Thanks to a 1:54.852 Ducati Team’s Danilo Petrucci currently leads the way at the midpoint of Day 2 at the Official MotoGP™ Qatar Test. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) sits just 0.038 off the GP20 at 16:30 local time, with Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) a tenth off in P3.
Both @petrux9 and @andreadovizioso heading out on track again here at @losailcircuit ???????? Still more than 4 hours to go for today...#ForzaDucati @MotoGP #QatarTest pic.twitter.com/J0Dsa023KL
— Ducati Corse (@ducaticorse) February 23, 2020
It’s another sunny in the Qatari desert as the riders start to get down to proper business after a quiet start to the session. All 22 riders have ventured out for at least four laps – Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) completing the least – as conditions start to descend to the time they’ll be on track at the Qatar GP. So far, there’s nothing new in terms of parts to report upon as teams and riders begin to fine-tune setup and electronics, as well as continuing to confirm if the new parts are more beneficial than the older ones. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Day 1 pacesetter Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) crashed unhurt during the opening hours.
Don’t forget to tune into After the Flag LIVE at 17:30 CET for all the Day 2 reaction with motogp.com commentators Matt Birt, Steve Day and motogp.com pitlane reporter Simon Crafar. They’ll be bringing you interviews from your favourite riders as they debrief their second day at the Losail International Circuit. Highlights and more interviews will also be available at the end of the day on motogp.com.
Top 10 (16:30 LT):
1. Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) – 1:54.852
2. Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 0.038
3. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) + 0.102
4. Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) + 0.122
5. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 0.208
6. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.258
7. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) + 0.342
8. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) + 0.396
9. Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) + 0.583
10. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 0.712