MotoGP

Bastianini quickest in Qatar FP3, Quartararo relegated to Q1

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
2 min read

Gresini Ducati rider Enea Bastianini booked a Q2 spot in Qatar GP qualifying by topping the third practice session, with champion Fabio Quartararo heading to Q1 instead.

Eighth-fastest after Friday, Quartararo reckoned the combined practice top 10 was “not extremely safe” to guarantee a Q2 spot despite the less optimal daytime conditions of FP3.

In the final minutes of Saturday’s opening session, he was proven conclusively correct – with Bastianini suddenly firing in a 1m53.382s, the fastest laptime of the weekend so far, only to have it taken away due to a last-corner track limits infringement.

But Bastianini kept at it, and his last-gasp effort at the chequered flag put him top of the times despite being four tenths off his prior effort.

This should’ve theoretically promoted him into a Q2 spot at Francesco Bagnaia’s expense, yet Bagnaia himself improved on his 10th-best Friday time and also secured a place in the pole shootout, slotting in third in FP3 behind Bastianini and Honda’s Pol Espargaro.

It meant Quartararo, despite finishing fourth in FP3, was consigned to contesting Q1, having missed out on a spot in the combined top 10 by just 0.020s.

The seven riders who didn’t improve on their Friday times but still made it to Q2 automatically were Alex Rins (Suzuki), Marc Marquez (Honda), Joan Mir (Suzuki), Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati), Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha), Jack Miller (Ducati) and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia).

There was one crash courtesy of Morbidelli at Turn 6 midway through the session.

Practice 3 Results

Pos Name Team Bike Gap Next Gap Leader Best Time
1 Enea Bastianini Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 1m53.79s
2 Pol Espargaró Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.013s +0.013s 1m53.803s
3 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati +0.052s +0.065s 1m53.855s
4 Fabio Quartararo Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha +0.084s +0.149s 1m53.939s
5 Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.072s +0.221s 1m54.011s
6 Johann Zarco Pramac Racing Ducati +0.094s +0.315s 1m54.105s
7 Miguel Oliveira Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.299s +0.614s 1m54.404s
8 Joan Mir Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki +0.172s +0.786s 1m54.576s
9 Jorge Martin Pramac Racing Ducati +0.043s +0.829s 1m54.619s
10 Maverick Viñales Aprilia Racing Aprilia +0.039s +0.868s 1m54.658s
11 Alex Rins Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki +0.14s +1.008s 1m54.798s
12 Luca Marini Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati +0.017s +1.025s 1m54.815s
13 Fabio Di Giannantonio Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati +0.087s +1.112s 1m54.902s
14 Aleix Espargaró Aprilia Racing Aprilia +0.114s +1.226s 1m55.016s
15 Marc Marquez Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.081s +1.307s 1m55.097s
16 Remy Gardner Tech3 KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.019s +1.326s 1m55.116s
17 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda +0.038s +1.364s 1m55.154s
18 Marco Bezzecchi Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati +0.037s +1.401s 1m55.191s
19 Andrea Dovizioso WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha +0.002s +1.403s 1m55.193s
20 Jack Miller Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati +0.133s +1.536s 1m55.326s
21 Darryn Binder WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha +0.057s +1.593s 1m55.383s
22 Alex Marquez LCR Honda Castrol Honda +0.019s +1.612s 1m55.402s
23 Franco Morbidelli Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha +0.029s +1.641s 1m55.431s
24 Raul Fernandez Tech3 KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.259s +1.9s 1m55.69s
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