Qatar Grand Prix MotoGP FP4: The comeback of the Ducati! Fall of Marquez. Rossi and Zarco in difficulty.

At the start of the afternoon, FP3 was the last session which could have consequences on the progress of qualifying.

But if it was animated, in particular by the fall of the 2 Repsol Hondas, it ultimately made no modification to the established order, and as a result, the list of pre-qualified for Q2 is made up of Marc Marquez before Maverick Vinales, Jack Miller, Danilo Petrucci, Fabio Quartararo, Andrea Dovizioso, Franco Morbidelli, Alex Rins, Aleix Espargaró et Joan Miras Jorge Lorenzo, Cal Crutchlow et Valentino Rossi, respectively 11th, 13th and 17th, will have to go through Q1.

The fall of Jorge Lorenzo was quite severe and the driver from Mallorca had to go through the Mobile Clinic before being declared fit to race.

Before finishing with FP3, let us note again that Francis Bagnaia et Pol Espargaro, the only drivers to have been able to improve their time with Miguel Oliviera, achieved the 2nd and 3rd best times there, which augurs a possibly more consistent presence in the race than their place on the grid, if indeed this is confirmed during FP4 mainly intended to work on race pace.

Here are the references available ahead of this fourth and final 30-minute free practice session in Qatar, which takes place at night with much cooler temperatures of 17° in the air and 18° on the ground, as well as a wind now less violent at 11 km/h:

MotoGP™ Losail Qatar	2018	2019
FP1	1'55.366 Andrea Dovizioso (see here)	1'55.048 Valentino Rossi (see here)
FP2	1'54.361 Andrea Dovizioso (see here)	1'53.380 Marc Máask (see here)
FP3	1'54.966 Johann Zarco (see here)	1'54.677 Marc Máask (see here)
FP4	1'55.248 Andrea Dovizioso (see here)	1'54.854 Danilo Petrucci (see here)
QP1	1'54.634 Jack Miller (see here)
QP2	1'53.680 Johann Zarco (see here)
Warm-up	1'55.201 Marc Máask (see here)
Course	Dovizioso, Márquez, Rossi (see here)
Records	1'53.680 Johann Zarco	1'54.208 Maverick Viñales (Test) 1'53.380 Marc Márquez

For once, it's Maverick Vinales who sets off first at the opening of the track.

We then discovered that because of the rather cool temperatures, most of the drivers opted for a medium tire at the front and a soft at the rear. Alone Marc Marquez uses a hard tire in the front.

The first reference time is entered by Alex Rins before Andrea Dovizioso et fabio quartararo in 1'55.979.

On the next pass, the French driver took the lead in 1'55.334 under the eyes of Lewis Hamilton.

Alex Rins, who ended FP3 with a fall, made another mistake, this time at turn 2. The Suzuki rider declared that he did not feel as comfortable on the handlebars of his GSX-RR as during the winter test.

One more round and Danilo Petrucci achieves 1'55.068 before the 2 Ducatis of Jack Miller et Andrea Dovizioso position themselves behind him.

Marc Márquez then fell for the second time of the day, losing the front at turn 2. Fortunately, the Honda driver got up and started again.

Bradley Smith also fell at turn number 2 a few moments later.

Just before the end of the first run, Danilo Petrucci accelerates the pace in 1'54.854, leaving 2/10 behind him a compact group made up of Jack Miller, Maverick Vinales, Andrea Dovizioso, Fabio Quartararo et Marc Márquez. All these drivers are in less than 4 tenths while Jorge Lorenzo is in 14th position, more than a second behind, and Valentino Rossi in 18th at 1,4 seconds.

Turn 2 traps a driver again, and this time it's Johann zarco who pays the price.

The number of falls already caused in this FP4 and lower temperatures compared to yesterday seem to militate in favor of an advanced race schedule...

Almost all drivers are now on soft rear tires, with the notable exception ofAndrea Dovizioso, Jorge Lorenzo, Miguel Oliveira et Valentino Rossi who have opted for a medium.

5 minutes from the checkered flag, Cal Crutchlow improves his time and positions himself 11th, shortly before Andrea Dovizioso joins Danilo Petrucci below the 1'55 mark.

30 seconds from the end of the session, Maverick Vinales comes in between the 3 Ducati GP 19s.

Conversely, Valentino Rossi appears in difficulty, more than a second away, in 18th position.

French side, fabio quartararo retains its 5th place while Johann zarco, which is not felt after its fall, is ranked 20th.

FP4 MotoGP ranking at Losail :

Classification credit: MotoGP.com