Marquez leads Friday practice with record pace, adapting Lorenzo 11th
A blistering 1’53.380 lap from Marquez saw the reigning MotoGP™ World Champion quickest as new team-mate Lorenzo continued to improve his feeling with the Honda.
Friday in Qatar marked not only the beginning of the Qatar Grand Prix, but also the eagerly awaited return of the MotoGP™ World Championship after a long winter. With Free Practice 1 taking place during the day and Free Practice 2 running at night, the latter offered conditions most similar to Sunday’s race with 21ºC track and air temperature.
The opening day of practice for the 2019 MotoGP™ World Championship saw Marc Marquez fast from his first lap. Concluding Free Practice 1 in third, he and his Honda RC213V produced a stunning 1’53.380 under the lights of Free Practice 2 – three tenths faster than the previous all time lap record.
Jorge Lorenzo’s positive feeling with the Repsol Honda Team RC213V from the Qatar Test continued in Free Practice 1 as the five-time world champion ended the session in second. His 1’55.127 would improve to a 1’54.428 in Free Practice 2 as night fell on the Losail International Circuit.
The pair will join the rest of the MotoGP™ grid in Free Practice 3 at 15:15 local time tomorrow, Saturday March 9 before Qualifying begins at 20:00 local time.
Marc Marquez
“It was a really positive day! I was focusing a lot to go directly to QP2 and yes, the lap was fast but the most important thing is our rhythm. We still need to work a little bit on this but we’re finding our way and happy with how today ended. Normally we struggle a lot at this circuit but we are there more or less. It’s free practice, Sunday is still the most important part of the weekend.”
Jorge Lorenzo
“I am very happy today, very confident and comfortable with the bike. We have a lot of potential and working well and I believe we can arrive there. It’s a good sign, as was the ‘morning’, we were very fast but still need to understand the bike a bit more in colder conditions. I have the feeling we can be very competitive with the right setting.”
Qatar Grand Prix Combined Free Practice Classification
| Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
|---|
Location Information
The fabulous Lusail International Circuit lies on the outskirts of Doha, the capital city of Qatar. Built in little over a year, the track cost $58 million USD and required round-the-clock dedication from almost 1,000 workers in order to get it ready for the inaugural event – the Marlboro Grand… read more.
| Length | 5.380 kilometres / 3.343 miles |
| Width | 12 metres |
| Left corners | 6 |
| Right corners | 10 |
| Longest straight | 1.068 kilometres / 0.664 miles |
| Constructed | 2004 |
Losail International Circuit, Al Daayen, Qatar - View in Google Maps
Records
| Pole Position | 1m 50.789s (174.8km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2024) |
| Race Lap | 1m 52.978s (171.4 km/h) Enea Bastianini (Ducati, 2023) |
| 2024 Sprint Winner | Jorge Martin (Ducati) |
| 2024 Race Winner | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) |
