind Iannone. Dani Pedrosa was the 5th-fastest in FP3, with Andrea Dovizioso and Yonny Hernandez for Ducati behind.

Movistar Yamaha is struggling with rear wheel grip and Lorenzo says that he also had some electrical problems, but hopes that his mechanics can fix things for Qualifying. He was 8th in Free Practice 3, 0.084s ahead team mare Rossi. Top 10 was completed with Pol Espargaro aboard a Tech3 Yamaha satellite bike.

Eighteen riders within a second’s gap

We anticipate that the Sunday race will be truly exciting, and not only because it is the first of the 2015 season. In the combined time sheets, no less than 18 riders are within one second from the leading time, with Nicky Hayden (18) being 0.967s off Marquez’ pace.

The battle for the last two spots on the 4th row of the starting grid sees big names, too. Qualifying 1 will see Scott Redding, Maverick Vinales and Bradley Smith fighting for the two open slots in Q2. Premier class qualifying madness starts tonight at 19:55 local time.

#KneeDown sensor added to the MotoGP experience

Another cool feature was added to the premier class, in the form of a new sensor which detect when a rider’s knee touches the track. Those who watch the races on TV or on the internet will get the chance to learn when a rider is dragging knees around a corner thanks to an on-screen indicator added to the video feed provided by the bikes’ on-board gyro cams.

The #KneeDown sensor will also be used by the teams to gather relevant rider data during both practices and races, helping the mechanics improve the bike for optimal performance in such extreme cases. Wonder whether Honda will also introduce the #ElbowDown sensors for Marc Marquez, as he is known to sometimes ride so close to the track that his elbow often touches it.
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