This afternoon, Jorge Martín led the first free practice session of the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix. Unsurprisingly, Ducati demonstrated its strength at Losail, in a preparation session where lap times weren’t the primary focus.
Aprilia had a good start, with three bikes among the top three in the initial laps. Raúl Fernández (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team) led, followed by Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) and his teammate Miguel Oliveira.
However, Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) soon overtook Fernández with his second fast lap, taking the lead. Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha) moved up to third. Aleix Espargaró suffered a minor fall, while his teammate Maverick Viñales later secured third place.
In the first quarter of the session, Martín was overtaken by Enea Bastianini (Ducati) and Fabio di Giannantonio (Gresini/Ducati), who briefly held the top two positions. They were soon surpassed by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), who took the lead after 15 minutes.
The leaderboard remained relatively stable until the last 15 minutes when di Giannantonio was faster than the factory Ducatis to claim first place. In the final ten minutes, Martín moved to second. Several riders were improving, causing changes in the top positions.
With five minutes left, Martín regained the lead, followed by Morbidelli, di Giannantonio, and Viñales. Augusto Fernández (GasGas Tech3/KTM) crashed, ending his session prematurely.
Martín kept his lead until the end of the practice session. His teammate, Johann Zarco, climbed to second place, trailing by 0.172s. Bagnaia followed in third, with Raúl Fernández and Morbidelli completing the top five.
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