Rins fastest at the mid-point on Day 1

The final countdown has begun and halfway through the first day at the Qatar Test, Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins leads the way with a 1:56.148, 0.121 faster than Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati).

There was little action for the first hour or so, but every rider has now been out on the Losail International Circuit and behind the leading duo is Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), a 1:56.280 leaving him 0.132 off Rins’ time at the moment. After completing 18 laps in the first three hours, Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati) is fourth on the timesheets – 0.402 off the top.

Completing the top five is the impressing Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SIC), the rookie just 0.017 off Dovizioso after completing 24 laps on board his M1, with Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) jumping up to sixth on the times with 2h 40mins to go of the session – a 1:56.618 for the Japanese rider.

Nakagami bumped Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SIC) down to eighth, while Johann Zarco (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) sits P9 after completing 26 more laps. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) completes the top ten with a 1:56.921.

Reigning World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) has suffered a small crash at Turn 16 – rider ok, he sits P14.

Jorge Lorenzo (Repsol Honda Team) returned to action as we saw the five-time World Champion take to the track in 2019 colours for the first time. The Spaniard currently sits P17 on the timesheets with a 1:57.405.

Keep up to date with all the times with Live Timing, and don’t forget to tune into a live After the Flag episode at 19:30 CET.