The pre-season tests for MotoGP have been completed and dusted off and the teams only have to put the finishing touches on their machines before the opening round in Qatar.
While Marc Marquez, Maverick Vinales Fabio Quartararo, and of course Valentino Rossi caught a lot of attention over the three days, here are some other stories up and down that you may have missed.
Brad Binder: New tire and bam!
The South African rookie has remained relatively inconspicuous since his KTM MotoGP debut in late 2019, instead focusing on getting around with more powerful machines without chasing lap times.
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That was until the last day when he climbed the timesheet with a lap of 1: 54.283 minutes, making it fourth-fastest at the time. He ended the day with the ninth-best lap, comfortably ahead of Pol Espargaro in a test in which KTM otherwise fought on a track that does not favor the characteristics of the RC16.
In fact, Binder’s efforts were all the more impressive when you consider he is coming into the season alongside his Moto2 graduate Alex Marquez, who languished way down the ladder.
“To be honest, I was quite surprised,” said Binder. “I felt good and we made some changes today that helped me a lot and solved a lot of my problems. I put on a new set of tires and ‘bam!’ the lap time came.
“The bike was good. I felt a lot more comfortable stopping it, turning faster, and accelerating earlier too. Once we figured that out, it was a lot easier to put together a fast lap, but it was still pretty difficult 22nd to make of it, so I still have a long way to go! “
Takaaki Nakagami flies the flag for Honda
Takaaki Nakagami’s top ten laps during the MotoGP test in Qatar, measured against his Honda colleagues, have a lot to say.
Comfortably faster than his 2020 Honda RC213V stablemates on Sunday and only a fraction behind Marc Marquez on Monday, though the new machine’s ongoing handling problems admittedly skew its results regardless of whether they detract from Nakagami’s own efforts.
As one of only three riders on the grid with one-year-old machinery, Nakagami’s top ten accomplishments come despite the fact that, like Marquez, he is still recovering from shoulder surgery.
Additionally, LCR Honda teammate Cal Crutchlow might look a little jealous of his time, as he said the Japanese didn’t deserve an RC213V with current specs because he would have more to contend with on the 2019/20 motorcycle than the Brit …
Johann Zarco back to the best on Avintia Ducati
It’s been a while since we’ve seen Johann Zarco’s name in the top ranks of the timesheets and probably longer since we’ve seen the Avintia Racing Team up there too.
The Frenchman showed that he liked the Ducati GP19 when he set the sixth fastest time in front of the two factory machines on Sunday. Although the man himself admits the race speed still leaves much to be desired, he says he’s comfortable over a single lap, enough to potentially cause some qualifying surprises this year.
“It was a good test. Compared to Malaysia I had better control of the bike and when the tires are new I can do a good lap time. Now we try to feel so comfortable on the bike every lap.
“I can’t do it consistently yet, but every time I ride this bike I get a better answer and it motivates me to do more. So it’s very positive. “
Aprilia draws attention to race day performance
One of the big stories from Malaysia was the obvious return of Aprilia, whose new RS GP was so competitive that Aleix Espargaro (apparently) made him “cry with joy”.
Unfortunately, things didn’t look quite as good on a single lap in the Arabian desert as Espargaro swayed outside the top ten, but over a race distance the RS-GP held its form despite some teething problems.
“That was three intense days. We haven’t done many laps, but we’ve done a lot of work, also taking into account the inevitable hiccups that come with the youth of the RS-GP, ”said Espargaro. “Overall, we have also confirmed the potential on this route that has already been seen in Malaysia.