Antonelli beats Loi to end Moto3 testing on top
Niccolo Antonelli ended Moto3 pre-season testing in Qatar on top, beating nearest rival Livio Loi by two tenths of a second in Sunday's final session.
Loi had topped the timesheets on the second day of the three-day Losail test with a 2m05.824s, which stood until the ninth and final session of the test, when Ongetta Honda rider Antonelli took control.
The Italian left it late to set the benchmark time of 2m05.444s, 1.2s faster than he had managed on Saturday, demoting Loi (RW Honda) to second.
Leopard KTM rider Fabio Quartararo also enjoyed a spell at the top of the times on Sunday before slumping to third in the closing stages, narrowly edging Jorge Navarro's Estrella Galicia Honda, which set the pace on the opening day.
Brad Binder (Ajo KTM) had topped the penultimate session on Sunday, but could no better than fifth in the end, just 0.011s up on leading rookie Niccolo Bulega (Sky KTM), the only other man in the 2m05s.
Fellow newcomer Aron Canet (Estrella Galicia Honda) was seventh, with Romano Fenati (Sky KTM) and Joan Mir (Leopard KTM) setting identical times on Saturday to clinch eighth and ninth.
Phillip Oettl's Schedl KTM completed a Top 10 separated by eight tenths of a second.
Gresini Honda rider Enea Bastianini ended up a lowly 13th after a subdued final session, one place clear of Red Bull Rookies champion Bo Bendsneyder (Ajo KTM), the last rider within a second of Antonelli.
Aspar's Jorge Martin was best of the Mahindra contingent in 17th place, 1.2s seconds off the pace, ahead of Maria Herrera (Laglisse KTM) in 18th.
Combined testing times (Top 10):
| Pos. | Rider | Bike | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Niccolo Antonelli |
Honda | 2m06.689s | 2m06.675s | 2m05.444s |
| 2 |  Livio Loi |
Honda | 2m06.462s | 2m05.824s | 2m05.661s |
| 3 |  Fabio Quartararo |
KTM | 2m06.622s | 2m06.193s | 2m05.717s |
| 4 |  Jorge Navarro |
Honda | 2m06.176s | 2m06.591s | 2m05.784s |
| 5 |  Brad Binder |
KTM | 2m07.048s | 2m06.739s | 2m05.805s |
| 6 | Niccolo Bulega |
KTM | 2m07.605s | 2m06.254s | 2m05.816s |
| 7 | Aron Canet |
Honda | 2m07.533s | 2m06.683s | 2m06.252s |
| 8 | Romano Fenati |
KTM | 2m06.896s | 2m06.256s | 2m06.489s |
| 9 | Joan Mir |
KTM | 2m07.529s | 2m06.256s | 2m06.292s |
| 10 |  Phillip Oettl |
KTM | 2m07.460s | 2m06.690s | 2m06.258s |
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