[kropotkin thinks...] - 2019 Qatar MotoGP Test Saturday Notes: Half A Test, New Parts

[Ninjette Newsbot]

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The Qatar MotoGP test is really only half a test. Taking place just two weeks before the first race of 2019 at this very same track, factories are caught between testing and reevaluating new parts and looking for the right setup for the race. And with the test running from 4pm local time until 10pm, the first two hours, the track is too warm, heated by the setting sun, and too cold and potentially damp in the final hour, as temperatures drop perilously close to the dew point. Of the six hours the track is open, only three actually approach the conditions during the race and qualifying.

That means it's imperative that the factories get most of their work done at Sepang, bringing parts to Qatar more to verify the findings at Sepang, rather than actually run through a major testing program. There is one major exception to this rule: aerodynamics. With just under two weeks to go to the race, Qatar is the place where aerodynamics have to be finalized. No factory can risk bringing brand new aero to the first race, when they have to homologate a fairing.

There was some new aero on display on the first day of the Qatar test. Aprilia unveiled their 2019 livery – good news, it looks like an Aprilia, and is consequently gorgeous – and also a new set of wings, looking for all the world like Ducati's most recent effort.

Scoop!