Photo: motogp.com
We can finally say that the 2015 MotoGP season started, as the premier class bikes had their first official outing at the Losail circuit in Qatar. Marc Marquez led Free Practice 1, and was followed closely by his team mate Dani Pedrosa, who was 0.076s slower, but we guess this is not a surprise for anyone.
However, while some of us have been expecting to see the usual Yamaha bikes of either Valentino Rossi or Jorge Lorenzo chasing the two Repsol machines, or maybe even one of the factory Ducati, it was with a great surprise that we had no other than Suzuki’s Aleix Espargaro in the third position. He was 0.404s adrift Marquez and only 13 thousandths of a second ahead of Lorenzo, but this is a huge step forward nonetheless.
With Suzuki Ecstar machines being more on the uncertain side of performance in the pre-season tests, seeing the elder of the Espargaro brothers battling at the top of the time sheets right from the start is definitely a great anticipation for what the rest of the weekend and the season may bring.
Another presence in the top five we haven’t seen in quite a while was Cal Crutchlow aboard his CWM LCR Honda. He seems to grow more and more confident and get along better with his bike, and we might see him back with the front-runners, after his disappointing year aboard factory Ducati machinery.
Valentino Rossi was not at all happy with the rear of his bike and kept on testing settings in FP1, hence his 9th-fastest time. The weekend is just beginning, and we know there’s always more from a rider with his experience and skilled team.
In the Open Class, the day ended with Stefan Bradl in the leading position aboard his Yamaha-powered Athina Forward Racing bike. Aprilia Gresini is still struggling at the back of the grid, with Alvaro Bautista finishing day 1 at Losail 22nd, 1.85 seconds behind the leader, while his team mate Marco Melandri unfortunately having to settle for the last place on the time sheets.
EDIT: The results of FP2 have just been published, and Marquez is still leading, followed by Pedrosa, but Dovizioso climbed in the third position, while Cructhlow also did better and ended the day in the 4th place. Iannone is 5th, followed by Lorenzo, Rossi, Avintia’s Mike Di Meglio, Bradley Smith and Hector Barbera. Aleix Espargaro was 11th.
In the combined time sheets the top five sees Marquez, Pedrosa, Dovizioso, Crutchlow and Iannone.
With Suzuki Ecstar machines being more on the uncertain side of performance in the pre-season tests, seeing the elder of the Espargaro brothers battling at the top of the time sheets right from the start is definitely a great anticipation for what the rest of the weekend and the season may bring.
Another presence in the top five we haven’t seen in quite a while was Cal Crutchlow aboard his CWM LCR Honda. He seems to grow more and more confident and get along better with his bike, and we might see him back with the front-runners, after his disappointing year aboard factory Ducati machinery.
The fastest Ducati was a Pramac
Speaking of which, the Borgo Panigale machines have showed a more modest pace than what we last saw at Losail during the last official test. The fastest Ducati was, surprisingly, Danilo Petrucci’s Pramac-powered bike, followed by Dovizioso and the other satellite machine ridden by Yonny Hernandez. The other factory Ducati rider, Andrea Iannone was only 10th today, one and a half tenths slower than Rossi.Valentino Rossi was not at all happy with the rear of his bike and kept on testing settings in FP1, hence his 9th-fastest time. The weekend is just beginning, and we know there’s always more from a rider with his experience and skilled team.
In the Open Class, the day ended with Stefan Bradl in the leading position aboard his Yamaha-powered Athina Forward Racing bike. Aprilia Gresini is still struggling at the back of the grid, with Alvaro Bautista finishing day 1 at Losail 22nd, 1.85 seconds behind the leader, while his team mate Marco Melandri unfortunately having to settle for the last place on the time sheets.
EDIT: The results of FP2 have just been published, and Marquez is still leading, followed by Pedrosa, but Dovizioso climbed in the third position, while Cructhlow also did better and ended the day in the 4th place. Iannone is 5th, followed by Lorenzo, Rossi, Avintia’s Mike Di Meglio, Bradley Smith and Hector Barbera. Aleix Espargaro was 11th.
In the combined time sheets the top five sees Marquez, Pedrosa, Dovizioso, Crutchlow and Iannone.
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