An early start in Qatar allowed Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo to improve the setup of their respective Honda RC213Vs alongside their lap times.
With information gained from the opening day of the Qatar Test, Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo were amongst the first riders on track for day two. The Losail International Circuit started the day in a much cleaner condition, allowing more productivity from earlier in the day.
Within just a handful of laps, Marc Marquez was able to improve his time from the opening day by almost half a second. A57 laps around the 5.38 km long Losail International Circuit produced a best time of 1’55.004, placing Marquez fifth overall. The day was not only for testing the Honda RC213V, but also to test Marquez’s shoulder – the reigning champion completing the highest number of laps since his shoulder surgery in December.
Meanwhile, Jorge Lorenzo and his side of the Repsol Honda Team garage continued to adjust the ergonomics of the bike to suit the five-time champion’s body and riding style. It proved to be a busy day for Lorenzo who was still able to complete 44 laps while improving his time by a substantial 1.348 seconds to a 1’55.742.
Just a single day of pre-season testing remains before the 2019 MotoGP World Champion begins in Qatar on March 8.
MARC MÁRQUEZ – 5th
“I’m very happy today because it was my first ‘normal’ day of testing. I did a lot of laps, there was a little pain in the shoulder but it’s manageable. We also made a big step with the setup of the bike, I’m happy overall with my condition and the bike. We’re getting closer and closer at a circuit that’s usually not the best of us and there’s still a day of testing left.”
JORGE LORENZO – 18th
“Today was better than yesterday. We modified the bike to improve my feeling and confidence across the whole circuit. You can see we’ve improved by over one second, the position isn’t much better but we are much closer to the front – this is the most important part. Tomorrow we’re aiming to make another step forward again, especially with corner entry as I think there’s still more to do there.”
