Jorge Lorenzo has issued an ominous warning to his MotoGP rivals in the final day of pre-season testing at the Losail Circuit.
The defending world champion was easily fastest over both a single lap and also a race simulation at the venue which will host the opening race of the season in a fortnight’s time.
Lorenzo’s benchmark 1:54.810s lap was over half a second quicker than next fastest Scott Redding (1:55.326s) for both the day and the three-day test overall, with Day 2 fast man Maverick Viñales less than a tenth further adrift.
Marc Marquez recovered from a fall on Thursday to go fourth fastest, while Valentino Rossi was the other man to better Viñales’ best time from the day prior, despite another fall at Turn 10.
Dani Pedrosa, on the other hand, was tenth overall and a second off the pace after clocking only the 14th-fastest time of the day, while Australian Jack Miller was 19th overall.
Tito Rabat crashed twice, while Aleix Espargaro, Loris Baz, Hector Barbera and Cal Crutchlow also went down, each escaping injury.
The Qatar MotoGP commences with free practice from early Friday March 20 (AEDT).