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# Surprise Ducati pacesetter on Qatar MotoGP Friday
- URL: https://www.the-race.com/motogp/surprise-ducati-pace-setter-on-qatar-motogp-friday/
- Published: 2026-11-06T17:08:42.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-06T17:53:07.000Z
- Description: VR46 Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio set the pace to end Friday practice at the Qatar Grand Prix, delivering a new record lap in the process
- Author: Valentin Khorounzhiy
- Tags: MotoGP, #fabio-di-giannantonio, #vr46, #image-bottom-center, #ducati, #qatar-grand-prix, #secondary_feature_2

VR46 Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio set the pace to end Friday practice at the Qatar Grand Prix, delivering a new record lap in the process.

Di Giannantonio led points leader Marc Marquez by 0.142s in a Ducati 1-2\. The Italian is a known Lusail specialist, having taken the first of his two MotoGP wins at the track back in 2023\. 

Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) and a resurgent Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati) completed the top four. Bezzecchi's three Aprilia peers - Raul Fernandez, Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura - all secured automatic Q2 spots within the top 10, too, though it was a close call for Ogura.

Other direct spots in Q2 were picked up by Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM), Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) and Brad Binder (KTM).

For once, Pedro Acosta had no answer to his fellow KTMs and was only 14th. He now faces the possibility of being outqualified by a team-mate for the first time ever in MotoGP, should he fail to advance from Q1 on Saturday.

It was a notably credible first day as a Honda MotoGP rider for Jake Dixon, standing in for Joan Mir.

Dixon lapped 1.987s off the pace in the end, just two tenths back from out-of-sorts LCR Honda regular Diogo Moreira.

## Session results

1 Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) 1m50.406s  
2 Marc Marquez (Ducati) +0.142s  
3 Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) +0.260s  
4 Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati) +0.386s  
5 Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia) +0.608s  
6 Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM) +0.618s  
7 Jorge Martin (Aprilia) +0.635s  
8 Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) +0.895s  
9 Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia) +0.912s  
10 Brad Binder (KTM) +1.003s  
11 Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) +1.041s  
12 Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati) +1.078s  
13 Luca Marini (Honda) +1.142s  
14 Pedro Acosta (KTM) +1.169s  
15 Maverick Vinales (Tech3 KTM) +1.247s  
16 Iker Lecuona (Gresini Ducati) +1.324s  
17 Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda) +1.786s  
18 Jake Dixon (Honda) +1.987s