The new asphalt laid on the Lusail International Circuit is getting noticed, because the MotoGP riders had to deal with a particularly slow and dirty track in the first free practice session of the Qatar Grand Prix, with conditions that tend to also generate a annoying graining on the right side of the tires.
Despite everything, if you look at the standings at the end of the 45 minutes available, you can’t help but notice that the big protagonists were the two contenders for the title. The fastest, in fact, was Jorge Martin, even if the 1’56″393 achieved by the Prima Pramac Racing rider is more than three seconds away from the previous record of the Qatari track.
The world championship leader Pecco Bagnaia, on the other hand, is in third position, 229 thousandths behind, but there is an important difference that must be underlined between the two. While the reigning world champion completed all his 17 laps on the same pair of hard tyres, “Martinator” began the session by also trying the soft on the front and then changed tires to move to the top of the group.
Separating the duelists’ two Desmosedici GPs is that of Martin’s teammate, Johann Zarco. Historically, the Frenchman is very fast on this track and could be a good ally for the Spaniard. Which for the moment, however, does not seem capable of being the winner of last Sunday’s Malaysian Grand Prix Enea Bastianini, who finished 17th with his Factory Team Ducati, 1.5 seconds behind.
The hegemony of the Ducatis at the top was interrupted by the Aprilia with the colors of RNF Racing entrusted to Raul Fernandez, who did a great job in setting the fourth fastest time less than two tenths from the top. Just as Franco Morbidelli’s first impact was very good, fifth on a track which, with its long straight, would not seem too friendly to Yamaha. In terms of time, however, he is not too far behind even Fabio Quartararo’s twin M1, a tenth and a half slower than his teammate, but 11th.
That the Ducatis are particularly at ease is also confirmed by the sixth time of market man Luca Marini for the Mooney VR46 and the eighth of Fabio Di Giannantonio for Gresini Racing. Among them, despite a crash at turn 14 in the early stages of the session, Aleix Espargaro slipped in with the Aprilia.
To find the first of the KTMs you have to go down to ninth position with the GasGas Tech3 branded one entrusted to Pol Espargaro, which is followed closely by Brad Binder’s official RC16. What caught the attention, however, was that of Jack Miller, 13th, on which a completely new triplane rear wing appeared for the first time. Behind the Australian we must then note the final fall of Augusto Fernandez, again at turn 14.
Among the delayed Ducatis, Bastianini is in good company, because right in front of him is Alex Marquez, who slipped at turn 4, going just off the line and finding the sand, and immediately behind him is Marco Bezzecchi who went long in the gravel of the street of escape. Among other things, in the finale the Mooney VR46 rider also had some particularly tense stories with Pol Espargaro.
It is still late at night however for the Hondas, who occupy the last four positions in the standings, with the best, that of Joan Mir, who saw herself trimmed just under 1″8. Just 16 thousandths further back then there is a Marc Marquez who seems increasingly destined for a quiet leave from the Japanese brand.
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