Two free practice sessions for the Qatar GP were held today at the Losail circuit in Qatar.
After finishing second in FP2 with a time of 1’55.185, Andrea Dovizioso improved in FP3 to record a lap time of 1’55.042. This result put the Italian into fourth place on the day and fifth in the combined free practice sessions, and it means that he will take part in Q2, which is scheduled for 21.00 local time.
Team-mate Jorge Lorenzo had a tougher day today, and after going eighth quickest in FP2 with a time of 1’55.604, he finished FP3 in ninth despite improving to 1’55.461. The rider from Mallorca finished the first two days on aggregate in twelfth place and tomorrow he will have to take part in Q1, the top two riders going on into Q2 immediately after.
Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team #04) – 1’55.042 (today 4th, overall 5th)
“Even though today’s conditions were not as good as those we encountered in the recent tests, we were able to get through a lot of good work to try and get the best set-up for the race. It’s not easy to find a set-up that is suitable for the little grip on the track, and now we also have to decide whether or not to use the medium rear tyre for the race. So, if the track is dry tomorrow, we will probably try the soft tyre again as well. At any rate, in both sessions we were always amongst the top riders, and we showed we have good speed.”
Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team #99) – 1’55.461 (today 9th, overall 12th)
“Today we tried to change a few things from yesterday and we used a setting that allowed us to improve our pace on race tyres. Nevertheless in some parts of the circuit we were unable to go any quicker, and this configuration was not enough to allow me to do a very quick lap in view of qualifying. Our aim for tomorrow is to search for the best compromise possible to be able to make another step forward. On the one hand I am happy with my pace, but I can’t be satisfied with the time I set on new tyres.”
