With the track going from more than 40° to 30° in just a few minutes, and despite the wind still present, the conditions have once again become excellent on the Losail circuit, and the big names in the MotoGP category will be able to calmly take their final bearings for 20 minutes before tonight's race.
Thanks to the uncertainty provided by 5 drivers in two tenths during qualifying, including two who seem able to go even faster (Marquez and Iannone), this promises a breathtaking spectacle but, in the meantime, Marquez and Lorenzo only do one lap before changing motorbikes, just to dewax their tires.
The bike of the unfortunate Danilo Petrucci obviously remains in his box and we know that the friendly Italian rider will not return before Le Mans. The name of Casey Stoner is being considered by Ducati to replace him in Argentina and Austin, if the Pramac team, and especially Stoner himself, agree.
Andrea Iannone and Valentino Rossi set a first milestone in the “small 56” before Marquez equalized the Ducati rider's time to the nearest thousandth; 1'56.126!.
In the next round, it was Lorenzo, Marquez and Vinales who opened up a gap on the Italian duo; 1'55.705!
The Repsol Honda driver, who declared that he could ride faster than his qualifying time yesterday, then took command of operations, in 1'55.497, then 1'55.400. It appears to use a fairly uncommon pneumatic configuration; Medium / Medium.
Yonny Hernandez falls without gravity at turn #16.
3 minutes from the checkered flag, Maverick Vinales confirms all the good things that the paddock thinks of him, with a very nice 1'55.627 which takes his Suzuki into second position.
Apart from Marc Marquez who has a small lead of two tenths, the Top 6 is held within seconds of a second.
In his last turn, Valentino Rossi improves and takes 4th position, only 3 thousandths behind Jorge Lorenzo!
Did you say a great race?…
| Pos | number | Pile | Country | Team | Motorcycle | Km / h | HIGHLIGHTS | difference 1st/Prev. |
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 337.7 | 1'55.400 | |
| 2 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 338.2 | 1'55.627 | 0.227 / 0.227 |
| 3 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | SPA | Yamaha Motor Racing | Yamaha | 337.6 | 1'55.705 | 0.305 / 0.078 |
| 4 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Yamaha Motor Racing | Yamaha | 341.8 | 1'55.708 | 0.308 / 0.003 |
| 5 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 347.7 | 1'55.712 | 0.312 / 0.004 |
| 6 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 351.2 | 1'55.792 | 0.392 / 0.080 |
| 7 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | GBR | Honda LCR | Honda | 338.7 | 1'56.030 | 0.630 / 0.238 |
| 8 | 45 | Scott REDDING | GBR | OCTO Yakhnich bow | Ducati | 341.5 | 1'56.033 | 0.633 / 0.003 |
| 9 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | SPA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 338.5 | 1'56.256 | 0.856 / 0.223 |
| 10 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 340.3 | 1'56.426 | 1.026 / 0.170 |
| 11 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 337.3 | 1'56.460 | 1.060 / 0.034 |
| 12 | 8 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 342.0 | 1'56.476 | 1.076 / 0.016 |
| 13 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | 335.2 | 1'56.707 | 1.307 / 0.231 |
| 14 | 76 | Loris BAZ | FRA | Avintia Racing | Ducati | 333.1 | 1'56.920 | 1.520 / 0.213 |
| 15 | 68 | Yonny HERNANDEZ | COL | Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 347.0 | 1'56.956 | 1.556 / 0.036 |
| 16 | 43 | Jack Miller | AUS | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 336.7 | 1'57.358 | 1.958 / 0.402 |
| 17 | 50 | Eugene LAVERTY | IRL | Aspar Team MotoGP | Ducati | 343.2 | 1'57.402 | 2.002 / 0.044 |
| 18 | 6 | Stefan BRADL | GER | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 334.1 | 1'57.406 | 2.006 / 0.004 |
| 19 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | 333.0 | 1'57.535 | 2.135 / 0.129 |
| 20 | 53 | Tito RABAT | SPA | Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 336.3 | 1'57.782 | 2.382 / 0.247 |
| 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | OCTO Yakhnich bow | Ducati |
