Franco Morbidelli surprises to top second Qatar MotoGP practice

There were some surprises in store for fans as the first official practice session of the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar got underway at the Lusail International Circuit on Friday.

While all eyes were on the return of Spanish reigning World Champion Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), it was Italian Franco Morbidelli who stole the thunder, emerging at the top of the timesheets. He left it late, but snatched the top spot from his Ducati colleagues.

The factory Ducati team ended the day in second and third places after only committing to one-time attack. Francesco Bagnaia finished second, with Marc Marquez in third.

Fabio di Giannantonio was fourth on the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati GP25. The Italian was 0.299 seconds behind his teammate's session-topping lap time.

Rounding out the top five was Alex Marquez, on the BK8 Gresini Racing team’s Ducati GP24. The Spaniard also completed a Ducati top-five lockout in Doha.

Fabio Quartararo, on the Monster Energy Yamaha M1, was the top non-Ducati rider. The Frenchman ended the day in sixth spot.

KTM managed to squeeze two riders into the top ten, with Pedro Acosta finishing seventh on the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team machine. Maverick Vinales was eighth on the Red Bull KTM Tech3 bike.

All six Ducati riders were inside the top ten as MotoGP rookie Fermin Aldeguer ended the day in ninth place.

The only Honda rider to get through to Q2 with a top-ten finish was Johann Zarco. The LCR Honda Castrol rider was the final rider to cross the line and finished tenth.

Jorge Martin ended his first day back in the MotoGP paddock in 20th place. The reigning World Champion was 1.568sec behind Morbidelli, but only 0.218sec behind his teammate.

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