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MotoGP rookie Brad Binder admits he was surprised by his form on the final day of testing at Qatar, where he wound up ninth on the timesheets and just 0.425s off pace-setter Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).

The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider set the ninth fastest time on Monday with a lap of 1m54.283s, which came after a number of set-up changes sorted the challenges he previously faced.

“I was quite surprised to be honest,” Binder commented. “I felt comfortable and we made some changes today that helped me a lot and sorted many of my issues. I put in a new set of tyres and ‘bam!’ the lap-time came. The bike was good.

“I felt way more comfortable to get it stopped, turned quicker and also get on the throttle earlier. Once we figured that part out then it was a lot easier to put a fast lap together but it was still quite difficult to do 22 of them, so I have a long way to go! We made some good steps these three days and the team has been awesome. I’m looking forward to continuing at the GP.”

The South African was 0.340s quicker than teammate and long-time KTM pilot Pol Espargaro, who was 14th on the timesheets on day three.

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Kawasaki Racing Team newcomer Alex Lowes admits he’s struggled to come to terms with his set-up at Phillip Island’s Motul FIM Superbike World Championship (Worldsbk) test, the British ace set to make his racing debut with the squad this weekend.

Lowes, who’s transferred from Pata Yamaha to Kawasaki for the 2020 season, revealed his feeling at the Australian venue wasn’t the same as what he experienced at the previous tests, prompting him to make a number set-up changes throughout the two days.

The number 22 was able to establish a base setting in the final session on Tuesday afternoon, promoting a hint of optimism leading into round one.

“Obviously it has not been as easy to find the right feeling and set-up on the bike as I would have liked coming here but also it is the first time on the bike on such a strange track layout,” Lowes explained.

“It is so fast here, with lots of changes of direction. How I felt on the bike earlier in the winter tests was not quite the same here, so we worked a bit on the set-up.

“I got a little bit frustrated a couple of times, made a couple of mistakes, but the last session it was a bit better and we have found a base set-up that I can go into the weekend with. I am looking forward to getting my first race weekend in green started in a few days from now.”

The opening practice sessions for WorldSBK kick off this Friday.

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Mission Winnow Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso insists there’s still room for improvement with the Desmosedici GP20 after MotoGP testing wrapped up at Qatar this week.

The Italian ace found himself towards the middle of the field over the three days, going 11-8-10 on the timesheets while endeavouring to understand his 2020 set-up.

Despite acknowledging the desire to achieve more, the 2019 runner-up is still satisfied with the developments made – the number 04 indicating the race simulation was the most positive aspect from the test.

“I am really satisfied with the work done today,” Dovizioso stated. “We were able to try different set-ups that helped us understand that we still have some room left for improvement. The most positive aspect of today was the race simulation.

“With used tyres, I was able to cover the race distance without problems. On top of that, I did a few laps behind Danilo, which helped me to understand how to manage better the tyres.

“My race pace is good, and I am sure that if we can be fast as the front guys, then we will be able to fight for the top positions during the race weekend.”

The 2020 MotoGP World Championship fires into action on 8 March at Qatar.

Image: Russell Colvin.

Alvaro Bautista says the potential of the all-new Team HRC Honda CBR1000R-RR is ‘all there’ after the final Motul FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) pre-season test concluded at Phillip Island this week.

Bautista, who dominated Phillip Island’s season-opener last year on Ducati machinery, has been challenged by his transition to the Japanese manufacturer – the Spaniard ultimately finishing both days of testing 16th and 10th on the timesheets.

The race winner is confident in the package, explaining the team and himself need to work towards harnessing what the brand-new Superbike has to offer.

“This test has been very important for us of course and I think we’ve made progress,” Bautista commented. “With respect to yesterday, my feeling with the Fireblade was a little better this morning, while this afternoon was a little trickier in the wind and on a more slippery track.

“We’ve also tested tyres today, finding positives and negatives as is always the case, and we also attempted a long run in order to collect as much data as possible ahead of the first races. All this information is really important as we move forward and I’m confident we can take another step forward this coming weekend.

“The potential, power and speed are all there, now we just need to work to be able to effectively harness it all.”

Bautista’s team-mate, Leon Haslam, was fifth fastest during the pair of days of testing.

Image: Russell Colvin.

Australian wildcard Oli Bayliss has described his maiden WorldSSP test as positive after he set a personal best lap-time at Phillip Island, the youthful talent set to make his world championship debut this weekend at the season-opener.

Bayliss, who will take on double-duties at the Island as he contests both WorldSSP and Australian Supersport, went 16-19 on the timesheets across both days of testing this week, setting a 1m36.010s lap on Tuesday’s final hit-out before the weekend.

“It wasn’t such a bad day to be honest,” Bayliss reflected. “The first session this morning went well for the team and I. We again went faster than what we did yesterday, which was positive, as it was the fastest which I have ever been around the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.

“We kept on doing more and more laps to get used to the Cube Racing Yamaha YZF-R6 to get as ready as we can possibly be ahead of the start of the round on Friday. I feel good and I feel like we are improving. The extra track time which I’ll get in the Australian Supersport Championship will definitely help me, in terms of track time that’s for sure.

“To finish 20th overall in the combined times, I’m okay with that. The positives which we can draw out of the two days is the fact that we have gone the fastest around this track than we have done before on a bike which is not quite where we want it to be just yet.

“We as a team can see that the bike needs a bit of improving. I really need to go a second quicker and I should be closer to the top 10. I’ll keep working towards that target.”

The 16-year-old will have 11 sessions to complete – including four races – at the Island this weekend across the two championships.