VOL. 53 ISSUE 9 MARCH 8, 2016 P73
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
T
he phoney war is over. It ended with
final honors going to the rider who
opened proceedings earlier this
year at Sepang. World Champion Jorge
Lorenzo was a full half-second ahead
after three days of testing at the Qatar
circuit of Losail, where the season begins
in less than two weeks.
It rounded off an almost perfect start to
2016 for the Movistar Yamaha rider. Team-
mate and defeated 2015 title rival Valenti-
no Rossi was not far behind Mr. Perfect's
benchmark. But he was behind.
Even more so were the Repsol Honda
challengers. Marc Marquez did come
close, ending up fourth overall. It was
only at the last gasp, and perhaps just in
time, as he smilingly said that at last he'd
adapted both the bike and his riding style
World Champion Jorge Lorenzo was on it at Qatar.
REAL
