Day two of the final pre-season test saw Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso pick up exactly where they left off, spending much of the day sharing the top spot.

However the session ended with Alex Rins and his Suszki Ecstar bike on the top of the timing sheets. He laid down a time of 1:54.539, placing him just 0.057s ahead of yesterdays pace-setter, Maverick Vinales. Petrucci and Dovizioso eventually ended the day in fourth and eighth respectively.

The day also saw significant pre-racing upgrades on track – Repsol Honda and Aprilia Gresini were both boasting new additions to their bikes, as well as Ducati’s new six-wing design now in full race colours. It’s assumed that the riders have therefore given this the go-ahead for the upcoming season.

Spending a second day as the best rookie, Fabio Quartararo finished the day in a mightily impressed third place.

Reigning champion and pace-setter in previous tests, Marc Marquez ended the day in fifth, setting a time within half a second of pace-setter, Rins. Making amends for yesterdays trip to the gravel, Marquez laid down an impressive 60 laps.

The second fastest Honda was Takaaki Makagami in seventh, with Cal Crutchlow placing his LCR Honda Castrol in 9th after completing, a fitting, 35 laps.

Completing the top ten was Pol Espargaro and the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing bike, meaning all six factory teams were within the top ten. However, he had spent much of the day further up the rankings.

Rins’ team-mate, and second quickest rookie, Joan Mir ended the day in eleventh. He was just seven-tenths behind the top spot. Quarararo’s companion took the second Petronas Yamaha SRTto thirteenth, completing an impressive 52 laps of the Losail track.

Jorge Lorenzo managed to find an extra second on day two whilst he continues to recover from a recent training accident. He finished the day in eighteenth, sandwiched between the Red Bull KTM of Johann Zarco and Valentino Rossi’s Monster Yamaha.

We have only one day of testing left before the bikes hit the track for the first race of the season. Who will end the test with the most momentum before racing commences?

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP.com

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Posted on 24th February, 2019 for The Checkered Flag

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