Following a sudden downpour on Friday evening, rendering the track wet, MotoGP will now rely on Saturday morning’s final practice (officially labeled Free Practice 2, though third in sequence) to determine automatic qualifiers for Q2.
The rain caught the Moto3 field off guard at around 7pm local time at the Losail circuit, causing Ajo rider Jose Antonio Rueda to lose control of his KTM at the final corner.
Initially, race control announced Moto2 and MotoGP sessions would proceed as planned, but the intermediate class riders were uncomfortable with the track conditions.
While Moto2 practice proceeded with few riders venturing out, Jaume Masia’s Kalex effort was over 15 seconds slower than the previous day’s favorable conditions.
Despite Qatar’s dry climate, with minimal precipitation annually, further rain isn’t anticipated in Losail for Saturday and Sunday.
The second MotoGP practice began at 8:10pm local time, 10 minutes later than scheduled, after a red flag in Moto3 FP2 disrupted the day’s schedule.
However, this session will run for only 45 minutes instead of the scheduled hour and won’t affect Saturday’s qualifying order.
Consequently, Saturday morning’s practice preceding qualifying will also run for 45 minutes starting at 1:40pm local time (10:40am GMT), determining Q2 entrants, with qualifying starting at 2:40pm local time (11:40am GMT) on Saturday.
FP1 at Losail saw Jorge Martin atop the timesheets, followed closely by Aleix Espargaro, with Pedro Acosta and Marc Marquez impressing in third and fourth positions, respectively.
