New factory Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci could barely conceal his satisfaction after another strong showing on the opening night of the Qatar test.
The Italian led the timesheets on several occasions on his way to the fourth fastest time, behind only team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, Suzuki's Alex Rins and fastest man Maverick Vinales (Yamaha).
"We can have the race tomorrow! No, jokes apart I am satisfied about today. I have constantly been in the top positions at all the tests since Valencia," Petrucci said. "I’m happy because the feeling with the bike is OK.
"We don’t have to move a lot, the bike. Here we have to work on the set-up. We already have a good pace. At the end it’s not a joke, but we are quite ready."
However, Petrucci - aiming to claim a first MotoGP victory in 2019 - warned: "The problem is tomorrow and Monday all of our challengers will become very, very fast because the track is getting faster. They will find something.
"We have to continue like this, working. But for sure we have a very good pace. It’s a very, very good feeling for me to always stay near the top. I think I found a very good feeling with the bike.
"In the end we only used one tyre. The difference between the new and old tyre is not so much. At the end I rode with the same lap time.
"I’m quite happy about my pace. For sure we have to improve like always.
"For sure we can fight for the victory, for the podium, but we have to see the race because I think our competitors are stronger. Some of them are working more for the race, not for the classification.
"In two weeks we will know everything. For sure we start from a good place."
Testing continues on Sunday and Monday.
