Marc Marquez topped MotoGP World Championship Free Practice One (FP1) Friday afternoon at Lusail International Circuit, in Qatar. Riding his Michelin-shod Ducati Lenovo Team Desmosedici GP26, the Spaniard turned a lap of 1:52.278 around the 3.34-mile (5.38 km) track and led the 18-rider field.
Marco Bezzecchi was second-best with a 1:52.388 on his Aprilia Racing RS-GP26.
Fabio Di Giannantonio was third with a lap of 1:52.691 on his Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati Desmosedici GP26.
Pedro Acosta finished the first session fourth on his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing RC16 with a time of 1:52.955.
Bezzecchi’s teammate, Jorge Martin got fifth with a time of 1:53.012.
More, from a press release issued by Motogp:
Marc Marquez fastest from Bezzecchi, Martin P5 in Qatar FP1. The championship leader kickstarts his weekend in fine fashion while it’s a promising start at Lusail for his closest title rival.
Beginning his first match-point weekend at the top of the FP1 tree was Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), whose 1:52.278 was good enough to see off second-fastest Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) by 0.110s in the opening stint of a crucial Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar. Fabio Di Giannantonio’s (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) last flying lap saw the 2023 Qatar GP winner pocket P3, while Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) returned to the fray in promising fashion – the rider second in the championship ending FP1 in P5.
Sandwiched between Di Giannantonio and Martin on the scoreboard was Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in P4. It wasn’t the end of the session the rider fourth in the standings would have wanted, though, because a late issue with his RC16 ended FP1 prematurely for Acosta, who is still mathematically in contention for the title.
Martin’s gap to Marc Marquez sits at 0.7s heading into Practice, with Bezzecchi and Di Giannantonio the only two to get within half a second of the latter’s impressive pace.
Elsewhere, there were early crashes for Jake Dixon (Honda HRC Castrol) – who stands in for Joan Mir this weekend – and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), with the Briton and South African all OK after their tip-offs.
So, Marc Marquez holds the advantage heading into Practice later on, with Bez and Aprilia his closest challengers so far. Now it’s full focus on getting inside that top 10 under the lights.
