2024 Qatar MotoGP, Lusail - Friday Practice Results

8 Mar 2024

crash.net

2024 Qatar MotoGP, Lusail - Practice (1) ResultsPosRiderNatTeamTime/DiffLapMax1Jorge MartinSPAPramac Ducati (GP24)1'52.624s15/17345k2Aleix EspargaroSPAAprilia Racing (RS-GP24)+0.047s14/15341k3Pedro AcostaSPARed Bull GASGAS Tech3 (RC16)*+0.071s13/16346k4Marc MarquezSPAGresini Ducati (GP23)+0.177s14/17348k5Brad BinderRSARed Bull KTM (RC16)+0.265s13/19351k6Johann ZarcoFRALCR Honda (RC213V)+0.303s14/16343k7Enea BastianiniITADucati Lenovo (GP24)+0.326s16/17347k8Fabio Di GiannantonioITAVR46 Ducati (GP23)+0.363s15/16347k9Jack MillerAUSRed Bull KTM (RC16)+0.407s15/17350k10Francesco BagnaiaITADucati Lenovo (GP24)+0.597s15/15345k11Alex MarquezSPAGresini Ducati (GP23)+0.626s11/17340k12Miguel OliveiraPORTrackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP24)+0.714s15/16346k13Maverick ViñalesSPAAprilia Racing (RS-GP24)+0.727s10/16343k14Raul FernandezSPATrackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP23)+0.756s14/14344k15Alex RinsSPAMonster Yamaha (YZR-M1)+0.783s14/17350k16Joan MirSPARepsol Honda (RC213V)+0.811s14/16343k17Luca MariniITARepsol Honda (RC213V)+0.984s10/16346k18Marco BezzecchiITAVR46 Ducati (GP23)+1.002s17/18344k19Fabio QuartararoFRAMonster Yamaha (YZR-M1)+1.213s13/16346k20Augusto FernandezSPARed Bull GASGAS Tech3 (RC16)+1.223s17/17345k21Takaaki NakagamiJPNLCR Honda (RC213V)+1.239s15/17342k22Franco MorbidelliITAPramac Ducati (GP24)+2.125s17/18339k

*Rookie.

Fastest 2024 Qatar Test lap
Feb 20th: Francesco Bagnaia 1m 50.952s (Day 2/2)

Official Lusail MotoGP records
Best lap: Luca Marini 1m 51.762s (2023)
Fastest race lap: Enea Bastianini 1m 52.978s (2023)

Qatar Moto2: Latest ResultsQatar Moto3: Latest Results

Pramac Ducati's reigning title runner-up Jorge Martin leads opening practice for the 2024 Qatar MotoGP season opener by 0.047s from Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro at Lusail.

But before Martin and Espargaro's late push, Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta, who have spent the winter playing down expectations, stole much of the limelight.

Quick from the opening laps, star rookie Acosta was fastest as the closing ten minutes began. The exciting Spanish teenager also made a Marquez-style save on his way to third (+0.071s) for GASGAS Tech3.

Marquez likewise featured on top of the timesheets several times during his first official grand prix session as a Gresini Ducati rider, finishing in a close fourth (0.177s).

In a repeat of his end-of-2023 performances, Ducati's reigning double champion Francesco Bagnaia made a slow start to the weekend before climbing up the order.

While pace in the daylight practice sessions may not be relevant for the night time race conditions - Martin's 1m 52.624s best is over 1.5s from the best testing lap last month - the ability to set a flying lap in the afternoon heat will be vital for Saturday's qualifying.

This evening's second MotoGP session, held in darkness, will decide the top ten riders with direct access to Saturday's Qualifying 2.

Franco Morbidelli was riding for the first time since Valencia last November. The new Pramac Ducati rider missed both pre-season tests as a precaution after being knocked unconscious in a January training accident.

Miguel Oliveira will have a long lap penalty to serve on Sunday, carried over from last November’s Qatar event, the Portuguese having missed the 2023 Valencia finale due to injury.

Revised tyre pressure rules for 2024 mean riders must now stay above a lower front minimum of 1.8 bar (instead of 1.88) for 60% (instead of 50%) of a Grand Prix distance, or 30% of a Sprint.

The penalty for failing to meet this minimum in a Grand Prix will be a 16-second post-race time penalty, or an 8-second penalty for a Sprint/short race.