Ducati is still in the lead, but Yamaha is catching up
Yamaha engineers seem to have come up with some solutions to the YZR-M1 bike top speed issues if you look at the latest MotoGP test in Qatar. Honda is losing ground in terms of its top speed.
If you look at the numbers, Ducati is still at the top, and Jack Miller reaches 355.2 km / h on the satellite wheel – just 2.3 km / h faster than Danilo Petrucci’s factory Ducati.
Yamaha improved its speed on the straight compared to last year’s MotoGP Qatar tests. Maverick Vinales took 9th place in the table with a top speed of 346.1 km / h.
Cal Crutchlow’s Honda RC213V MotoGP was eighth at 348.3 km / h.
Big improvements over the redesigned 2020 Aprilia RS-GP bike while Marc Marquez ‘Honda is losing speed at the end of the back straight.
MotoGP Qatar Test 2020 – Top Speed:
Item | driver | bicycle | Speed - km / h |
1 | Jack MILLER | DUCATI | 355.2 |
2 | Danilo PETRUCCI | DUCATI | 352.9 |
3rd | Francesco BAGNAIA | DUCATI | 351.7 |
4th | Johann ZARCO | DUCATI | 350.6 |
5 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | DUCATI | 349.5 |
6th | Aleix ESPARGARO | APRILIA | 349.5 |
7th | Tito RABAT | DUCATI | 348.3 |
8th | Cal CRUTCHLOW | HONDA | 348.3 |
9 | Maverick VIÑALES | YAMAHA | 346.1 |
10 | Alex RINS | SUZUKI | 346.1 |
11 | Marc Marquez | HONDA | 346.1 |
12th | Pole ESPARGARO | KTM | 346.1 |
13th | Alex MARQUEZ | HONDA | 345.0 |
14th | Bradley SMITH | APRILIA | 345.0 |
fifteen | Valentino Rossi | YAMAHA | 343.9 |
16 | Brad BINDER | KTM | 342.8 |
17th | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | 342.8 |
18th | Joan ME | SUZUKI | 341.7 |
19th | Iker LECUONA | KTM | 341.7 |
20th | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | HONDA | 340.6 |
21 | Franco MORBIDELLI | YAMAHA | 339.6 |
22nd | Fabio QUARTARARO | YAMAHA | 339.6 |
The 2019 Yamaha YZR-M1 MotoGP motorcycle lost roughly 9.8 km / h on the straight compared to the Honda RC213V. On the factory bikes, Marquez was the fastest with 348.3 km / h, while Vinales was only 15th with 338.5 km / h.
MotoGP test 2019 in Qatar – top speed:
Item | driver | bicycle | Speed - km / h |
1 | Marc Marquez | HONDA | 348.3 |
2 | Jack MILLER | DUCATI | 347.2 |
3rd | Danilo PETRUCCI | DUCATI | 346.1 |
4th | Cal CRUTCHLOW | HONDA | 346.1 |
5 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | DUCATI | 343.9 |
6th | Tito RABAT | DUCATI | 343.9 |
7th | Joan ME | SUZUKI | 343.9 |
8th | Aleix ESPARGARO | APRILIA | 342.8 |
9 | Alex RINS | SUZUKI | 342.8 |
10 | Pole ESPARGARO | KTM | 341.7 |
11 | Bradley SMITH | APRILIA | 341.7 |
12th | Francesco BAGNAIA | DUCATI | 339.6 |
13th | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | HONDA | 339.6 |
14th | Franco MORBIDELLI | YAMAHA | 339.6 |
fifteen | Maverick VIÑALES | YAMAHA | 338.5 |
16 | Valentino Rossi | YAMAHA | 338.5 |
17th | Fabio QUARTARARO | YAMAHA | 337.5 |
18th | Johann ZARCO | KTM | 336.4 |
19th | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | 336.4 |
If you compare the top speed of MotoGP motorcycles 2020 with the previous ones, almost all machines are faster and only the Honda RC213V 2020 loses -2.2 km / h.
Top speed difference – test 2020 versus 2019
Item | driver | bicycle | Vs 2019 |
1 | Jack MILLER | DUCATI | +8 km / h |
2 | Danilo PETRUCCI | DUCATI | +6.8 km / h |
3rd | Francesco BAGNAIA | DUCATI | +12.1 km / h |
4th | Johann ZARCO | DUCATI | /. |
5 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | DUCATI | +5.6 km / h |
6th | Aleix ESPARGARO | APRILIA | +6.7 km / h |
7th | Tito RABAT | DUCATI | +4.4 km / h |
8th | Cal CRUTCHLOW | HONDA | +2.2 km / h |
9 | Maverick VIÑALES | YAMAHA | +7.6 km / h |
10 | Alex RINS | SUZUKI | +3.3 km / h |
11 | Marc Marquez | HONDA | -2.2 km / h |
12th | Pole ESPARGARO | KTM | +4.4 km / h |
13th | Alex MARQUEZ | HONDA | /. |
14th | Bradley SMITH | APRILIA | +3.3 km / h |
fifteen | Valentino Rossi | YAMAHA | +5.4 km / h |
16 | Brad BINDER | KTM | /. |
17th | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | +6.4 km / h |
18th | Joan ME | SUZUKI | -2.2 |
19th | Iker LECUONA | KTM | /. |
20th | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | HONDA | +1 km / h |
21 | Franco MORBIDELLI | YAMAHA | 0 km / h |
22nd | Fabio QUARTARARO | YAMAHA | +2.1 km / h |
The three fastest lap times in the 2020 MotoGP Qatar test come from Yamaha YZR-M1 motorcycles driven by Vinales, Morbidelli and Quartararo.
MotoGP QatarTest 2020 – Combined Times
Item | driver | bicycle | Time gap |
1 | Maverick VIÑALES | YAMAHA | 1m53.858 |
2 | Franco MORBIDELLI | YAMAHA | +0.033 |
3rd | Fabio QUARTARARO | YAMAHA | +0.180 |
4th | Alex RINS | SUZUKI | +0.210 |
5 | Jack MILLER | DUCATI | +0.247 |
6th | Joan ME | SUZUKI | +0.271 |
7th | Marc Marquez | HONDA | +0.291 |
8th | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | HONDA | +0.381 |
9 | Brad BINDER | KTM | +0.425 |
10 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | DUCATI | +0.454 |
11 | Francesco BAGNAIA | DUCATI | +0.468 |
12th | Valentino Rossi | YAMAHA | +0.474 |
13th | Aleix ESPARGARO | APRILIA | +0.574 |
14th | Johann ZARCO | DUCATI | +0.707 |
fifteen | Pole ESPARGARO | KTM | +0.765 |
16 | Danilo PETRUCCI | DUCATI | +0.776 |
17th | Tito RABAT | DUCATI | +0.816 |
18th | Cal CRUTCHLOW | HONDA | +0.972 |
19th | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | +1,150 |
20th | Iker LECUONA | KTM | +1,443 |
21 | Alex MARQUEZ | HONDA | +1,661 |
22nd | Bradley SMITH | APRILIA | +2,058 |
The first round of the 2020 MotoGP season will take place in Qatar from March 6-8.