The excitement for the start of the 2021 MotoGP World Championship was ramped up in Qatar on Saturday with the first day of action for a full field of riders and bikes at the Official Test.

After a long winter of hope and anticipation, the LCR Honda CASTROL squad were finally able to show off their brand-new look with their incoming rider - the two-time world champion Álex Márquez.

The popular Spaniard joins the LCR Honda CASTROL team after an impressive rookie campaign on the factory Honda, and got his first taste of this year’s version of the RC213V under the Losail International Circuit floodlights, completing a total of 48 laps with a best time of 1’55.278.

The on-track action began in the afternoon sun, before temperatures dropped significantly as evening fell. Whilst the track was in much better conditions than for a shakedown test on Friday, there was still a strong wind affecting handling around the circuit. This led to several riders being moved off the racing line and sliding out, including Márquez. Thankfully, the early crash was soon put behind the team as they got through some valuable work with new parts, and sealed the tenth fastest lap of the evening.


Alex Marquez – 10th - (1’55.278)

“In the end it was quite a good first day, after we started out not so well with a crash on the first real exit out on track. It was not the way we wanted to start, but then we began to get the feeling back and we worked in a really good way. We even tried a few new things on this first day, so, it was positive.

We have five days here, four after today, but we need to be patient and not wear ourselves out physically or mentally. We need to make only the laps that we need, test all the new things, and try to be clear with the work that we do. We need to get good information, and the team will start to work well together, so let’s see how tomorrow goes.”