After a late attack, Stefan Bradl secured a provisional second place on the opening day of the Doha GP. Pol Espargaro was looking for more on Saturday after a difficult first day with the Repsol Honda team.
It was another warm start in Qatar as the sun raged in the morning and early afternoon. The ambient temperature was a stifling 37 ° C, and the track reached 47 ° C during free practice 1. Fortunately, the temperatures fell for the crucial free practice 2 Day is expected to decide on the participants in the first and second quarter.
Friday at Losail International Circuit had a steady start for Pol Espargaro as he started his second Grand Prix with the Repsol Honda Team. Finishing the FP1 in 12th place gave Espargaro and his side of the garage a solid base to build on. As expected, free practice 2 was a hectic affair. The drivers immediately pushed for a quick lap to secure a spot in the second quarter. As always, the times were incredibly tight: The top 5 were split in less than half a second. With 1’54.205 from Espargaro, he missed the top ten by less than three tenths. Disappointed, Espargaro is determined to fight back and reach his full potential.
Stefan Bradl drove through the hot morning conditions to secure a place in the top ten in the first race. Bradl and the Repsol Honda Team were 0.6 seconds faster than the FP1 last week and continued to improve his feel on the RC213V with more bike time. Bradl found the seventh tenth of a second above FP2 last week and made his way into the top ten with one lap late in the second session. With the German’s 1’53.914 he prevailed against Oliveira and Mir and secured the last place in the top ten. Should Bradl maintain this top ten position, Bradl will step straight into the second quarter for the first time since Portimao in 2020.
Drivers will be back on track for Free Practice 3 on Saturday April 3rd – one last chance to enter the combined top ten if conditions work together. Qualifying then begins later that day at 8:00 p.m. local time, as the MotoGP field is fighting for the starting position.