MotoGP Qatar GP: Martin tops first practice, Acosta shines in third

Following two pre-season tests in February, the 21-round 2024 MotoGP campaign begins this weekend in Qatar.

Last year’s championship runner-up Jorge Martin topped the times by 0.047 seconds in a largely unrepresentative opening session from Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro.

But it was Tech3 GasGas rookie Acosta who stole the show, topping the session on several occasions and ending up third on just his 11th day on the KTM MotoGP bike since last November’s Valencia test.

Run under sunnier conditions than either the sprint or grand prix will be staged, the 45-minute FP1 in Qatar was largely about brushing away the cobwebs for the 22-rider field.

Factory KTM rider Jack Miller set the early pace with a 1m55.258s, before Honda’s Joan Mir edged ahead with a 1m54.221s.

Acosta took to the top of the order for the first time with 38 minutes to go with a 1m53.992s to turn heads, before Marc Marquez on the Gresini Ducati took over with a 1m53.408s.

Pedro Acosta, Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing (Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images)

Top spot would continue to change hands through Martin and Ducati’s Enea Bastianini, before Martin was back in front with 20 minutes to go on a 1m53.138s.

Marquez, in his first official race weekend session on a Ducati, returned to the top of the standings with a 1m53.124s a few minutes after Martin went quicker, before Bastianini produced a 1m53.000s.

With just over 10 minutes to go, Brad Binder on the KTM dipped underneath the 1m53s with a 1m52.889s, before Acosta – still on used tyres, like the majority of the field – put in a 1m52.695s.

This only kept him top for another five minutes until Martin set the session benchmark at 1m52.624s.

Aprilia’s Espargaro further demoted Acosta when he jumped up to second, while Marquez led the Ducati charge in fourth on his 2023-spec bike.

Binder was fifth from LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco, Bastianini, VR46 Ducati’s Fabio Di Giannantonio – who won last year’s Qatar GP – Miller and reigning world champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) to round out the top 10.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team (Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images)

Miguel Oliveira was 12th in the Trackhouse Racing team’s first official MotoGP session, while Alex Rins was the leading Yamaha in 15th.

Joan Mir led factory Honda team-mate Luca Marini in 16th, while Fabio Quartararo was 19th on the sister Yamaha.

Franco Morbidelli was 2.1s off the pace as he made his return to MotoGP action with Pramac Ducati since suffering a concussion in pre-season training. FP1 in Qatar marked Morbidelli’s first on the GP24 this year.

MotoGP Qatar GP - FP1 results:

Main Information Additional Data Additional Data Driver Info Driver Info

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Main Information Additional Data 1  -  2
Cla	Rider	#		Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Speed Trap
1	J. Martin Pramac Racing	89			17	1'52.624		171.970
2	A. Espargaro Aprilia Racing Team	41		Aprilia	15	+0.047 1'52.671	0.047	171.898
3	P. Acosta Red Bull GASGAS Tech3	31		KTM	16	+0.071 1'52.695	0.024	171.862
4	M. Marquez Gresini Racing	93		Ducati	17	+0.177 1'52.801	0.106	171.700
5	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33		KTM	19	+0.265 1'52.889	0.088	171.566
6	J. Zarco Team LCR	5		Honda	16	+0.303 1'52.927	0.038	171.509
7	E. Bastianini Ducati Team	23			17	+0.326 1'52.950	0.023	171.474
8	F. Di Giannantonio Pertamina Enduro VR46 MotoGP Team	49		Ducati	16	+0.363 1'52.987	0.037	171.417
9	J. Miller Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	43		KTM	17	+0.407 1'53.031	0.044	171.351
10	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	1			15	+0.597 1'53.221	0.190	171.063
11	A. Marquez Gresini Racing	73		Ducati	17	+0.626 1'53.250	0.029	171.019
12	M. Oliveira TrackHouse Racing	88		Aprilia	16	+0.714 1'53.338	0.088	170.887
13	M. Viñales Aprilia Racing Team	12		Aprilia	16	+0.727 1'53.351	0.013	170.867
14	R. Fernández TrackHouse Racing	25		Aprilia	14	+0.756 1'53.380	0.029	170.823
15	A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing	42		Yamaha	17	+0.783 1'53.407	0.027	170.783
16	J. Mir Repsol Honda Team	36		Honda	16	+0.811 1'53.435	0.028	170.740
17	L. Marini Repsol Honda Team	10		Honda	16	+0.984 1'53.608	0.173	170.480
18	M. Bezzecchi Pertamina Enduro VR46 MotoGP Team	72		Ducati	18	+1.002 1'53.626	0.018	170.453
19	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20		Yamaha	16	+1.213 1'53.837	0.211	170.138
20	A. Fernandez Red Bull GASGAS Tech3	37		KTM	17	+1.223 1'53.847	0.010	170.123
21	T. Nakagami Team LCR	30		Honda	17	+1.239 1'53.863	0.016	170.099
22	F. Morbidelli Pramac Racing	21			18	+2.125 1'54.749	0.886	168.785
View full results