The final pre-season test takes place this weekend at the Losail International Circuit in Qatar, ahead of the first race of the 2019 MotoGP World Championship at the same venue in two weeks’ time. Cal Crutchlow and his LCR Honda CASTROL team were met with difficult track conditions on the first day of three underneath the desert floodlights. The surface was dusty and grip levels were low, which didn’t help the Briton’s feeling with the 2019 Honda RC213V factory machine. Having worked through the schedule requested by HRC, the team will continue to spend the next two days refining the set-up of the bike before the season proper begins.
#35 Cal Crutchlow – 18th (1’56.921, lap 23 of 43)
“The first day here in Qatar has been a difficult day testing for us. We didn’t have a fantastic feeling with the new 2019 Honda on this circuit, but we are here for two more days testing and hope to improve the setting over that time. Hopefully then we can look forward to the race weekend in two weeks’ time. In terms of our work plan, we are going through the general HRC programme as well as making our own adjustments to the bike and the set-up. We just have to wait and see what tomorrow brings.”
Results Day 1:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Fastest lap |
| 1 | VIÑALES, Maverick | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | 1:55.051 |
| 2 | RINS, Alex | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | 1:55.159 |
| 3 | DOVIZIOSO, Andrea | Mission Winnow Ducati | 1:55.550 |
| 4 | PETRUCCI, Danilo | Mission Winnow Ducati | 1:55.594 |
| 5 | ROSSI, Valentino | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | 1:55.604 |
| 6 | RABAT, Tito | Reale Avintia Racing | 1:55.694 |
| 7 | QUARTARARO, Fabio | Petronas Yamaha SRT | 1:55.772 |
| 8 | NAKAGAMI, Takaaki | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | 1:55.943 |
| 9 | ESPARGARO, Pol | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1:56.040 |
| 10 | MARQUEZ, Marc | Repsol Honda Team | 1:56.167 |
| 11 | MIR, Joan | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | 1:56.264 |
| 12 | ESPARGARO, Aleix | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1:56.358 |
| 13 | IANNONE, Andrea | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1:56.447 |
| 14 | MORBIDELLI, Franco | Petronas Yamaha SRT | 1:56.511 |
| 15 | BAGNAIA, Francesco | Alma Pramac Racing | 1:56.738 |
| 16 | ZARCO, Johann | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1:56.770 |
| 17 | OLIVEIRA, Miguel | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 1:56.891 |
| 18 | CRUTCHLOW, Cal | LCR Honda CASTROL | 1:56.921 |
| 19 | MILLER, Jack | Alma Pramac Racing | 1:56.932 |
| 20 | ABRAHAM, Karel | Reale Avintia Racing | 1:57.053 |
| 21 | LORENZO, Jorge | Repsol Honda Team | 1:57.090 |
| 22 | SMITH, Bradley | Aprilia Factory Racing | 1:57.137 |
| 23 | SYAHRIN, Hafizh | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 1:57.459 |
Source: motogp.com, lcr.mc