If Maverick did what was necessary to qualify for Q2 by setting the second time, it was Jack Miller who was the hero of Q1 by beating the Spaniard by three thousandths. They preceded Alex Espargaro, Franco Morbidelli and Hafizh Syahrin.
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MotoGP #QatarGP Losail Qatar |
2017 |
2018 |
| FP1 |
1'54.316 Maverick Vinales (See here) |
1'55.366 Andrea Dovizioso (See here) |
| FP2 |
1'55.085 Scott Redding (See here) |
1'54.361 Andrea Dovizioso (See here) |
| FP3 |
1'54.834 Maverick Vinales (See here) |
1'54.966 Johann Zarco |
| FP4 |
Canceled due to rain (See here) |
1'55.248 Andrea Dovizioso |
| Qualification 1 |
Canceled due to rain (See here) |
1'54.634 Jack Miller |
| Qualification 2 |
Canceled due to rain (See here) |
|
| Warm Up |
1'55.728 Marc Marquez (See here) |
|
| Course |
Vinales, Dovizioso, Rossi (See here) |
|
| All time lap record |
1'53.927 Jorge Lorenzo 2008 |
At the end of the three free practice sessions, the drivers who had to go through Q1 to qualify for Q2 were Maverick Vinales, Aleix Espargaro, Tito Rabat, Jack Miller, Takaaki Nakagami, Scott Redding, Pol Espargaro, Bradley Smith, Franco Morbidelli, Tom Lüthi, Karel Abraham, Hafizh Syahrin, Alvaro Bautista and Xavier Siméon.
All eyes on @maverickmack25 in Q1 👀
Two spots are up for grabs in #MotoGP Q1 – who’s going through? Time to find out ⏱ pic.twitter.com/aLOMROxPNx
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) March 17, 2018
All riders used a soft Michelin at the rear, while half preferred a soft at the front and the other half a medium.
Bradley Smith was running back to the KTM pit after a small incident during his first flying lap. Maverick Vinales set the reference time in 1'54.710. He preceded Jack Miller by 0.574 and Aleix Espargaro by 0.600. Franco Morbidelli moved into third position, 0.020 behind Jack Miller. The fight was very close for second position between Miller, Morbidelli, A. Espargaro and Rabat.
After a brief stop, everyone left the pits 5 minutes from the checkered flag. Karel Abraham was losing time in the pit lane with the heater cover on his rear tire stuck in the swingarm.
Oooops! 🙈@KarelAbraham_17 heads out with a tire-warmer hanging off his bike! pic.twitter.com/8R6FBmaI6G
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) March 17, 2018
In the final minutes, Maverick Vinales ensured his qualification for Q2 with a time of 1'54.637, but Jack Miller beat him in 1'54.634. All the others were in 1'55, with Alex Espargaro ahead of Franco Morbidelli and Hafizh Syahrin.
Results of the first qualifying practice session:
Reference times:
Test record: 1'53.927 by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) in 2008
Lap record: 1'54.927 by Jorge Lorenzo (Yamaha) in 2016
Best top speed: 351,2 km/h for Andrea Iannone (Ducati) in 2016
