Fabio Di Giannantonio dominated MotoGP practice on Friday (the 6th) at the Lusail Circuit in Qatar, setting a new track record with a 1:50.406. The VR46 rider edged Marc Márquez by 0.142s and claimed the top spot in the session that determined the ten riders who would go directly to Q2, while Pedro Acosta finished only 14th and will have to compete in Q1.
The result positions Di Giannantonio as the main speed reference for Saturday’s qualifying, but the battle ahead promises to be tight. Márquez finished second despite dealing with a mechanical issue on his Ducati, while Marco Bezzecchi put Aprilia in third. Jorge Martín also advanced directly to Q2 on his return to the front ranks.
A sessão teve um contratempo importante para Márquez. Com pouco menos de 30 minutos restantes, a corrente de sua Ducati GP26 se soltou, obrigando o espanhol a retornar lentamente aos boxes e interromper sua segunda sequência de voltas.
O problema, entretanto, não comprometeu sua classificação. Márquez voltou à pista quando faltavam 18 minutos e, pouco depois, assumiu a liderança com 1min50s925, tornando-se o primeiro piloto a completar uma volta abaixo de 1min51s durante o fim de semana.
A resposta de Di Giannantonio veio nos minutos finais. O italiano encontrou uma melhora significativa e estabeleceu o novo recorde de Lusail, resistindo à última tentativa de Márquez, que não conseguiu recuperar a liderança.
Bezzecchi confirmed Aprilia’s solid form with third place, followed by Francesco Bagnaia in fourth on a Ducati. Raúl Fernández completed the top five, underscoring the competitiveness of Noale’s bikes.
Another highlight was Jorge Martín. After losing a significant portion of the Malaysia Grand Prix and facing difficulties in Sepang, the 2024 world champion managed to rebound in Qatar. The Spaniard even climbed to 16th place during the session, but improved his time and finished seventh, securing direct qualification to Q2.
Enea Bastianini finished sixth, followed by Martín, Johann Zarco, Ai Ogura and Brad Binder, who completed the top ten. Binder secured the last direct slot in the decisive phase of qualifying, finishing a little over a second behind Di Giannantonio.
The situation was more challenging for Pedro Acosta. The KTM rider ended Friday in 14th, outside the group of the ten fastest, and will need to go through Q1 to try to contend for front-row grid positions.
Fermín Aldeguer also missed Q2, despite finishing 11th on his return to the track. Franco Morbidelli and Luca Marini occupied the following positions, while Maverick Viñales faced a technical problem and ended up 15th.
Iker Lecuona, the Brazilian Diogo Moreira and Jake Dixon also failed to secure direct qualification. Despite the differences in the standings, the entire grid finished the session within less than two seconds of each other.
The MotoGP schedule continues on Saturday, with qualifying and the Lusail Sprint. The day’s first activity is planned for 12:30 local time in Qatar, equivalent to 6:30 a.m. Brasilia time.
