It was with an unexpected result that the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix training ended. At night, Raúl Fernández set the best time of the day, being one of the few who managed to lap in 1m52s. Miguel Oliveira could not do better than 19th.
The session started with Raúl Fernández (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team/Aprilia) leading ahead of Fabio di Giannantonio (Gresini/MotoGP), with Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) in third. While Raúl Fernández solidified his position, the positions behind him underwent changes: Pol Espargaró (GasGas Tech3/KTM) moved up to second and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) to third.
Times continued to evolve, with changes in the top positions. Álex Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) moved up to second, surpassing Pol Espargaró as well as later Viñales. The latter eventually took the lead 47 minutes before the end. New leader still in the first half hour of the session, with Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team/Aprilia) dethroning Viñales. Di Giannantonio got closer a few moments later, finishing 14 thousandths behind the Portuguese.
With 27 minutes to go, Viñales overtook Oliveira to lead, becoming the first to lap in the 1m53s. The second to do so was Raúl Fernández, but he was 0.005s slower than his compatriot.
The man who followed in the lead was Di Giannantonio, already lapping in 1m52s. Other riders fought for top positions in the following minutes, with Raúl Fernández back in the lead. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) positioned himself in fourth and Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) in fifth.
Falls from Pol Espargaró and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM) in the final minutes led to the cancellation of several laps due to yellow flags. One of them was by Viñales and it would have been a new record.
Until the end, no one was able to dethrone Raúl Fernández, with di Giannantonio finishing 0.049s behind. Viñales was third, followed by Binder and Aleix Espargaró completing the top five. Martín and Bagnaia, the title contenders, finished seventh and eighth respectively. Marc Márquez secured the last direct spot in the second qualifying session, finishing tenth with a 14-millisecond margin over Miller. As for Oliveira, he couldn’t keep up with the pace, was hindered by yellow flags at the end, and finished in 19th place.
