Vinales fastest in Qatar MotoGP test, Marquez fractures foot
Maverick Vinales led a Yamaha 1-2 on the penultimate day of MotoGP pre-season testing in Qatar, while Alex Marquez suffered a fractured foot after a crash.
Marquez has had a bruising test so far, crashing four times across the first four days before having a fifth during Thursday’s running.
The LCR rider highsided at the Turn 9 right-hander, which brought out a brief red flag period and resulted in him suffering a small fracture in his foot which ended his day early.
By the end of the first hour of track action, only two riders had set lap times, while Yamaha’s Vinales travelled back and forth from pitlane to do practice starts.
Ducati test rider Michele Pirro led the timesheets after hour one with a 1m57.345s, with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro taking over by the end of the second hour with a 1m54.942s as he carried out the set-up work he couldn’t on Wednesday due to a technical problem.
Petronas SRT’s Franco Morbidelli edged ahead of Espargaro with a 1m54.588s to take over top spot by the end of hour three before Honda’s Pol Espargaro went quicker with a 1m54.103s just over 30 minutes into hour four.
The Honda rider suffered his first crash on the RC213V earlier in the day, but this didn’t stop him from registering over 50 laps as his adaptation to the bike continued. His brother Aleix returned to top spot about hour later with the first sub-1m54s lap of the day – the Aprilia rider firing in a 1m53.869s, which he improved shortly afterwards to a 1m53.640s.
With just under two hours of running left, Francesco Bagnaia continued to display Ducati’s Qatar form with a 1m53.444s to go fastest of all. His time was beaten by Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo 22 minutes from the chequered flag, the Frenchman moving ahead with a 1m53.398s as he continued working on the 2021 M1 chassis.
With eight minutes to go, Quartararo’s factory Yamaha teammate Vinales fired in the second-best time of the test with a 1m53.244s, which would go unchallenged to the end of the session.
Vinales, who tried three M1s on Thursday, ended the day 0.079 seconds clear of Morbidelli, who leaped ahead of former teammate Quartararo in the final few minutes.
Bagnaia was top Ducati runner having put in a race simulation on the Italian marque’s new aerodynamic fairing, with Aprilia’s Espargaro completing the top five.
The Suzuki duo of reigning world champion Joan Mir and Alex Rins were the last to take to the circuit on Thursday, with the pair completing 37 and 44 laps respectively in sixth and seventh.
SRT’s Valentino Rossi closed the gap to the leaders on Thursday as he tested various things, ending the day 0.759s off the pace in eighth ahead of Pramac’s Johann Zarco, Honda’s Espargaro and overall test pacesetter so far Jack Miller on the factory Ducati.
Pramac’s Jorge Martin – who had a crash while trying the medium front tyre earlier today - was top rookie in 14th having done a time attack for the first time, with the Spaniard also putting in a long run.
He headed fellow rookie Enea Bastianini (Avintia), with KTM once again low-key down in 16th with Brad Binder and 18th with Miguel Oliveira, with Marquez sandwiched between them.
Top 10 times
| Pos | Nº | Rider | Bike | Time | Gap | Laps |
| 1 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | Yamaha | 1'53.244 | 58 | |
| 2 | 21 | F.Morbidelli | Yamaha | 1'53.323 | 0.079 | 62 |
| 3 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha | 1'53.398 | 0.154 | 52 |
| 4 | 63 | F.Bagnaia | Ducati | 1'53.444 | 0.200 | 53 |
| 5 | 41 | Aleix Espargaró | Aprilia | 1'53.640 | 0.396 | 56 |
| 6 | 36 | Joan Mir | Suzuki | 1'53.827 | 0.583 | 37 |
| 7 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 1'53.860 | 0.616 | 44 |
| 8 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | 1'53.993 | 0.749 | 52 |
| 9 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Ducati | 1'54.056 | 0.812 | 71 |
| 10 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | Honda | 1'54.103 | 0.859 | 6 |
Related video
Previous article
Binder "killing time" in corners on 2021 KTM MotoGP bike
Next article
Marquez not cleared to finish Qatar test, will "push" doctor
About this article
| Series | MotoGP |
| Event | Qatar March testing |
| Author | Lewis Duncan |
How Jerez underlined MotoGP's speed problem
The brutal nature of a series of crashes at Jerez has reopened the debate about whether current MotoGP speeds are beyond the safety limits of the tracks. But even if riders are supportive of the move, getting the manufacturers to find a consensus on how speed reductions should be achieved may be altogether harder
How a Crutchlow helped Miller to Jerez MotoGP redemption
Jack Miller’s tough start to life as a factory Ducati MotoGP rider left him mentally battered and bruised, but a pep talk and positive reinforcement from a surprising source aided the Australian to show his full potential with victory at the Spanish Grand Prix
What does Marc Marquez have to do to get back to his best?
Following his resounding MotoGP return with a seventh place finish in Portugal, Marc Marquez now must work to rediscover his best form before turning his attention towards results-based targets
How Yamaha's rookie-spec MotoGP star is taking charge
Fabio Quartararo is on a roll in 2021 after storming to victory at a venue five months earlier served up one of his worst races. Contrasting Portuguese GPs for Yamaha's factory duo make it hard to understand just how good its 2021 MotoGP bike is, but the Portimao weekend did at least expose one key improvement compared to 2020
The hurdles Marquez faces next in his Portugal MotoGP return
Even by Marc Marquez’s own high standards, his MotoGP comeback on Friday at the Portuguese Grand Prix will be considered a success even if he didn’t top the times. But having shown competitive pace on his first day back, both Marquez and his rivals know plenty more challenges are to come...
Where does Espargaro sit ahead of Marquez's return?
Pol Espargaro’s first results as a Honda MotoGP rider may not appear special. But dig a little deeper and a clearer picture of his performance emerges. And, as Lewis Duncan writes, it’s cause for celebration at Honda with the return of Marc Marquez set to provide Espargaro with the reference he has been missing so far this year
The "pit bull" MotoGP rookie already drawing legendary comparisons
MotoGP’s 2021 rookie crop is one of the strongest in recent years, but one is already standing out. Jorge Martin’s Doha GP heroics have courted many to compare him to numerous MotoGP legends. Autosport spoke to Pramac boss Francesco Guidotti to find out why MotoGP’s latest Spanish star is already making such an impact
Why MotoGP's stewards must revisit Miller and Mir's Losail clash
Despite Suzuki’s decision not to appeal against Race Direction’s refusal to penalise Jack Miller following the incident with Joan Mir in Losail, something must be done to avoid a repeat of such an incident, which could have easily ended in tragedy
