Subscribe

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Australia
Practice report

Qatar MotoGP: Petrucci leads Marquez in warm-up

Ducati MotoGP rider Danilo Petrucci set the pace in warm-up ahead of Sunday's season-opening Qatar Grand Prix.

Danilo Petrucci, Ducati Team

Danilo Petrucci, Ducati Team

Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Petrucci hit the top of the times in the 20-minute session with an early lap of 1m55.464s, and then put himself beyond the reach of his rivals after improving to a 1m54.807s.

Reigning champion Marc Marquez saved his best lap until last, but the Honda man's 1m54.864s effort fell 0.057s short of Petrucci's benchmark.

The only other rider to breach the 1m55s mark was Suzuki's Alex Rins on a 1m54.943s.

Poleman Maverick Vinales was fourth-fastest, just under three tenths off the pace on the best of the Yamahas, ahead of Franco Morbidelli's satellite Petronas SRT bike.

Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) beat Ducati pair Andrea Dovizioso and Jack Miller to sixth, while Espargaro brothers Aleix (Aprilia) and Pol (KTM) ensured all six marques were represented in the top 10.

Valentino Rossi was 11th-fastest and 0.751s off the pace on the second works Yamaha ahead of a race he expects to be "difficult" from his starting slot of 14th.

Honda's Jorge Lorenzo, who admitted he was in "pain everywhere" following two crashes on Saturday, ended warm-up down in 20th place, 1.7s off the pace.

Warm-up times:

Pos. # Rider Bike Time Gap
1 9 Italy Danilo Petrucci  Ducati 1'54.807  
2 93 Spain Marc Marquez  Honda 1'54.864 0.057
3 42 Spain Alex Rins  Suzuki 1'54.943 0.136
4 12 Spain Maverick Viñales  Yamaha 1'55.100 0.293
5 21 Italy Franco Morbidelli  Yamaha 1'55.177 0.370
6 30 Japan Takaaki Nakagami  Honda 1'55.247 0.440
7 4 Italy Andrea Dovizioso  Ducati 1'55.286 0.479
8 43 Australia Jack Miller  Ducati 1'55.482 0.675
9 41 Spain Aleix Espargaro  Aprilia 1'55.494 0.687
10 44 Spain Pol Espargaro  KTM 1'55.554 0.747
11 46 Italy Valentino Rossi  Yamaha 1'55.558 0.751
12 63 Italy Francesco Bagnaia  Ducati 1'55.635 0.828
13 20 France Fabio Quartararo  Yamaha 1'55.663 0.856
14 35 United Kingdom Cal Crutchlow  Honda 1'55.673 0.866
15 88 Portugal Miguel Oliveira  KTM 1'55.829 1.022
16 36 Spain Joan Mir  Suzuki 1'55.843 1.036
17 29 Italy Andrea Iannone  Aprilia 1'55.931 1.124
18 5 France Johann Zarco  KTM 1'56.105 1.298
19 53 Spain Tito Rabat  Ducati 1'56.140 1.333
20 99 Spain Jorge Lorenzo  Honda 1'56.507 1.700
21 17 Czech Republic Karel Abraham  Ducati 1'56.558 1.751
22 55 Malaysia Hafizh Syahrin  KTM 1'56.617 1.810
23 38 United Kingdom Bradley Smith  Aprilia 1'56.635 1.828

Be part of Motorsport community

Join the conversation
Previous article MotoGP riders powerless in Qatar start time row - Crutchlow
Next article Qatar MotoGP: Dovizioso edges Marquez by 0.023s

Top Comments

There are no comments at the moment. Would you like to write one?

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Motorsport prime

Discover premium content
Subscribe

Edition

Australia