The immense amount of mud accumulated on the asphalt, which forced the managers of the track to stop the activity for an hour and a half to carry out cleaning work, was the trigger for the urgent meeting called, which he anticipated that of the Safety Commission scheduled for Saturday.
After 1.00 pm local time Marc Marquez led the first of three days with a best time of 1’38 “7, six seconds more than the fastest lap set by the Turkish Toprak Razgatlioglu (1’32” 8) in the Superpole of the championship race Superbike World Championship held here last November.
Many in the paddock commented that track conditions were significantly worse than usual in Losail, Qatar on the first day of action, when the circuit is completely covered in desert sand.
“The problem is that this isn’t sand, it’s mud,” complained most of the mechanics and riders, more focused on removing the dirt accumulated from motorcycles and overalls than on a rough first set-up.
The red flag that was displayed just an hour after the start of the session, and which lasted for an hour and a half, was the clearest indication of the precariousness of the situation. For all these reasons, a delegation of riders, including Aleix Espargaró, Fabio Quartararo, Maverick Viñales, Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Rins, met Carlos Ezpeleta, Dorna Race Direction representative, and Franco Uncini, safety delegate.
On the table was the protocol to follow in order to move forward with the last pre-season test, and more importantly, the Indonesian Grand Prix which will be held in a month and a week, in a venue that still requires a lot of work. .
The conclusion reached was that the riders who wanted to do so would have done a total of 20 laps before three in the afternoon, and if they failed to significantly reduce their times in that amount of time, the day would be closed until Saturday.
#MotoGP #Mandalika #emergency #meeting #state #runway