There are less than two and a half hours left until the end of the first day of MotoGP testing in Losail, and Aprilia is dominating. Aleix Espargaró leads the timesheet, with Miguel Oliveira in 21st place.
The RS-GP bikes are proving to be competitive on the Qatar track. Espargaró’s best time puts him in the lead: 1m53.088s. He is 0.176s ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team/Ducati), while Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) is third, 0.188s behind. The official Ducati bikes of Francesco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini complete the top five.
In sixth place is vice-champion Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati), just ahead of Raúl Fernández (Trackhouse Racing/Aprilia) – who is back on the track less than two weeks after suffering three fractures on the first day of testing in Sepang.
Still in the top ten are the best Honda of Joan Mir, Brad Binder on the best KTM, and Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati), while Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) occupies 12th place on the best YZR-M1. Rookie Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3/KTM) was in the top five, but is now 18th. With 46 laps, he has covered the most kilometers so far. Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing/Aprilia) is discreet on the timesheet, only in 21st place, 1.556s off the top.
Times at 15:40 (Continental Portugal time):
