Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Continue Qatar Test Progress

10-03-2021

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Continue Qatar Test Progress

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team returned to the Losail International Circuit today to start the second part of the Qatar MotoGP Official Test, the final three days of 2021 preseason testing. Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales completed the day in second and third place respectively.

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team‘s Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales resumed their preseason testing plan at the Qatar MotoGP Official Test today, securing second and third place respectively.

Quartararo returned to the Qatar track feeling re-energised. He completed 62 laps in total whilst working on his bike‘s race set-up. He was in his element in the final stages, clocking a 1‘53.263s best time on lap 55, a little less than 30 minutes before the end of the session. He briefly topped the standings but ultimately wrapped up the day in second place, 0.080s from the top.

Viñales also banked in some strong laps at the end of the day. He began the session working on matching his riding style to the YZR-M1 again and also put in a good number of practice starts in preparation for the upcoming Qatar GP. A small crash in Turn 1 didn't slow him down. The Spaniard put in a mini time attack at the very end of the session. He set a personal fastest time of 1‘53.510s on lap 75 of 77, that earned him third place, 0.327s from first.

Tomorrow‘s session will again be held from 14h00 – 21h00 (GMT+3).

Fabio Quartararo

"I'm so happy about my lap. It's one of the best laps I've ever done! Today we tried many things and made a big step with our pace on the last runs. In general today was a good day. I can be happy, because we improved our feeling with used tyres - and that was our goal. We have made a step with the pace. We have two more days of testing and we're ready for it. I just want to stay calm and keep working."

Maverick Viñales

"I think that today has been really positive. I had a small crash in Turn 1, but that was just a matter of the cold and me riding with a medium tyre. But overall, we can be happy. We were trying to work on improving race starts, which is our clear objective at the moment. I need to do more laps to keep getting more and more comfortable on the bike. Yamaha is doing a good job. The rhythm is there. At the end of the day I did two to three fast laps. It seems like I can ride with a nice flow, which is important, and I can keep up good lap times all the time."

Massimo Meregalli

Team Director

"Like we said, we have used the ’two days off‘ to compare the data we collected from Fabio and Maverick, and also from the Yamaha test riders. The first race of the season is approaching fast, so today and the next days are vital to our 2021 MotoGP campaign. We are going full steam ahead with our testing plans. The track and weather conditions have improved considerably compared to last weekend, so that helps. We are making progress and so far most of the signs are encouraging."