MotoGP Qatar, declarations from the front row: Marini, Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez salute the GP23s with their Ducati GP22!

Six Ducatis in the lead on the starting grid for the Qatar Grand Prix, it's nothing to say that the Borgo Panigale brand had a festival in Qatar during qualifying for the Grand Prix which will take place on the Losail track. Once again you could say. Except that this Saturday's result could also hamper the Italian brand. Indeed, three GP22s from the previous season defeated a trio from the last vintage GP23…

Luca marini, on departure for Repsol Honda, Fabio DiGiannantonio on the very start of MotoGP and Alex Marquez who sharpens himself while waiting for the arrival of his brother Marc as a cubicle neighbor from the November 28 made up the highly rated trio making up the first line of the Qatar Grand Prix nineteenth and penultimate round of this season. Here are the declarations of the happy pilots.

Luca marini (VR46-Ducati 1er): “ the trick was not perfect. I just think we can always get a little more out of it. In the third sector it could have been a little faster, especially in turn 7. Still, it was a fantastic lap. I really enjoyed driving today. As for the pace, we'll probably still have to find two tenths of a second. Much will depend on the choice of tires. In my opinion, the soft front tire works very well ».

The second Ducati knives played the fine blades

Fabio DiGiannantonio (Gresini-Ducati 2nd): “ to be honest, I thought my lap was a pole lap because it was really good. And when I saw on the big screens that there were a lot of cameras pointed at me, I thought we probably succeeded. But Luca was amazing and just a little bit better. I'm still very happy with how the weekend has gone so far. I am also very happy with my lap time. We must maintain this momentum without losing our focus. In the sprint and tomorrow we will try to get the most out of it ».

Alex Marquez (Gresini-Ducati: 3rd): “ this weekend hasn't been easy so far. I crashed twice and didn't really have a good riding experience. This morning we managed a stage, but unfortunately I also crashed in FP2. But I have a pretty good feeling now. I lost pole in the first sector because I made a small mistake in turn 2. But I didn't expect to be first in line. Let's wait and see what the pace will be afterwards. The front tire seems to be a bit of a headache for everyone. We'll see how it goes ».

Behind, there will be the two title contenders. Including an George Martin who must recover 14 points and who will therefore be keen to pass them quickly without taking the risk of seeing their front tire build up pressure behind them. If he wins with more than 3 seconds in advance, he will have succeeded in his promised strategy of “playing” with the rules…

MotoGP Qatar: qualifying 

Credit classification motogp.com