Cal Crutchlow on the Yamaha M1 – according to Fabio Quartararo and his brand colleagues, a win for the team instead of Jorge Lorenzo, who was out of shape. The “British Bulldog” drove with full commitment and paid for his zeal with a rough landing in the gravel (© MotoGP).

Dorna’s risky plan didn’t work out

Except for the fact that the Dorna apparently made a lot of money with the choice of Losail for tests and first races, the start of the season began with a bankruptcy. At first, they really wanted to test it in Sepang and when many material containers had allegedly already arrived in Malaysia, they were rejected. Before the Sepang bankruptcy, we had already pointed out in an article on January 3, 2021, that the Dorna plan with tests in Malaysia would not work. The official cancellation was published nine days later. Instead of staying in Europe for the tests, FIM and Dorna decided to start in Qatar.

Photographed by us behind the main grandstand in Losail – the sunset in the desert, which begins directly behind the Losail circuit. That’s why sand constantly blows onto the track in strong winds and, in addition to the shakedown, the 5th test day was also affected. In the WorldSBK, the second race was even canceled in 2018 due to too much wind and sand on the track. Dorna is therefore already well aware of Losail’s problems.

Why tests and double races in Losail?
In view of the risk of Covid-19 infection with the many flights required for this, this question is more than justified. And when you factor in the high travel costs, choosing Qatar is a bad joke. Many observers and some of our readers asked why they wanted to start the season again here, of all places. There are two very clear answers to this. One of them is that there are multi-year contracts with the organizer, but this does not explain a double race. The aspect that the Qataris simply have the thickest wallet is definitely more important. According to the held hand in the paddock, this is the main reason for the start of the season in the desert state.

Luca Marini (Ducati) – the half-brother of Valentino Rossi at dusk by Losail. Compared to previous years, the rookies only have very few test days available in the second Corona year. Due to the bad planning of the Dorna, Luca, “La Bestia” and Jorge Martin lost 2 out of 6 days to the sand.

No other circuit comes close to the Losail Circuit

Many teams emphasized during the tests that no other circuit on the calendar is even similar to the Losail International Circuit. This basically makes the test in Qatar as good as worthless for the rest of the season, as one KTM team member put it in a nutshell. Nothing that works in Losail has to work on any of the other courses, he emphasized in the interview. Other drivers and team members also sounded in unison. Many of them put it on the record that they would only know where they really stand at the start of Europe. Therefore, the times and results driven in Losail would not give any information about the real balance of power. The same applies to Sepang, by the way, but the Malaysians, along with the Qataris, also pay best and the Dorna is first and foremost always about money.

Carmelo Ezpeleta – the Dorna Boss in 1992. Many of his decisions are considered very controversial, but he is the man at the lever of power.

No arrival from Marc Marquez in Losail conceivable

Nevertheless, many scribes with question marks and daring constructs try to persuade them again and again. The Repsol Honda rider is unlikely to make the trip to Qatar this year. After he was at the doctor’s on Thursday, March 11th, this finally became clear. As a reminder: on the second weekend in Jerez 2020 it was the decision of the 6-time MotoGP world champion to risk a comeback just 4 days after the operation. This was against the advice of the medical profession at the time, which was later misrepresented by the lying press. Red Bull Media also played an inglorious role with its in-house propaganda department. It is already official that Marquez is not allowed to ride a motorcycle for the time being. After 8 months without driving experience, he will probably be back in Jerez at the earliest, if at all.

Alex Marquez (LCR Honda) after his rough landing in the gravel bed after a violent highsider, the Catalan hobbled away. He will try to be as fit as possible again in just under 2 weeks (© MotoGP).

First driver’s voice after the tests – Ducati Ass Bagnaia

Ducati ace Pecco Bagnaia was very satisfied, as he emphasized in the interview, and he is extremely confident for the first races. Much was completely different this time than a year or two ago. In any case, they have made steady progress, and he absolutely agrees with the results. As the best Ducati rider on the fourth and last real day of testing, one would hardly have expected anything else from the Italian. Most observers saw three strong Ducati riders in particular, of whom Jack Miller has so far been the most popular favorite. We warn, however, not to forget Johann Zarco. At the current GP-21, the man from Cannes is also one of the very hot candidates for the first race in Losail.

The last test times from the 4th day

The provisional calendar for the MotoGP season 2021

No one believes in overseas races anymore, with the possible exception of the Dorna employees. Their constructs regarding MotoGP planning for the coming season are unlikely to have sprung from common sense. In any case, there are still a lot of changes to be expected.