Maverick Vinales put Yamaha on top at the end of the second day of testing here at the Losail Circuit in Qatar, home to round one of the season championship in less than two weeks time.
The young Spaniard was almost three tenths of a second faster than his Yamaha teammate, Valentino Rossi, who proudly made it a one two for the team.
"Today was a good and productive day for us, which shows in the results. We, the Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Team, secured a 1-2, and it was a top three for Yamaha, showing the strength of the YZR-M1," said Yamaha's Massimo Meregalli. "We got a lot of work done today and this provides us with a good understanding of what final things we need to address tomorrow."
"Maverick is very comfortable with his bike-setting and shaping up nicely for the race weekend. Heโs looking very competitive already, posting quick and consistent lap times, and we are confident that with the last tweaks on the setting tomorrow we can make another step."
"Vale suffered a crash at the beginning of the session, which damaged his first bike but was a blessing in disguise. Though he injured his hand slightly, the incident forced him to continue work on his second bike, which gave him the feeling with the front that he had been looking for during the winter season, enabling him to make a good step today. Our testing schedule is almost completed, tomorrow we aim to do a race simulation with both riders, which will give us important information for the upcoming racing weekend."
Friday's fastest man, Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso's time stood for the third best overall in the combined times, however his time was only good enough for 13th fastest on day two.
QATAR TEST โ Combined classification after Day 2:
1. Maverick VIรALES, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP โ 1:54.455 โ In Session 2
2. Valentino ROSSI, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP โ 1:54.732 +0.277 โ In Session 2
3. Andrea DOVIZIOSO, Ducati Team โ 1:54.819 +0.364 โ In Session 1
4. Jonas FOLGER, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 โ 1:54.917 +0.462 โ In Session 2
5. Cal CRUTCHLOW, LCR Honda 1:55.032 +0.577 โ In Session 2
6. Aleix ESPARGARO, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini โ 1:55.121 +0.666 โ In Session 2
7. Marc MARQUEZ, Repsol Honda Team โ 1:55.196 +0.741 โ In Session 2
8. Alvaro BAUTISTA, Pull&Bear Aspar Team โ 1:55.245 +0.790 โ In Session 2
9. Jorge LORENZO, Ducati Team โ 1:55.344 +0.889 โ In Session 2
10. Scott REDDING, Octo Pramac Racing โ 1:55.353 +0.898 โ In Session 2
11. Johann ZARCO, Monster Yamaha Tech 3 โ 1:55.354 +0.899 โ In Session 2
12. Karel ABRAHAM, Pull&Bear Aspar Team โ 1:55.420 +0.965 โ In Session 2
13. Andrea IANNONE, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR โ 1:55.545 +1.090 โ In Session 2
14. Danilo PETRUCCI, Octo Pramac Racing โ 1:55.680 +1.225 โ In Session 2
15. Dani PEDROSA, Repsol Honda Team โ 1:55.692 +1.237 โ In Session 1
16. Loris BAZ, Reale Avintia Racing โ 1:55.808 +1.353 โ In Session 2
17. Jack MILLER Marc, VDS Racing Team โ 1:56.017 +1.562 โ In Session 1
18. Alex RINS, Team SUZUKI ECSTAR โ 1:56.110 +1.655 โ In Session 2
19. Tito RABAT, EG 0,0 Marc VDS โ 1:56.214 +1.759 โ In Session 2
20. Sam LOWES Aprilia, Racing Team Gresini โ 1:56.276 +1.821 โ In Session 2
21. Pol ESPARGARO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing โ 1:56.648 +2.193 โ In Session 2
22. Bradley SMITH, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing โ 1:57.267 +2.812 โ In Session 2
23. Mika KALLIO, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing โ 1:57.688 +3.233 โ In Session 2