Doha: Day 1 of MotoGP action in 2021 is in the history books and leading the way yesterday at the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar was Ducati Lenovo Team’s Jack Miller.
The Australian’s 1:53.387 was just 0.007s away from the alltime lap record as teammate Francesco Bagnaia made it a factory Bologna 1-2 with 0.035s splitting the red machines. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was third quickest as MotoGP action returned in scintillating fashion at the Losail International Circuit, with half a second covering the top 10.
After a scorching FP1 was completed earlier in the day, the Losail floodlights were switched on for FP2 and Miller, Bagnaia, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) all immediately set lap times quicker than Franco Morbidelli’s (Petronas Yamaha SRT) FP1 pace in the opening handful of minutes.
This occurred before the red flags were then waved due to track conditions. However, after a quick clean up operation, the MotoGP riders were back out with one thing on their mind: securing a top 10 place. Aleix Espargaro was the first rider to venture into the 1:53s under the evening lights and briefly went seven tenths clear.
Outstanding from the Spaniard and Noale factory early in 2021, as Rins then cut the deficit to just under half a second. In the end, Ducati and Miller took first blood in 2021. Bagnaia made sure it’s a Bologna 1-2 at the top with Yamaha looking good, Quartararo was the quickest YZR-M1 rider.
Zarco was looking like a serious contender on the GP21 and finished P4, with Rins was going well on the soft tyres to claim P5. Viñales and Morbidelli finished within three tenths of Miller as Aleix Espargaro slipped to P8 at the end of play after leading in the opening exchanges.
Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) finished inside the top 10 for the second session in a row, as Pol Espargaro grabbed a vital P10 despite his late tumble. Earlier, in Moto2 free practice, two familiar names ended the opening day at the top of the timesheets.
Thanks to a 1:58.959, Sam Lowes (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) took charge of proceedings at the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar and his FP2 best was enough to beat 2020 title rival Marco Bezzecchi (SKY Racing Team VR46) by 0.104s. Meanwhile, in Moto3, it was Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) who headed the timesheets after an impressive day’s work from the 2019 Qatar GP winner.
MOTOGP FP2
1 Jack Miller 1'53.387 2 Francesco Bagnaia +0.035 3 Fabio Quartararo +0.188 4 Johann Zarco +0.199 5 Alex Rins +0.236 6 Maverick Viñales +0.252 7 Franco Morbidelli +0.289 8 Aleix Espargaro +0.340 9 Valentino Rossi +0.487 10 Pol Espargaro +0.514 11 Joan Mir +0.527 12 Alex Marquez +0.728 13 Jorge Martin +0.791 14 Takaaki Nakagami +0.812 15 Enea Bastianini +0.841 16 Brad Binder +0.984 17 Luca Marini +1.045 18 Stefan Bradl +1.247 19 Miguel Oliveira +1.369 20 Danilo Petrucci +1.387
MOTO2 FP2 1 Sam Lowes 1'58.959 2 Marco Bezzecchi +0.104 3 Joe Roberts +0.313 4 Xavi Vierge +0.337 5 Remy Gardner +0.361
MOTO3 FP2 1 Kaito Toba 2'04.839 2 Jaume Masia +0.042 3 Gabriel Rodrigo +0.068 4 Sergio Garcia +0.096 5 Jason Dupasquier +0.099
