Yamaha’s Maverick Viñales has gone fastest on Day 1 of the final MotoGP pre-season test in Qatar.
The Spaniard went top with a 1:55.051s with an hour remaining and stayed there, while Monster Energy Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi was half a second back in fifth.
Viñales was as far as half a second clear of the field before Alex Rins clocked the second-fastest lap of the day at 0.108s off the pace on his Suzuki Ecstar entry, as the Hamamatsu factory brought a new exhaust.
Andrea Dovizioso had been the fast man prior to Viñales and the #04 Mission Winnow Ducati ended up third on the timesheets, slightly quicker than team-mate Danilo Petrucci.
Tito Rabat was sixth on his Reale Avintia Ducati and Petronas Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo the top rookie in seventh.
Leading the way for Honda was LCR rider Takaaki Nakagami in eighth, two positions ahead of Marc Marquez.
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The world champion had a minor crash, his first since shoulder surgery, as Repsol Honda team-mate Jorge Lorenzo went 21st-fastest on his return from injury.
Red Bull KTM’s best was Pol Espargaro in ninth position, and Aleix Espargaro the top Aprilia rider in 12th.
Jack Miller put in runs of six to eight laps but did not go for a flyer on his Pramac Ducati and sat 19th on the timesheets at day’s end.
Testing continues from midnight (AEDT).
Pre-season testing: Losail: Day 1
| Pos | Num | Rider | Nat | Team | Bike | Time | Gap 1st/Prev | Laps |
| 1 | 12 | Maverick VIÑALES | ESP | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1:55.051 | 48/50 | |
| 2 | 42 | Alex RINS | ESP | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 1:55.159 | 0.108/0.108 | 45/48 |
| 3 | 04 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Mission Winnow Ducati | Ducati | 1:55.550 | 0.499/0.391 | 23/29 |
| 4 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | Mission Winnow Ducati | Ducati | 1:55.594 | 0.543/0.044 | 25/37 |
| 5 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | 1:55.604 | 0.553/0.010 | 42/47 |
| 6 | 53 | Tito RABAT | ESP | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1:55.694 | 0.643/0.090 | 44/44 |
| 7 | 20 | Fabio QUARTARARO | FRA | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | 1:55.772 | 0.721/0.078 | 42/49 |
| 8 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | JPN | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda | 1:55.943 | 0.892/0.171 | 28/45 |
| 9 | 44 | Pol ESPARGARO | ESP | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1:56.040 | 0.989/0.097 | 43/47 |
| 10 | 93 | Marc MARQUEZ | ESP | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1:56.167 | 1.116/0.127 | 26/34 |
| 11 | 36 | Joan MIR | ESP | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 1:56.264 | 1.213/0.097 | 47/52 |
| 12 | 41 | Aleix ESPARGARO | ESP | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 1:56.358 | 1.307/0.094 | 24/34 |
| 13 | 29 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 1:56.447 | 1.396/0.089 | 28/30 |
| 14 | 21 | Franco MORBIDELLI | ITA | Petronas Yamaha SRT | Yamaha | 1:56.511 | 1.460/0.064 | 45/47 |
| 15 | 63 | Francesco BAGNAIA | ITA | Alma Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1:56.738 | 1.687/0.227 | 27/45 |
| 16 | 5 | Johann ZARCO | FRA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 1:56.770 | 1.719/0.032 | 24/53 |
| 17 | 88 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | POR | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | 1:56.891 | 1.840/0.121 | 28/42 |
| 18 | 35 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | LCR Honda CASTROL | Honda | 1:56.921 | 1.870/0.030 | 23/43 |
| 19 | 43 | Jack MILLER | AUS | Alma Pramac Racing | Ducati | 1:56.932 | 1.881/0.011 | 33/46 |
| 20 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | 1:57.053 | 2.002/0.121 | 22/39 |
| 21 | 99 | Jorge LORENZO | ESP | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 1:57.090 | 2.039/0.037 | 31/38 |
| 22 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Aprilia Factory Racing | Aprilia | 1:57.137 | 2.086/0.047 | 29/48 |
| 23 | 55 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | MAS | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | KTM | 1:57.459 | 2.408/0.322 | 30/44 |
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