The first salvo has been fired. Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales once again stamped his authority on the MotoGP grid when he topped the first free practice session of the Qatar GP.
There will be three more practice sessions (four in case of rain) and one qualifying session at the Losail International Circuit and so it’s still too early to start making predictions.
But nevertheless it’s definitely bragging rights for Vinales. The second and third spots are a bit of a surprise. Honda riders Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa have managed to produce a strong run to take positions two and three respectively. Defending champion Marquez will be quite pleased with this effort and so will Honda.
Ducati is always a favourite at this circuit and Jorge Lorenzo did top the timings towards the end of the session but eventually finished in fifth place. His teammate Andrea Dovizioso, one of the favourites to win the race, was down in eleventh. He was second for most of the session but then fell away towards the end. That could be attributed to the fact that many riders switched to soft tyres – front and rear – and went on to register faster lap times.
This could be partly why Yamaha satellite rider Jonas Folger found himself in fourth place and Ducati satellite rider Loriz Baz was in sixth. It’s still a good outing for Folgar who is racing in MotoGP for the first time this season.
Valentino Rossi’s struggle with the bike continued as he could only manage to haul himself to ninth in FP1. But the Italian would have spent the session looking to regain ‘the feel’ which he had said was missing. That his team-mate is flying and registering consistent top times will be a huge matter of concern for this competitive Italian. The people’s favourite still has more sessions to fine tune the balance and get the right set-up on his M1. Rounding up the top 10 was Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro.
Red Bull’s woes continued as Pol Espargaro and Bradley Smith finished 21st and 23rd respectively in the timing charts, more than three seconds off the pace. The marquee manufacturer, taking part in MotoGP for the first time will be hoping to up their level as the season progresses.
In Moto2 it was Tom Luthi who put his Kalex on top of the charts with Takaaki Nakagami (Kalex) in second and KTM rider Miguel Oliveira taking up the third spot.
Moto3 saw some drama when RBA Racing Team’s Gabriel Rodrigo put in a strong lap in the initial part of the session to take up third place in the timing charts but then had an accident later on. Rodrigo broke his collarbone after crashing at Turn 16 in the last seconds of the session and has now been ruled out of the Qatar race. Philipp Oettl (Südmetall Schedl GP Racing) was the fastest rider and in second place was Joan Mir (Leopard Racing).
And for the statistically inclined, Marcos Ramirez (Platinum Bay Real Estate) and Andrea Migno (Sky Racing Team VR46) were the first crashers of 2017. Both riders escaped without injuries.
FP1 Results
MotoGP
1. Maverick Viñales ESP Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1)
2. Marc Marquez ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V)
3. Dani Pedrosa ESP Repsol Honda Team (RC213V)
4. Jonas Folger GER Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)
5. Jorge Lorenzo ESP Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17)
6. Loris Baz FRA Reale Avintia Racing (Desmosedici GP15)
7. Cal Crutchlow GBR LCR Honda (RC213V)
8. Johann Zarco FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 (YZR-M1)*
9. Valentino Rossi ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP (YZR-M1)
10. Aleix Espargaro ESP Factory Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) 1m
11. Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati Team (Desmosedici GP17)
12. Scott Redding GBR Octo Pramac Racing (Desmosedici GP16)
13. Andrea Iannone ITA Team Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) 1m
14. Alvaro Bautista ESP Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP16)
15. Karel Abraham CZE Aspar MotoGP Team (Desmosedici GP15)
Moto2
1. Thomas Luthi SWI CarXpert Interwetten (Kalex)
2. Takaaki Nakagami JPN IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex)
3. Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM)
4. Franco Morbidelli ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS (Kalex)
5. Alex Marquez SPA EG 0,0 Marc VDS (Kalex)
Moto3
1. Philipp Oettl GER Südmetall Schedl GP Racing (KTM)
2. Joan Mir SPA Leopard Racing (Honda)
3. Gabriel Rodrigo ARG RBA BOE Racing Team (KTM)
4. Juanfran Guevara SPA RBA BOE Racing Team (KTM)
5. Romano Fenati ITA Marinelli Rivacold Snipers (Honda)
Yamaha rider Maverick Vinales in action during FP1 at the Losail International Circuit yesterday. PICTURE: Noushad Thekkayil
