Another fascinating MotoGP qualifying took place at the Losail International Circuit. In his second qualification in the premier class, rookie sensation Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) prevailed.
The Spaniard set a 1: 53.106 to beat his team-mate Johann Zarco by 0.157 seconds, who in turn ousted third-placed Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) by 0.004 seconds.
An exciting first session started before the second quarter in Doha, and for the second time in two weeks reigning world champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) was involved. After the first few runs, Mir was three tenths ahead of Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), but the second set of flying laps brought some real changes. Luca Marini (SKY VR46 Esponsorama) was in second place when red dots flashed all over the place, but the Italian would lose just 0.008 seconds to Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) as Mir improved his time to be safe through the second quarter get through a few tenths.
The track then fell silent for a handful of minutes before the 12 fastest drivers in the Premier Class rumbled out of the pit lane that weekend for the much anticipated shootout in pole position. A confident Martin was the fastest driver from the start and set a 1: 53.892 straight out of the trap. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) jumped to first place, but again Martin, who was shadowing me, was back on top of the pile. Now his time was 1: 53.597 when Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha’s MotoGP) pushed himself into second place, just 0.017 seconds behind Martin’s early benchmark.
After the first flight laps, Martin, Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) were provisionally in the front row. Morbidelli and the Ducati Lenovo team duo of Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller stood in the second row with a margin of just over five minutes. World champion Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was nine tenths behind him on P9 – just behind Mir on P8.
Vinales pushed back and came out with the grain between his teeth for his second run. A few moments did not hinder the number 12’s lap time and Vinales drove from P9 to P1 in less than two minutes. And then Vinales was over a quarter of a second higher on his next flight lap. Vinales nailed Sector 2, then nailed Sector 3 and took the checkered flag, Vinales extended its advantage to 0.330s.
Now attention turned to a burning newbie. Martin had ascended 0.015 seconds in Sector 2 on his final lap of flight, and every other driver was placing orange sectors. What came next was absolutely sensational. Out of nowhere, Zarco won over two tenths in the last split to grab the provisional pole with an absolute whisker – 0.004 seconds. Martin, who did everything on his own with no tow, stormed across the line and went to first place by one and a half tenths, however, as Miller and Quartararo had clocked red sectors. Both fired their way to the checkered flag and failed to break into the front row, but both improved their times to take P4 and P5 respectively.
Vinales is again P3 at Losail, he will pray the Ducatis get off to a rare bad start, but after last Sunday’s scenes, losing a few positions isn’t the end of the world for Vinales.
At the head of the second row is Miller, who didn’t look particularly happy in the pits at the end of the session. The Australian will have aimed at least for the front row, of course, but to see two Ducati rivals on the grid ahead of him will hurt. Still, it’s better than last week and Miller has every chance of stealing the holeshot from P4. Quartararo’s fifth place was less than the French would have expected, but it’s far from a disaster. Like Vinales, however, he will be concerned about the Ducatis.
One of them will be pole sitter Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) from last week. P6 is the best the Italian managed to do at Losail this time around, but this front holeshot device could do wonders again and see him sailing forward from the off. An interesting start awaits the top six riders, it’s a Ducati versus Yamaha affair from the first two rows.
At the top of the third row is Aleix Espargaro after another fantastic performance. With the Yamahas and Ducatis looking strong in Qatar, the start of P7 – one place higher than last week – is another good job for the Noale factory. The Aprilia stars in row 3 include a couple of Suzukis. Alex Rins is 0.040 seconds ahead of Team Suzuki Ecstar team-mate Mir when the GSX-RR duo lands 0.6 seconds from pole position.
The top 10 was rounded off by Morbidelli, the Italian was only 0.009 seconds away from the third row in a quiet session when the leading Honda driver Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) and the fastest KTM Oliveira achieved the Q2 results in P11 and P11 respectively. Complete P12. (MotoGP)
MotoGP Q2 Results (Top 10)
1. Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) 1: 53.106
2. Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing) +0.157
3. Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.161
4. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) +0.197
5. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) +0.363
6. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) +0.548
7. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) +0.599
8. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) +0.639
9. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) +0.679
10. Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) +0.688
11. Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) +1,118
12. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM factory race) +1,990