Qatar - 2015 Rnd 1 - Practice and Qualifying

Let the war begin!

MM to be on top all weekend...

I'm personally hoping for the red peril to put the pressure on every one and make it a crazy balls to the wall sunday race

Dovi!!

Iannone!

Circuit Information
Laps: 22
2/3 of laps: -
Total distance: 118.4 km - 73.5 miles

Repsol Honda



Marc Marquez #93
The One to Watch - It would be hard not to pip Marquez for the win as the season trundles into the night lights at Qatar. I will admit that I'm tempted to do it. I want to say that no, Marquez will not take the checkered flag. After all, he is fallible. He has fallen before, succumbed to pressure of being looked at as el numero uno, and dashed away the hopes and dreams of breaking records. His record here is 50%, which should mean that I have a 50% shot at getting it right that someone else takes it to him. Right? Then reality sets in as the cold hard facts start rolling in. Marquez has raced here twice, and though he lost the first race in his rookie season he:

1) still managed to podium after a thrilling battle with a Rossi on the cusp of ressurgence.
2) came back a year later and really lay the hammer down to win.... after a thrilling battle with a re-invigorated Rossi.

So perhaps it is not so out of the realm of possibility to think that there is a chance for Marquez to falter here. At some point in the past two years Marquez has put his stamp on virtually every track on the calendar; but Qatar remains one of the rarities where he has simply been unable to make a break for the win. Whether it is the unique experience of racing under the lights or the dramatic changes in temperature with the resultant effect on the notoriously sensitive bike and tires, Marquez has always found himself hounded across the line. So the safest bet might just be that he will deliver another fairing rubbing thriller before bedtime.

• 2014 - Repsol Honda - 1st
• 2013 - Repsol Honda - 3rd
• 2012 - N/a

Dani Pedrosa #26
Watching from the Shadows - Qatar is the first chance for every rider to put the field on notice for the championship intentions. While there are many things that make the race an anomaly for the season, it is the very uniqueness of the event that helps cement its importance as a bench mark. After all, New York is an anomaly when it comes to cities but we all know what "they" say: "If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere." The task for the Spaniard therefore, is to make it happen. While he stumbled a bit in 2013, 2014 saw him return somewhat to form to start the season the way he should. His main priority has got to be to rattle his seemingly unflappable teammate. This is a tall order on any given day, and unfortunately for Dani the rest of the field is coming quickly. Pedrosa's strongest weapon will be his willingness to trade paint and/or risk it all with and against Marquez if necessary, a quality that he demonstrated to dramatic effect last season. Pedrosa's greatest weakness will be his willingness to trade paint and/or risk it all with and against Marquez if necessary, a quality that he demonstrated to dramatic effect last season. So far Rossi is about the only person who seems to come out relatively unscathed from those little tussles. Pedrosa will need to borrow his notes, or peek over his shoulder in class, to put his RCV between Marquez and the win.

• 2014 - Repsol Honda - 1st
• 2013 - Repsol Honda - 4th
• 2012 - Repsol Honda - 3rd

Movistar Yamaha



Valentino Rossi #46
The Dark Horse - Is it really a dark horse if everyone expects it? The question has to be asked because although everyone expects Marquez to be the most likely to win, "everyone" also expects Rossi to be the one to take the fight to him and upset Honda's party. For the past two years runnign Rossi has tried his best to take the honors at Qatar, and those he did manage to take 2nd from the rookie Marquez in 2013 he was pipped for the win by the same in 2014. Unfortunately for the former champion Marquez is into his 3rd year in the premiere class, and while the boyish grin remains the past two years have honed an already formidable racecraft into the thing of legends. Literally. What everyone wonders now is whether the old dog has any new tricks to teach the young pup. Marquez learned from 2013, and he showed just how much in 2014 after swapping places for most of the race to claim win by 2 tenths of a second. However despite the close quarters combat Rossi always manages to cross the line. That may be his greatest advantage coming into 2015, that he has figured out how to battle with Marquez and not take it just that tiniest bit too far. He may not always come out ahead, but he definitely finishes the race and to finish first you must finish. Now, can he manage to finish first?

• 2014 - Movistar Yamaha - 2nd
• 2013 - Factory Yamaha - 2nd
• 2012 - Factory Ducati - 10th

Jorge Lorenzo #99
A Man with a Plan - And that plan is surprisingly simple: recapture that loving feeling and return to form. While Qatar used to be the Spaniard's playground in a bygone era, last year's race was... Well let's just say that it was a challenge. But that was then, this is now and Lorenzo isn't quite the same person that started the 2014 season. He's revamped his training routine, cut down on the carbs (like that is even possible), and the rider who left the 2014 season was definitely a more focused specimen. While the season closer didn't go quite to plan, Lorenzo exited the season with a pair of wins and a string of podiums that were the envy of the field (well, those not named Marquez). He'll need to keep that momentum going if he hopes to remind people about how and why he clinched the world championship.That is an important reminder as the season starts - Lorenzo is a former world champion in the eras of Stoner and Rossi. He knows what it takes to go up against very tough opponents and win. Marquez is formidable, but he is also human. While Rossi got a lot of the acclaim during 2014, Lorenzo definitely had a stronger overall finish to the season than his rival across the garage wall. Lorenzo will gunning hard to remind the Italian of that fact when the lights go out on Sunday.

• 2014 - Movistar Yamaha - DNF
• 2013 - Factory Yamaha - 1st
• 2012 - Factory Yamaha - 1st

Factory Ducati



Spoiler Alert! - If there is one thing that can be said about team Ducati it would be that they know how to shake the paddock up. While the team has struggled in recent years, a good measuring stick for actual forward progress has always been how much of a talking point they have been able to make. The last time there was something of note was Ducati's surprise release of the ECU software to open teams in a bid to be reclassified and open additional testing opportunities. The move was brilliant and exploited a loophole left open by the factories that have to this point maintained a strangle hold on the forward positions on the grid - a loophole only made possible by that very hold and the arrogance that it imparted. Today, the talking point moves beyond the clever use of the rules that Ducati made work in their favor for once and instead focuses on the seemingly unbelievable pce that the new GP15 was able to set during off-season testing. "Isn't 'unbelievable' a bit strong?" you ask. Perhaps it would be, if even top riders were confident that the consistently fast times were set on the supersoft tires available to the more open bikes and had to reassess their positions after a series of releases from Ducati (and Emmett's own sleuthery) confirmed that the times were all set using the standard rubber offered to factory teams. This single event moves, no catapults, Ducati from an also ran to a seeming contender in short order. Ducati has been achingly close for quite a while now, with both Iannone and Dovizioso both leading races only to fade backwards. This may seeming insignificant - the wins and podiums are what may be seen as important - unless one looks to World Superbike as a corollary, where the Kawasaki ZX-10 suffered the same fate until a few tweaks made it the rocketship that it is today. Has Ducati finally cracked the code to be a championship contender again? This will be perhaps the biggest question that can be answered this weekend.

Prediction: In the waning light of a Qatari circuit Valentino Rossi will be seen skulking around the Repsol Honda pits in a brown trenchcoat, oversized hat and sunglasses. He will take a seat on a park bench and pretend the feed the pigeons, somehow forgetting that there are no birds; because desert. Marc Marquez will sit beside him moments later and pretend to read a newspaper written in Arabic and held upside down. They will discuss race strategy and passing. In the background Pedrosa will eavesdrop on the conversation using a Bionic Ear purchased from Toys 'R Us. When the lights go out on Sunday... err, Saturday night?.... Rossi and Marquez are confounded by Pedrosa's near telepathic anticipation of their every move. Marquez recovers by Lorenzo and Iannone squeak by in the fracas. Iannone goes on to record the first win for Ducati.

Winners from FP1
- MM
- Dani
- JLo

False Hope from FP1
- Cal
- A.Espargaro
- Pretucci

Losers from FP1
- Rossi
- P.Espagaro
- Smith
- Redding

BIG BIG Losers
- Hayden
- Aspar
- Aprilia

Winners from FP2
- MM
- Dani
- Dovi

False Hope from FP2
- Cal
- DiMeglio
- Iannone

Losers from FP2
- Smith
- P.Espagaro
- Redding
- Miller

well that was a enjoyable afternoon of practice. but I think the drugs team are going to hit the brits hard lol . thought for one moment it was going to be a brit at the top of all three categories but it was not meant to be

well done Cal I did not see a strong second place coming. I can see the satellite factory option teams getting cheesed off with the open teams with the soft tyres getting in to Q2 however I can see some real shenanigans in the first few laps of every race which will make for some thrills and spills that will keep every one on there toes and will cause upset at the sharp end.

hope I'm not getting carried away but first 15 within a second is barking made but even if you remove the riders on soft tyres its still pretty mental

Yamaha thought they had turned up in better shape than this time last year the time sheets and the facial expressions say other wise .

all up from my point of view a great day in all categories

This might be a little off topic, but do you guy know where I can find the definition or explanations for "Combined Practice Times", " Fast Lap Sequence" or "Best Partial Times" I can pull up this data from FP1 through 3 but I am not clear on what it actually means. Can race pace from these sessions be found in these metrics?

Thanks

Csorrenti said:

This might be a little off topic, but do you guy know where I can find the definition or explanations for "Combined Practice Times", " Fast Lap Sequence" or "Best Partial Times" I can pull up this data from FP1 through 3 but I am not clear on what it actually means. Can race pace from these sessions be found in these metrics?

Thanks

Click to expand...

I think the best you can get is from looking at the individual runs each rider does in each session and you can make you own concussion on what their race pace might be from that and you can get that from moto gp.com in the results page when you open the pdfs up of each session of each lap

Still winning in FP3
- MM
- Cal (Maybe)
- Dovi (hopefully)
- Dani (just about)

False Hope from FP3
- A. & P.Espargaro
- Iannone
- Hernandez

Losers from FP3
- JLo
- Rossi
- Smith
- Redding

BIG BIG Losers
- Honda 'Proddy' Riders!
- Aprilia

Qualifying is just going to serve to frustrate Yamaha....

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Qualyfing
1 - Dovi - Soft tyre advantage (STA), 6th or higher in race, but well done
2 - Pedrosa - Winner tomorrow?
3 - MM - No worries...but certainly keeping an eye on Dani...
4 - Crazy Joe - STA, 7th or 8th in Race
5 - Yonny - STA, 10th or higher in Race
6 - JLo - Hating the ducati STA, will end up 4th....
7 - Smith - Massively impressive, should be top 6 in Race
8 - Rossi - In Trouble or Ducati's w/STA making you look bad?
9 - Pretrucci - STA, well done to fight your way forward
10 - P.Esparagus - Out classed by your teammate by a mile
11 - A.Esparagus - Trying to get a toe off Dani was cheap, lucky to get 11th
12 - Cal - Ooops, Honey Badger It tomorrow....
13 - Maverick - Very Impressive for first go
14 - Redding - Good progress, what if you still have the STA from last year...
And the Rest

Questions I have;
- How long can Aspar operate without a Major sponsor showing up very very soon?
- Will Hayden's wrist hold up the whole season?
-----(BTSport annourcers were saying he has been icing it all weekend, and has been refusing to answer questions about it)
- Will Melandri just walk out of Aprilia if they dont make huge advancements by Mugello?

MigsAngel said:

Qualyfing
1 - Dovi - Soft tyre advantage (STA), 6th or higher in race, but well done
2 - Pedrosa - Winner tomorrow?
3 - MM - No worries...but certainly keeping an eye on Dani...
4 - Crazy Joe - STA, 7th or 8th in Race
5 - Yonny - STA, 10th or higher in Race
6 - JLo - Hating the ducati STA, will end up 4th....
7 - Smith - Massively impressive, should be top 6 in Race
8 - Rossi - In Trouble or Ducati's w/STA making you look bad?
9 - Pretrucci - STA, well done to fight your way forward
10 - P.Esparagus - Out classed by your teammate by a mile
11 - A.Esparagus - Trying to get a toe off Dani was cheap, lucky to get 11th
12 - Cal - Ooops, Honey Badger It tomorrow....
13 - Maverick - Very Impressive for first go
14 - Redding - Good progress, what if you still have the STA from last year...
And the Rest

Questions I have;
- How long can Aspar operate without a Major sponsor showing up very very soon?
- Will Hayden's wrist hold up the whole season?
-----(BTSport annourcers were saying he has been icing it all weekend, and has been refusing to answer questions about it)
- Will Melandri just walk out of Aprilia if they dont make huge advancements by Mugello?

Click to expand...

You should take a look at FP4 analysis.

Dovi has the best race pace, even better than Marquez.

For sure Marquez's keeping his eye much over Ducati.

gui22a said:

You should take a look at FP4 analysis.

Dovi has the best race pace, even better than Marquez.

For sure Marquez's keeping his eye much over Ducati.

Click to expand...

Dovi race pace was all on short runs, MM has done longer ones in the other sessions....

Eitheway, if Dovi does well then great since it mean one more step toward Ducati losing their 'Open Factory' concessions....that then means a more even racing later in the season....

suprise, suprise....Crashlow go's down in the heat of the moment!

MigsAngel said:

Dovi race pace was all on short runs, MM has done longer ones in the other sessions....

Eitheway, if Dovi does well then great since it mean one more step toward Ducati losing their 'Open Factory' concessions....that then means a more even racing later in the season....

Click to expand...

It doesn't matter at all, it all depends how much used the tire was, and we really don't know. You can do a run of 2 laps with a 20 laps used tire or 8 laps with a 14 laps used tire.

Marquez has confirmed the man to beat is [himself, obviously] plus Andrea. The other 4 (and you know each one of them) will do a battle apart.

If Dani gets away clean, I think he's a dark horse to win this one. Also, if Rossi looks after his tires (I think he'll set up for the end of the race) and gets close to MM, they'll do battle. If that battle happens with Dani in the lead, he could comfortably win this.

gui22a said:

You should take a look at FP4 analysis.

Dovi has the best race pace, even better than Marquez.

For sure Marquez's keeping his eye much over Ducati.

Click to expand...

Not better, but really, really close. Dovi's race pace from FP4 is 1:55.725, Marquez' race pace from FP4 (disregarding the couple of 1'57s he did) is 1:55.677. The difference is basically nothing.

Dovizioso could win this one. I'm hoping Hernandez and Iannone get in front of Marquez at the start, if they do, it's game over, and Dovizioso will clear off. The bike works, and the tires will last.

Kropotkin said:

Not better, but really, really close. Dovi's race pace from FP4 is 1:55.725, Marquez' race pace from FP4 (disregarding the couple of 1'57s he did) is 1:55.677. The difference is basically nothing.

Dovizioso could win this one. I'm hoping Hernandez and Iannone get in front of Marquez at the start, if they do, it's game over, and Dovizioso will clear off. The bike works, and the tires will last.

Click to expand...

Promise? Fingers crossed for Ducati.