Johann Zarco performed in a superb way today, while the Monster Yamaha Tech3 rider used the second day of testing at the Losail International Circuit to work towards the start of the 2018 season. Thereby, the remarkable Frenchman concluded Friday as the fastest Yamaha rider in fourth position, missing out on the top spot by only 0.288 seconds.

Meanwhile MotoGP rookie Hafizh Syahrin made hug steps forward in adapting his riding style to the Yamaha YZR-M1 on just his fifth day in the premier class. In doing so, the Malaysian newcomer improved by nearly half a second on his time from day one, finishing the day with a small margin of solely 0.947 seconds to fellow Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi.


Johann ZARCO - Position: 4th - Time: 1’54.874 - Laps: 49

“Overall, it was a great day, we made some huge improvements with the new tyre and I’m happy about that. With used tyres we also had a good pace and the conditions were pretty interesting today. We were better than yesterday, as we found what was missing. But we’re still working on it. I feel we are on a good level, but maybe not on the top level to fight for the victory. So it’s quite obvious, that we still have some work to do. What I can feel on the bike is really nice, the top speed is great as well, yet I enjoy riding here a lot. For tomorrow, we’ll try some more details to further improve.”


Hafizh SYAHRIN - Position: 21st - Time: 1’56.263- Laps: 46

“I’m very happy with the progress we made today. We have a good base and now started to try more new things on the bike, like trying to manage the tyres, plus trying to understand all the electronics, today especially the traction control. As I’m a MotoGP beginner, I still need to learn a lot. The team work today was very good and we managed to close the gap to all the other rookies, even if I’m just in the middle of my second test. We hope to continue this fantastic development tomorrow.”