KUALA LUMPUR: Petronas Yamaha Sepang Racing Team’s (SRT) Fabio Quartararo turned up the heat on the second day of testing at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar on Sunday.
The Frenchman tried several setups both during daylight and night conditions at Losail, which hosts its MotoGP races at night, including a number of aerodynamic tweaks to his YZR-M1.
Quartararo, who logged in 65 laps in total, topped the timesheets in one minute 54.038 seconds while teammate Franco Morbidelli, who did 70 laps, clocked 1:54.481s for fourth.
Sandwiched in between the duo in second and third were Suzuki Ectar's Alex Rins (+0.162s) and Monster Energy Yamaha's Maverick Vinales (+0.226s).
Quartararo, who was eighth fastest on the opening day, is determined to get as many laps in as possible before the season starts.
“We tested different electronic settings, engine braking and of course we tried some settings on the bike — on the front and rear,” said Quartararo.
“I’m happy because at the end of the day it was a better day than yesterday (Saturday). I felt better on the bike and we still have one more day, so I hope to improve.
“We still need to understand more things on the bike because at the moment, we have only done three days (testing) in Sepang and two days here.
“I can still learn many things from the bike and we will be ready to race.”
Morbidelli, who was fifth fastest on Saturday, was happy with his progress, but admitted it was tougher at night.
“We’ve been quite fast and we were able to have a good pace with the medium tyre. The medium and soft (tyres) are very similar in performance, so it’s going to be important to make the right choice on race day,” said the Italian.
“It was quite humid and more difficult to make a decent lap at night but overall today (Sunday) I felt a bit better — a bit more comfortable with the bike, a bit more consistent.”
Meanwhile, Moto2 rookie Kasma Daniel Kasmayudin underwent minor surgery on his hand following a crash during testing at Jerez last week. His team Onexox TKKR SAG are expecting him to recover in time for the season-opening race in Qatar on March 6-8.