MotoGP

Bagnaia fastest for Ducati during Free Practice 2 for the Portimao MotoGP round in Portugal. Due to the wet patches in FP1, all riders set their best lap times of the day in the afternoon, despite light rain just before the start of the session. Better weather is expected for Saturday and Sunday. At one stage all six manufacturers were in the top six heading into the closing minutes. Eight-time world champion Marc Marquez – sidelined for the past nine months due to complications with his broken right arm, which eventually required three operations – was soon up to speed, leading the timesheets on his way to third quickest this morning. The Repsol Honda rider then took a late sixth place (as top Honda) in the faster FP2 session and was again all smiles afterwards despite – or because of – some sideways moments. Marquez hadn’t ridden a MotoGP bike at Portimao before today, but did test an RC213V-S production bike at the track last month. Nakagami had a fast accident in the opening minutes when he appeared to lock the front wheel over the crest into Turn 1, the Japanese was clipped by the bike as he slid and walked away holding his right wrist. After checks in the medical centre, the Japanese returned for the closing ten minutes and grabbed a late tenth place! Zarco’s bike had a minor fire during his practice start. PORTIMAO MOTOGP, PORTUGAL – FREE PRACTICE (2) RESULTS POS   RIDER NAT TEAM TIME/DIFF LAP MAX 1 ^5 Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati Team (GP21) 1’39.866s 16/18 342k 2 ^5 Fabio Quartararo FRA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.340s 19/19 329k 3 ^10 Joan Mir SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.419s 15/18 330k 4 ˅2 Alex Rins SPA Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) +0.462s 18/19 336k 5 ^3 Jack Miller AUS Ducati Team (GP21) +0.470s 14/17 340k 6 ˅3 Marc Marquez SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.473s 18/18 333k 7 ˅6 Maverick Vinales SPA Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) +0.560s 19/20 329k 8 ˅3 Johann Zarco FRA Pramac Ducati (GP21) +0.624s 19/19 340k 9 ^8 Miguel Oliveira POR Red Bull KTM (RC16) +0.726s 16/18 333k 10 ^2 Takaaki Nakagami JPN LCR Honda (RC213V) +0.745s 8/8 332k 11 ˅2 Alex Marquez SPA LCR Honda (RC213V) +0.866s 18/18 336k 12 ˅8 Pol Espargaro SPA Repsol Honda (RC213V) +0.877s 15/18 335k 13 ^5 Luca Marini ITA Sky VR46 Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +0.895s 18/18 331k 14 ^7 Aleix Espargaro SPA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP) +1.041s 13/16 333k 15 ˅4 Valentino Rossi ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +1.259s 17/19 330k 16 ˅1 Lorenzo Salvadori ITA Aprilia Gresini (RS-GP)* +1.274s 16/19 339k 17 ^5 Brad Binder RSA Red Bull KTM (RC16) +1.317s 15/18 338k 18 ˅8 Danilo Petrucci ITA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +1.321s 16/19 328k 19 ˅5 Franco Morbidelli ITA Petronas Yamaha (YZR-M1) +1.350s 21/21 331k 20 = Enea Bastianini ITA Avintia Ducati (GP19)* +1.970s 13/16 335k 21 ˅2 Iker Lecuona SPA KTM Tech3 (RC16) +2.595s 16/18 330k 22 ˅6 Jorge Martin SPA Pramac Ducati (GP21)* +3.055s 18/18 339k

Friday’s FP1 in Portugal marked the first time in 265 days six-time world champion Marc Marquez started an official MotoGP session, having suffered a serious arm break in the 2020 season-opener at Jerez. Overnight rain left the Algarve circuit damp in places, which meant lap times started at around 15 seconds slower than the benchmark laps from last year. As conditions continued to improve, so did the session-best laps, with a number of riders taking turns leading the timesheets. Yamaha’s Vinales took over from reigning world champion Joan Mir with 16 minutes to go with a 1m44.777s, which he improved on his following tour to a 1m44.334s. Francesco Bagnaia moved his factory Ducati ahead of the Qatar GP race winner with a 1m44.239s moments later, before Vinales dipped under the 1m44s bracket with a 1m43.544s. The timing screen continued to light up as the opening 45-minute session of the weekend drew to a close, the returning Marquez serving a brief stint at the top of the pile with a 1m43.544s. The Honda rider remained fastest for all of 10 seconds, before Bagnaia blasted his effort away with a 1m42.934s. Amidst the flurry of laps at the end of the session, Marquez looked set to steal all the headlines when he shot back to the top of the order with a 1m42.378s on his final effort. But faster laps for both Suzuki’s Alex Rins and Vinales denied this, the Yamaha rider setting the pace at 1m42.127s to lead Rins by 0.151s. Marquez held onto third, 0.251s off Vinales’ pace ahead of Honda teammate Pol Espargaro, while championship leader Johann Zarco was fifth on his Pramac Ducati. Bagnaia was shuffled back to sixth at the end ahead of Fabio Quartararo on the sister works Yamaha and Jack Miller on second factory team Ducati – the Australian fresh from arm pump surgery last week. Alex Marquez was ninth on the LCR Honda ahead of Tech 3 KTM’s Danilo Petrucci, who revealed on Thursday he suffered a dislocated shoulder last month in Qatar. Valentino Rossi was 11th on the Petronas SRT Yamaha, while champion Mir was 13th ahead of the other SRT bike of Franco Morbidelli. Last year’s Portugal race winner Miguel Oliveira made a low-key start to his home weekend in the iffy conditions down in 17th on the factory team KTM, while teammate Brad Binder rounded out the 22-strong field. Cla # Rider Bike Time Gap 1 12 Maverick Vinales Yamaha 1’42.127   2 42 Alex Rins Suzuki 1’42.278 0.151 3 93 Marc Marquez Honda 1’42.378 0.251 4 44 Pol Espargaro Honda 1’42.382 0.255 5 5 Johann Zarco Ducati 1’42.443 0.316 6 63 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati 1’42.464 0.337 7 20 Fabio Quartararo Yamaha 1’42.528 0.401 8 43 Jack Miller Ducati 1’42.536 0.409 9 73 Alex Marquez Honda 1’42.781 0.654 10 9 Danilo Petrucci KTM 1’42.957 0.830 11 46 Valentino Rossi Yamaha 1’43.013 0.886 12 30 Takaaki Nakagami Honda 1’43.036 0.909 13 36 Joan Mir Suzuki 1’43.060 0.933 14 21 Franco Morbidelli Yamaha 1’43.243 1.116 15 32 Lorenzo Salvadori Aprilia 1’43.539 1.412 16 89 Jorge Martin Ducati 1’43.702 1.575 17 88 Miguel Oliveira KTM 1’44.000 1.873 18 10 Luca Marini Ducati 1’44.602 2.475 19 27 Iker Lecuona KTM 1’44.967 2.840 20 23 Enea Bastianini Ducati 1’45.325 3.198 21 41 Aleix Espargaro Aprilia 1’45.335 3.208 22 33 Brad Binder KTM 1’47.774 5.647

Eight-time world champion Marc Marquez has been officially confirmed to partake in this weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix. Ducatti’s Jack Miller also passed fit. Repsol Honda Team’s Marc Marquez is officially confirmed fit for this weekend’s Grande Prémio 888 de Portugal after passing Thursday’s medical exam at the Algarve International Circuit. When we see the eight-time World Champion back on board his RC213V in Free Practice 1, it will have been 256 days since we last saw Marc Marquez on a MotoGP™ bike. It’s a very welcome return to action for the famous number 93, and all eyes will be on the Spaniard when he emerges out of the Repsol Honda pit box at 09:55 local time (GMT+1) on Friday morning. Ducati Lenovo Team’s Jack Miller has also been passed fit to ride in Portimao. This was after Miller underwent an arm pump surgery just after Doha MotoGP.

Jack Miller admits he will not be at full fitness for this weekend’s Portuguese MotoGP after an operation for arm pump. The Ducati rider underwent surgery on April 6, two days after the Doha Grand Prix in which he was hindered by the issue. As Miller foreshadowed just after that procedure, he will not be in optimal physical condition at Portimao. He is, however, buoyed somewhat by his history at the circuit having finished second there in the 2020 season finale, when it first appeared on the calendar. “After the operation on the right forearm, I have started the rehabilitation immediately, and everything is going as planned,” said the Queenslander. “Portimao is a track that I really like, and I have great memories from last year’s race when I was able to finish second on the podium after a thrilling scrap with [Franco] Morbidelli. “Unfortunately, this year I won’t be 100 percent fit, but I will do my best as always to try to get the best result possible.” Miller is ninth in the championship after finishing ninth in each of the first two races of 2021, both of which were held at Qatar’s Losail International Circuit. That puts him 14 points ahead of Honda’s Marc Marquez, who makes his comeback this weekend after a long injury lay-off. Practice in Portugal starts on Friday night.

Repsol Honda will be back at full strength this weekend, as Marc Marquez makes his much anticipated return to MotoGP at the Portuguese Grand Prix. The six-time premier class world champion was cleared by doctors over the weekend before confirming his return on social media. “It’s a great feeling to be returning to MotoGP, with my team and my bike,” added Marquez. “We have been working very hard to achieve this, many hours in the gym and with my physio Carlos. “We would have liked to have been in Qatar, but finally my doctors advised me against it and I listened to them. “I have really focused on listening to the doctors and understanding my body so that I can return to MotoGP and do what I love.” Marquez has not competed at the Algarve International Circuit competitively before, but had a recent test at Portimao ahead of his return. Marquez said: “I have a little bit of experience in Portugal but the aim of this weekend is to work well. Step by step, we are coming back and this is very positive after a long period.” It will be the first race back for Marquez after nine months away since suffering a broken humerus in his right arm at Jerez in July 2020. Marquez ramped up his preparations last month with track days in Barcelona followed by the above mentioned Portimao, which were both on a RC213V-S Honda.

The Italian manufacturer is the only one of the six present on the current MotoGP grid who supplies bikes to two satellite squads on top of its factory effort. Long-time partner Pramac receives full factory support from Ducati, with both current championship leader Johann Zarco and Jorge Martin running identical machinery to works team duo Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia. Ducati also supplies two-year-old bikes to Avintia, with all Ducati riders contracted directly to the Italian manufacturer. Speaking to the language version of Motorsport.com, Paolo Ciabatti says the aim is to continue fielding six bikes in 2022. “In our case, the idea is to continue in the coming years with six bikes, i.e. with a second independent team,” Ducati’s sporting director said. “It is a system that we are very comfortable with. It is also a way of being able to keep some riders who we believe have earned the right to be in MotoGP.” Ducati’s desire to continue running six bikes beyond this season hinges on a number of factors, with the make-up of the 2022 grid still in a state of flux. Next season is the first of a new five-year contract cycle between MotoGP, the manufacturers and the independent teams. Ducati, Yamaha, KTM and Honda has confirmed its stay in MotoGP beyond 2021, while the deal between the international road race teams’ association (IRTA), which represents the satellite teams, and Dorna Sports has already been renewed. Avintia will not be on the grid after 2021, with the team confirming late last year its decision to quit MotoGP at the end of its current contract period. Those two grid slots are set to go to a Valentino Rossi entry, which backs Luca Marini’s side of the garage, with the rookie running VR46 colours on his Ducati. Gresini – which was the first satellite team to commit to MotoGP for 2022 – will no longer be Aprilia’s factory entrant next season, with the Italian team looking like the strongest contender to link up with Ducati. Ducati’s hopes to continue fielding six bikes will also depend on what Suzuki and Aprilia do in terms of its own satellite operations. Both marques currently only field two bikes, but both have expressed a desire to supply a customer outfit from 2022. The MotoGP grid is currently made up of 22 bikes, with that number capped at 24, meaning satellite operations for Aprilia and Suzuki would stop Ducati from continuing to field six bikes unless another independent team severs ties with their current manufacturer.

Andrea Dovizioso has commenced the MotoGP test which he is conducting with Aprilia over three days at Jerez. Dovizioso is currently on what he deems a sabbatical from MotoGP having failed to agree a new deal with Ducati, with the test a one-off appointment for now. The Italian rode a predominantly black RS-GP, Aprilia Racing Team Gresini’s standard livery, albeit without much of the squad’s usual sponsorship branding. While Dovizioso’s leathers featured his trademark #04, its usual place on the fairing was taken by a motif of two horses. No official lap times were recorded for the 15-time MotoGP race winner, who cut laps between MotoE sessions at what is the all-electric class’s second pre-season test. Dovizioso was joined by three contracted MotoGP test riders on-track, namely Honda’s Stefan Bradl, Yamaha’s Cal Crutchlow, and KTM’s Mika Kallio. Whether he ends up racing for Aprilia this year is doubtful, if recent comments by manager Simone Battistella are any indication. “Well, I don’t think there is a chance this season,” Battistella told MotoGP’s official website last month. “For sure he wants to do the test and he accepted the invitation of Aprilia. He was very keen to jump back on a MotoGP bike. “We’re working for 2022, though. We’re not thinking about 2021. “It’s just a test for the moment. We didn’t plan or speak about anything else. “There may be another test or more testing, but at the moment we just decided to do this one and take it from there.” Aprilia Racing Team Gresini currently fields Aleix Espargaro and rookie Lorenzo Savadori as race riders. Bradley Smith had stood in for Andrea Iannone due to the Italian’s doping ban, but reverted to test status in a late-season swap with Savadori before splitting from the manufacturer. Bradl is also back to a test-only role given Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez makes his return from injury at this weekend’s Portuguese Grand Prix.

Doctors have finally given the go ahead for eight-time world champion Marc Marquez to make a MotoGP return, for the first time since last July, following his latest medical check. A Repsol Honda statement made no mention of next weekend’s Portimao round, but on social media Marquez made clear he will be on track for round three of the season: “They have been 9 difficult months, with moments of uncertainties and ups and downs, and now, finally, I will be able to enjoy my passion again! See you next week in Portimao!!” After testing an RC213V-S production bike twice last month, Marquez was targeting a comeback at the Qatar season openers. However, doctors concluded his troublesome right-arm fracture was still not ready. But the green light has now been given and, providing he passes a MotoGP medical check on Thursday, Marquez can complete his first ever MotoGP laps at Portimao (one of the tracks he visited on the RC213V-S) in Friday practice. The Repsol Honda statement said: “In the review carried out on Marc Márquez by the Hospital Ruber Internacional medical team, four months after surgery, led by Doctors Samuel Antuña and Ignacio Roger de Oña, and made up of Doctors De Miguel, Ibarzabal and García Villanueva, for an infected pseudoarthrosis of the right humerus, a very satisfactory clinical condition was found, with evident progress in the bone consolidation process.” “In the current situation, it is considered that the patient can return to competition, assuming the reasonable risk implicit in his sporting activity.”

Ducati Lenovo team rider Jack Miller underwent surgery on his right forearm this evening to relieve ‘arm pump’ (compartment syndrome), which cause him problems during the last two Grands Prix held in Qatar. Having returned from Doha yesterday, the Australian rider went to the Dexeus University Hospital in Barcelona on Tuesday evening , where he was immediately examined by Dr Mir (Director of the Dexeus Institute’s Upper Limb Unit). After undergoing an MRI at rest and one under strain, it was decided to perform surgery immediately to restore the forearm’s vascular and nerve activity to normal. Jack spent 24 hours in the hospital, and then he will be able to begin rehabilitation with the aim to return on track already in the next round in Portimão for the Grand Prix of Portugal, scheduled from 16th-18th April. “It was a short operation, and it went very well. I can’t wait to start the rehabilitation.” Jack Miller said in an interview. “There are still ten days left before the next Grand Prix at Portimão. If my recovery proceeds normally, I’ll be able to be back on track in Portugal, even if not completely at my 100% fitness. I want to thank Dr Mir and all his team of the Dexeus Hospital for their availability and all the care they have given me.”

Avintia rookie Enea Bastianini admits he was unable to advance on 11th in the final laps of the MotoGP Doha Grand Prix as “my hair got in my eyes”. Bastianini emerged from the Qatar GP as top rookie in 10th on his two-year-old Ducati and put in another impressive display in last Sunday’s Doha race. The Avintia rider came from 19th on the grid to finish 11th, and was in the group fighting for seventh headed by Suzuki’s Joan Mir covered by 0.662 seconds. However, he revealed he “couldn’t see anything anymore” in the closing stages when his vision became obscured by his own hair. “I’m very satisfied, because especially after a few laps I was able to come up, I found myself 1.5 seconds behind the one in front, and I started to lap quite strongly,” the reigning Moto2 world champion said. “For a moment I even lapped faster than the leading group, so I’m definitely satisfied. “Then unfortunately in the last laps the hair got in my eyes and with the sweat I couldn’t see anything anymore. “I got distracted and I couldn’t overtake those three or four riders in front of me. Damn, I didn’t need that.” Bastianini was comfortably clear of his Avintia teammate Luca Marini in the Doha GP, with the VR46-backed rider left in 18th after his front tyre “collapsed” in the closing stages. “I learned a lot, the feeling with the bike has improved,” Marini said. “I also understood in which areas I have to work harder in the gym to have a little more strength, especially the upper body and arms for changing direction. “As for the race, I learned a lot about tyre management. “I had a problem with the front tyre, after ten laps it started to drop on the right side and I tried to manage to be able to save the ride and have a better position at the end. “But in the last six laps it collapsed, and it was very difficult to ride. “I am a little angry about this result because I felt very comfortable all weekend, I was much more competitive than last weekend.”

Suzuki’s Joan Mir says Jack Miller ‘intentionally’ hit him on the pit straight at close to 200km/h in the MotoGP Doha Grand Prix, saying the Ducati rider showed “no respect”. Mir put an aggressive overtake on Miller at Turn 10 on lap 13 of Sunday’s MotoGP race, which resulted in the pair touching as they fought for the fifth spot. The two riders made contact again on the main straight moments later, which was investigated by Race Direction but deemed a racing incident. Mir feels Miller intentionally clattered into him as he was well aware of where the Suzuki rider was and questions the decision by Stewards not to penalise him. “What happened with Jack is that in Turn 10, it’s the only place I could overtake and I took the right position,” he said. “And then he decided to stay on the outside, to maintain the line on the outside. “We both touched a bit, then I picked up the bike… it was a manoeuvre that I understand was risky, but was not over the limit, was ok. Then I moved my leg to apologise because I couldn’t avoid it. “And then in the same lap I was wide in last corner, and when I came back I saw Jack and he was moving the head like he saw me. I just went to the kerb and he just came over me and we both touched. “We almost crashed on the straight, so I think it was super risky, it was a super dangerous manoeuvre. I think that was intentional. “If you have time, compare the images of Aleix Espargaro and myself and Miller and myself. He ran wide at the last corner and he saw me and he stayed on the outside of the track and I didn’t hit him, I just respect the rivals. “And I think that Jack didn’t show respect in this case. It was the same thing but different riders, so you can judge.” When asked by Motorsport.com if he thinks Miller deserves a penalty, he added: “Well, I think that the team will judge if they have to appeal or something. For sure it have to be investigated because these moves in MotoGP are over the limit. “So, if it was intentional like I say, if he did it on purpose, he deserves a penalty. If not, no, but I think that he moved the head [and saw] perfectly.” Miller wouldn’t be drawn into making too many comments about the incident, but feels the collisions he was involved in were just a nature of the Doha GP and feels a penalty would have been “wrong”. “I mean there was few contacts but you know, it was the way that the race was going, seemed to be a bit of contact here and there,” he said. “It was just one of those things, I think. “We’ve both seen what happened, well, everyone saw what happened and we continued to race after that so not much really on that side of things. I got hit, I think three times already before. “So, it seemed to be that was the way the race was going. That’s all and I mean, if I was getting black flagged then something was happening wrong, I feel.”

Jorge Martin has dedicated his maiden MotoGP podium in the Doha Grand Prix to the late Fausto Gresini, having raced for the Italian in Moto3. Two-time 125cc world champion and veteran team boss Gresini tragically died after losing his battle with COVID-19 in February. Martin raced for Gresini’s Moto3 squad from 2017-2018, the Spaniard winning eight grands prix in that time and securing the world title in 2018. Stepping up to Pramac Ducati in 2021 in MotoGP, Martin stunned with his maiden pole last Saturday and led for the first 17 laps of the Doha GP, before taking the chequered flag in third. “I want to dedicate this podium to Fausto because my first podium in MotoGP… he was really important in my career because when he gave me the opportunity to go with Honda [in Moto3],” Martin said. “I was in a really low moment because I was with a bad bike and I wasn’t making good results. “And he said ‘OK, come here [to Gresini], I know you have the talent and we can win this championship’. “And we did it together, so I really miss him because for me he was a really close friend. “He was like family to me. I stopped today with the Gresini team to give a big hug and for sure he was watching up there.” Martin admits he was “a bit nervous” starting from pole, but was able to consistently manage his race for those first 17 laps. However, he concedes he was “a bit on the limit” when Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo made his decisive move for victory on lap 19 – and also notes he was wary about battling Pramac teammate Johann Zarco on the last lap over second for fear of causing “a disaster”. “I’m still missing a bit of speed for sure, because when Fabio overtook me I was a bit on the limit to follow him,” he added. “But then I thought ‘OK, maybe now it’s time to push and follow him so I can keep this podium’. “At the end it was a shame to lose second position. “I’m happy 100%, because when I saw Johann I say ‘I cannot try it, because if I try and we crash it’s a disaster’. “He’s in a different role in the team, he needs to be up there trying to win this championship. “But I tried to go inside to try to keep the podium and third position is amazing. “After a short pre-season in MotoGP, I took the opportunity to be here. So, I’m really happy. “Actually I was a bit nervous, I think even more than last week because being up there in pole position is not easy. “I think even if I make another pole position in the future it will be the same nerves, hopefully. “I thought I didn’t have the pace enough to stay with the front guys, but every lap was a bit closer [to the finish]. “I was not pushing a lot, but I was managing really well and even then, I was making 1m55.2s, 1m55.1s, 1m55.4s. “So, the pace was great and that’s why I was in front. And even if I was nervous, I could control it well.”

Valentino Rossi struggled on day-one of the second MotoGP Grand Prix at the Losail International Circuit, as the nine-time world champion was only 14th. It means the Italian will in all likelihood be looking at a Q1 appearance which was not the case last weekend as he went directly into Q2. Rossi alluded to struggling with rear grip and not having the same feeling on the longer run at the beginning of FP2 as he did a week ago. Rossi said: “Last week was better because I was faster, especially in FP2 when I was able to stay in P9 with a better lap time. “Today I suffered a lot with the rear grip and, in the longer run at the beginning of the session, I felt a lot slower. “We have improved the life of the tyre a little bit and this is very important for us. I improved the time attack in the final minutes and I feel like I rode quite well, but it was not enough for the top-ten. “Tomorrow we need to try to improve the rear grip, but in FP3 it will be very difficult to improve the lap times so we need to concentrate on the pace and try to stay within the top-two in Q1. “Today my pace is more constant. But not fast enough. Need to understand the pace of other guys. I think it will be difficult to do that.” Until today there had been no sign of engine issues as was the case for Yamaha last season when they had to drastically prolong the same engines for a lot longer than would be expected or wished. But today, team-mate Franco Morbidelli suffered two separate, but identical looking mechanical issues in FP1, however, Rossi was quick to dismiss any worry that it is an issue like in 2020. “I see that Franco has some problems in FP1 and had some smoke from the engine. “I don’t know exactly what’s happened, but I think it’s not a big problem for the engine. But I didn’t speak with Franco.”

FP2 ahead of the Doha MotoGP Grand Prix was dominated by Ducati, as Jack Miller concluded the session fastest from team-mate Francesco Bagnaia and Johann Zarco. Just like last week, free practice two was as vital a session as there is before qualifying, with automatic progression to Q2 extremely likely. Ducati as a whole had a quiet morning session in Qatar with only Jorge Martin inside the top ten. But as the hot and humid sun was replaced by the night’s bright lights, Ducati impressed once again to finish with four of the five fastest times. It was a slow burner for the most part with Bagnaia fastest after the initial race runs. The Italian remained there until the action started to ramp up with 15 minutes left. Bagnaia was first replaced at the top of the leaderboard by the man who replaced him at Pramac Ducati Martin, before a flurry of changes took place. Alex Rins went quicker moments later, before Fabio Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro exchanged fastest times. But after a near highside on his penultimate run, Miller regrouped to take top spot by +0.313s in the final five minutes. Behind the Ducati trio was Quartararo, with Martin in fifth. Sixth was Aprilia’s Espargaro who had topped the earlier FP1 session. Seventh was Franco Morbidelli who managed to recover from his mechanical issues during free practice one, while Rins was eighth. Closing out the top ten were Qatar race one winner Maverick Vinales in ninth and top Honda rider Stefan Bradl in tenth. Morbidelli has bagged himself a provisional Q2 place in seventh ahead of Suzuki’s Rins, Vinales and Stefan Bradl – currently the only Honda rider in Q2. His LCR counterparts Takaaki Nakagami and Alex Marquez both suffered late crashes and were left out of Q2 in 15th and 16th behind SRT’s Valentino Rossi and Mir on the Suzuki. Mir failed to make it directly into Q2 last weekend and is once again set to face the first part of qualifying with lap time improvements unlikely in the hotter conditions of FP3 on Saturday afternoon. Pol Espargaro was only 17th on his factory Honda ahead of KTM’s Brad Binder, the South African just under three tenths off team-mate Miguel Oliveira in 11th as the highest ranked KTM rider on Friday.

Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro narrowly edged out Alex Rins and Qatar race one winner Maverick Vinales to take top spot in FP1 at the Losail International Circuit. Espargaro started the session as he ended it by going fastest, as he looks to build on Aprilia’s best performance in the MotoGP era from last weekend. It was a tough start to proceedings for all the riders, as conditions were considerably hotter and more humid than at any point a week ago. However, that wasn’t enough to stop lap times from being even quicker, with Espargaro going two tenths faster than the lap set by Franco Morbidelli this time last Friday. Espargaro was replaced at the top of the leaderboard on a few occasions by Morbidelli, Danilo Petrucci and Vinales, but put in a 1’54.779s on his final lap in order to regain first place. Behind Rins and Vinales, was the impressive rookie and top Ducati rider Jorge Martin. Fifth was Franco Morbidelli who endured a difficult session with two separate, but very similar looking mechanical problems as smoke was coming from the rear of the M1 Yamaha. The Italian was left frustrated in the pit box after cutting two stints short. This comes after more issues during last weekend’s race for the 2020 title runner-up. Danilo Petrucci had a much better time on day one of the Doha Grand Prix than he did last weekend, as he finished a session in the top ten for the first time in 2021. Fabio Quartararo was seventh fastest for the Factory Yamaha team ahead of World Champion Joan Mir. Rounding out the top ten were the Hondas of Stefan Bradl and LCR rider Takaaki Nakagami. As was the case last weekend, Johann Zarco was the first rider to suffer a crash, but was unhurt from the incident and finished in last place.

Brad Binder feels KTM has “taken a hard blow” by Michelin’s front tyre allocation for the opening two Qatar MotoGP races, ahead of this weekend’s Doha Grand Prix. The entire MotoGP field were forced into running the soft front tyre during last weekend’s season-opener at Losail due to the dropping temperatures of the evening race. This is a compound KTM has typically struggled on in the past, with its preferred hard option not viable for the conditions. Binder’s team-mate Miguel Oliveira took a swipe at Michelin after ending last week’s Qatar race 13th, one place ahead of the South African. When asked on Thursday ahead of the Doha GP if he shared Oliveira’s frustrations, Binder said: “It’s not good for us at the moment, but for sure there are many people who aren’t feeling 100% happy with the way things are. “But I honestly don’t know anything of what’s going to happen during the season [with tyre allocation]. “All we can do is really take things day by day and see. “At the end of the day the tyre we’re brought are what you get and you can’t really change that. “So, we have to do our best with what we have. “But for sure I feel like we’ve taken a hard blow here in Qatar, because if we can’t finish a race distance on the soft and the medium option doesn’t work and the hard option, there’s not enough temperature. “So, what do you do?” Binder added: “It is frustrating for sure, because unfortunately the soft front tyre for us, I had it, it was destroyed with nine laps to go. “With nine laps to go I was thinking ‘how am I going to finish the race?’, which is difficult. “But the problem is, I fell off four times in the test and every time I fell off – except for the first time – was on the medium front tyre, which just isn’t working. “The strange thing is the hard front tyre seems to be working much better for everybody than the medium. “But the hard is obviously not an option when there’s no track temperature at night, so we’re forced to use the soft front tyre which obviously isn’t ideal for us at all. “I didn’t realise how much trouble we were in with the front tyre until halfway through the race.”