| Bagnaia closes fourth on the penultimate day of testing in Qatar. Miller maintains the lead in the combined standings |
At Losail International Circuit in Doha, Qatar, the Ducati Lenovo Team continues its preparations for the 2021 MotoGP World Championship, which will get underway in just under three weeks at the same track.
Pecco Bagnaia closed the fourth day of testing with the fourth fastest time (1:53.444) after having occupied the top spot for much of the evening. In addition to having tried a "time attack," the rider from Turin also performed a "long-run" over a distance of 15 laps, obtaining positive feedback. At the end of the penultimate day of testing, Bagnaia is in fifth place overall, just 261 thousandths of a second off the best time set yesterday by teammate Jack Miller.
After finishing the third day of testing in the lead, improving the current circuit record, Jack returned to action today focused on fine-tuning his Desmosedici machine and performed a race simulation this evening. Miller closed the session in 11th place while maintaining his lead in the combined standings thanks to yesterday's excellent lap time.
Michele Pirro was also back in action today in the early hours of the session to continue developing the Desmosedici GP21 of the Ducati MotoGP Test Team.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team, #63) - 1:53.444 (4th - 53 laps)
"I'm delighted with the work done with my team today. The weather forecast for tomorrow calls for higher temperatures and strong winds, so we tried to carry out most of our programme. During my first "time attack" for this year, I managed to set a very good time, and with the same tyres, I then did a short race simulation on a 15-lap distance. The feedback is very positive: my pace was consistent, although tyres were used. Now we know what we still need to improve for the race".
Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team, #43) - 1:53.347 (11th - 58 laps)
"It was a very positive day. Compared to yesterday, today, we mainly focused on testing with different tyres. I did 15 laps with yesterday's used tyres, and then I tried a race simulation with new tyres. I covered almost the entire distance of the Grand Prix, but compared to a real race, I pushed hard right away in the first few laps, wearing out the rear tyre, which had a drop towards the end. I am not worried about that because I know my approach in the race will be different. In general, I feel very comfortable on the bike, and I'm satisfied with our work".
The Ducati Lenovo Team riders will be back on track tomorrow at 2:00 pm (CET +2.00) for the final day of official pre-season testing. |
|
 |
