Final day of MotoGP test rained off

The final day of MotoGP pre-season testing in Qatar was called-off due to rain at the Losail circuit on Monday.

Organizers initially delayed the start of the day's running in the hope that the weather would clear, but the test was eventually abandoned without anyone turning a lap due to the conditions. It was not deemed safe for the MotoGP field to complete any running in the rain due to the glare that would be caused by the floodlights at the track, which has always hosted night races in the series.

Ducati caught the eye by topping the first two days of the test with its new GP15 bike, and its general manager Luigi Dall'Igna said the team was disappointed to miss out on the final day of running.

"It's a pity that we were unable to make the most out of today," said Dall'Igna. "We had scheduled an intense work programme with both of our riders, which also included a race simulation.

"The Desmosedici GP15 is still a brand-new bike, so this last day of track action would have been very useful for us. However, we are happy with the results that we obtained during the first two days and the overall reliability of the project.

"Both riders [Andrea Dovizioso and Andrea Iannone] constantly lapped in the leading positions, and this makes us optimistic for the future."

Dovizioso, whose 1m54.907s from day two was the fastest time of the test, believes Ducati is in good shape for the new season, which starts in Qatar on March 29.

"We are very satisfied with the results in the first two days of testing, because we were always very quick," said the Italian. "We start the season very satisfied with the work done with the new GP15, which immediately went well here in Qatar.

"I really think that we can have our say in the race, and things are a lot more positive than last year It's a pity that today we were unable to go out on track, but the rain made it impossible."

Originally on Autosport.com