2018 Official MotoGP Testing in Qatar gets Underway with Andrea Dovizioso Second and Jorge Lorenzo Fifth after Day 1 at the Losail Circuit

The first day of testing at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar came to an end at 9 pm this evening (19.00 CET). The MotoGP riders took to the track at 1 pm for a single session of eight hours, which finished under the floodlights that will also illuminate the circuit on the outskirts of Doha on Sunday 18th March for the opening round of the 2018 MotoGP World Championship.

Both Ducati Team riders made the most of today’s session to carry out back-to-back tests with the different aerodynamic configurations at their disposal and to test some new parts on their 2018 version of the Desmosedici GP.

Andrea Dovizioso ended the day in second place with a time of 1’55.104, while Jorge Lorenzo finished in fifth with a lap of 1’55.423.

The official tests will continue tomorrow and the day after and will conclude Saturday evening with a final session on a wet track surface, which has been organized to evaluate the possibility of racing the Grand Prix of Qatar in rainy conditions.

Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 2nd – 1’55.104 (48 laps)
“For me today was a positive day. We did several important tests with the fairings and then we focused on the set-up, but the track conditions weren’t ideal because there wasn’t much grip. All in all the lap times came quite easily but we’ve still got a lot of work to do and, even though my feeling with the bike is good, now we still have to fine-tune it for the race.”

Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 5° – 1’55.423 (55 laps)
“This first day of testing in Qatar went quite well and in general I had a good feeling with my bike, for sure much better than in Thailand. We also managed to set a good time, but we still have to work on our pace and this will be our objective for tomorrow. We have to make the most of the day to improve the bike setting and be more consistent.”