2021 MotoGP Round Two Friday Practice
With conditions likely to make improvements difficult in the afternoon heat of FP3, gaining automatic entry to Q2 was the name of the game and that led to a classic last dash shootout at the end of FP2. First though, there was set-up work to be done and after a couple of faster efforts from Bagnaia and Martin, most settled into working for the race.
With just under 20 minutes to go, however, Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda Idemitsu) shot first as the Japanese rider started making moves on brand-new rubber, taking over in P2 and less than a tenth away from Bagnaia.
Martin, not looking like a rookie at all on the GP21, then moved back into P3 with 15 minutes to go and it was game on for time attacks. The Spanish rookie then put in another impressive lap and improved his time to go P1, but the Pramac rider’s time at the summit lasted about five seconds as Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) then landed the first 1:53 of the day and we strapped in for a barnstorming final 13 or so minutes of action on Friday evening.
Quartararo soon demoted Rins to P2 before Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) moved the goalposts, a 1:53.646 putting the RS-GP rider nearly three-tenths clear of the pack. Despite two mechanical issues in FP1, Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT) next slotted himself into P2 before Miller, who was on a quick lap, stole the spotlight. Not for all the right reasons though, as the Australian was up with red sectors before having a huge moment out of Turn 14 that rattled him out the seat. He stayed on but headed into pit-lane, down in P19 with only five minutes to go.
The turnaround was quick, however, and once back out Miller was firing on all cylinders. Half way around his flying lap, the number 43 was four-tenths up and looking to lay down a serious benchmark, with the advantage only getting bigger in the latter half of the lap as Miller put himself 0.501s clear with a minute to go, luckily just avoiding the yellow flags waved for a Nakagami crash at Turn 7.
The final flying laps then saw plenty of movement, but none of it would be in front of Miller. Bagnaia, Zarco and Martin propelled themselves into the top five as the two Qatar podium finishers also avoided the yellow flags, this time for an Alex Marquez (LCR Honda Castrol) crash at the final corner.
Further back on the road there was bad news for World Champion Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) and nine-time World Champion Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha SRT) too, with both needing to find time to break into the top 10… and both failing to find enough.
At the end of the FP2 shuffle it was advantage Ducati with Miller, Bagnaia and Zarco at the top, with Jorge Martin hanging on to an impressive fifth.
Jack Miller – P1
“I’m delighted with the feeling I’ve had with the bike this evening. In my first “time attack” attempt, I was really pushing hard, and I had a little bit of a moment!. Luckily I managed not to crash, and I went back quickly on track and set a good lap time that I am really content with. I think we still have room for improving tomorrow evening, and as always, I will give my best in qualifying”.
Francesco Bagnaia – P2
“I’m pleased with the work we have done today. Compared to last week, we preferred to use time in FP2 to do some tests with the soft tyres focusing mainly on our race pace. We made only one “time attack”. The feedback was positive, and tomorrow we will continue to work on this direction. I’m convinced that we can get another good result in qualifying and arrive well prepared for Sunday’s race”.
Johann Zarco – P3
“The crash in FP1 made me a bit nervous because as soon as I tried to push I crashed and it shouldn’t have happened. But in FP2 I was more focused and I was able to set a good time, it was important to be in the first positions after the FP2 because tomorrow during FP3 it will be difficult to improve the time.”
Quartararo slips into P4 as top Yamaha, with FP1 pacesetter Aleix Espargaro taking sixth despite not heading out for a final time attack, that first flier enough.
Fabio Quartararo – P4
“It was tough, and unfortunately I had no feeling today. I did my fastest lap being on the limit everywhere, I was not feeling great. I will try to improve the feeling a little bit tomorrow, because the conditions changed. We had issues with chatter and grip today. We hope for better conditions tomorrow. Qualifying is just a matter of putting everything you have into one lap, braking as late as possible. For qualifying I am not so worried, and for the race I will do many more laps with the soft-soft tyre combination. I can’t wait for tomorrow.”
Jorge Martín – P5
“I’m so happy, I didn’t expect to finish in P5 today, but I had a good feeling. We are continuing to make progress, day after day we are getting better and better. My goal is to fight for the top ten.”
Aleix Espargaro – P6
“A good day. The track was rather different today than we were used to. With higher humidity, I felt the bike slide significantly for the first time. In any case, I felt good in both sessions. Even if FP1 is not particularly useful here, I was pleasantly surprised at the RS-GP’s performance with the heat. In FP2, after doing a good enough time to go straight through to Q2, I decided to save the tyre for tomorrow. There will be a lot of work to do in terms of race strategy. Last weekend we had extremely high tyre wear, so we’ll need to try and improve.”
Morbidelli enjoyed a better evening to end up P7, and there were no issues for the Italian in FP2 as he got in some smoother sailing. Just 0.014 behind the Petronas Yamaha SRT rider is Rins, with the top eight covered by half a second.
Franco Morbidelli – P7
“It was an interesting start to the day. I had the same problem on both of my bikes in FP1, which wasn’t a big issue luckily. We did decide to change one engine as a precaution for the night, but none of the engines have been withdrawn and we will keep using it; we have solved the issue. I had a good feeling in FP2; it felt more balanced between day and night, which was positive. There are still things to improve and the feeling is not perfect, especially in the night, but we are on the right path. We have changed a lot of things on the bike today, to improve upon what we had in the race last Sunday, and it felt a lot better. I feel like we’re in the game and that we can now work to increase the potential even more.”
Alex Rins – P8
“I’m feeling quite good, and I’m happy to be provisionally in Q2. Everyone was so close on times and the track conditions were tricky – it wasn’t very grippy. Anyway, I was able to do some fast laps and I’m pleased about that. My pace, even on used tyres, was good and I’m feeling confident for tomorrow. I think the pace will be even higher, and everyone will be very competitive. We’re working hard to have another strong weekend and I hope to enjoy a good qualifying tomorrow.”
World Championship leader Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) only just squeezed into the top 10 in P9 with a late effort, with Marc Marquez’s replacement – and Honda test rider – Stefan Bradl (Repsol Honda Team) doing another fine job in P10 to break some hearts, not least those of Mir and Rossi. The reigning World Champion is P13, and Rossi exactly a tenth behind him in P14 as Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Danilo Petrucci (Tech3 KTM Factory Racing) slotted into 11th and 12th respectively.
Maverick Vinales – P9
“The time attack didn‘t go as we expected. We can be much faster. But anyway, the rhythm was there, I was feeling pretty good with the medium tyre, even if it wasn‘t the best tyre for us here. After we changed to qualifying mode, the feeling changed and we will look into it. But I‘m quite calm, I know we can do well. On the bike I felt amazing in FP1 and also for most of FP2. We can do something really good for tomorrow. The most important point is to have the opportunity to be at the front, battling for the race.”
Stefan Bradl – P10
“Last week on Friday we were unlucky, this week our luck has turned around a bit. The lap times were super close and we have been able to get a spot in the top ten which looks to be key for Q2. Anyway, we have made some changes to the bike and they have all worked well so this is encouraging. Compared to last week we are stronger but we still have to be strong tomorrow during Qualifying so we can start in a better position. This remains our target but for today we can be pleased with what we have done.”
Danilo Petrucci – P12
“Obviously it’s always very frustrating, when you miss out on the top 10 by not even a tenth of second, but at the same time I’m of course happy about the improvements we achieved today. It’s a long way and during these few days of riding, I’m getting used to the bike more and more and with each session. Overall, I’m happy, but not satisfied. We want to be closer to the front. Hopefully we will have another little improvement tomorrow in order to get closer to the top.”
Joan Mir – P13
“My feeling is pretty good, but I’m disappointed that we missed out on direct passage to Q2. We lost some time in the first run of the session and then we made some adjustments to the settings, but when it was time to get out for the time attack I could only do one good attempt, which prevented me from getting the tyres and brakes to the optimal temperature: That would have made that tenth of a second difference that kept me out of the Top 10. I feel that my pace can be better because there’s margin to improve, but it will be very hard to come through from Q1 if I have to. Of course I’ll give my best to try and get the best grid position possible.”
Valentino Rossi – P14
“Last week was better because I was faster, especially in FP2 when I was able to stay in P9 with a better lap time. Today I suffered a lot with the rear grip and, in the longer run at the beginning of the session, I felt a lot slower. We have improved the life of the tyre a little bit and this is very important for us. I improved the time attack in the final minutes and I feel like I rode quite well, but it was not enough for the top-ten. Tomorrow we need to try to improve the rear grip, but in FP3 it will be very difficult to improve the lap times so we need to concentrate on the pace and try to stay within the top-two in Q1. We will see what happens.”
Takaaki Nakagami – P15
“In FP2 we knew it was a really important session for us, so I pushed and I tried to find the limit and bring my best performance at the end of the session, but I had a crash at turn seven. I’m ok, tomorrow I’ll do my best as I’m outside the top 10. Before the crash, I had a really strong pace and was doing good lap times, so that’s a good sign. We may be outside the top 10 today, but we have good potential, so we’ll keep pushing and hopefully get a great result in qualifying.”
Alex Marquez – P16
“Today I was not able to be in Q2, in the top 10. When I was on a better lap, I made a mistake in the last corner when I was pressing, but I think we made a step forward in that area and every day we are more competitive over one lap and we’re also getting better every day. So, I’m happy for that, but sorry for the team that we’re not in Q2. I think we’ve got a good chance of making Q2 tomorrow and doing well in Q1, so we’ll work hard from the beginning and I’ll do my best to be in Q2. Also, FP4 will be really important to make our race pace and that’s where we’ll see who the top riders are and where we are.”
Pol Espargaro – P17
“Today was not a good day. With a bike that is new to me it is proving hard to adapt to the differences in tyres for the time attack we have to do, this is what I am struggling with. When you make mistakes in a fast lap, this is what happens. I made a lot of mistakes on what should have been my fastest lap so now we face this reality. With the times so close, there is no room for error. I just need more time running in a time attack mode to understand what areas I can take the most profit from, it will come. But we will keep pushing and working, we have another chance in Q1 to move into the top two and advance.”
Lorenzo Savadori – P21
“We definitely saw an improvement today. We have still not achieved our goal in terms of gap but, working on the setup and on my confidence, we are beginning to grow. This is not an easy track. Let’s just say that the start of my first world championship could have gone better, but we are working non-stop to keep progressing.”
Iker Lecuona – P22
“In FP1, I felt good with the bike. We tried a different base and I also had some decent sensations with both of my bikes. But to be honest, I expected more in the afternoon, especially because I felt that well in the first session today. But in the dark, I struggled. I tried both machines, but I did nearly the same lap times on them. We are pretty far from the top and I’m the last of us KTM riders, which is very disappointing. Anyway, I will continue to work hard and hope I can improve tomorrow.”
With Saturday afternoon conditions likely to make a laptime harder to find, the likes of Mir and Rossi face a challenging Day 2 in Doha.
MotoGP Friday Combined Times
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | J.Miller | DUCATI | 1m53.145 |
2 | F.Bagnaia | DUCATI | +0.313 |
3 | J.Zarco | DUCATI | +0.392 |
4 | F.Quartararo | YAMAHA | +0.438 |
5 | J.Martin | DUCATI | +0.448 |
6 | A.Espargaro | APRILIA | +0.501 |
7 | F.Morbidelli | YAMAHA | +0.554 |
8 | A.Rins | SUZUKI | +0.568 |
9 | M.Viñales | YAMAHA | +0.727 |
10 | S.Bradl | HONDA | +0.769 |
11 | M.Oliveira | KTM | +0.799 |
12 | D.Petrucci | KTM | +0.824 |
13 | J.Mir | SUZUKI | +0.867 |
14 | V.Rossi | YAMAHA | +0.967 |
15 | T.Nakagami | HONDA | +0.982 |
16 | A.Marquez | HONDA | +1.003 |
17 | P.Espargaro | HONDA | +1.060 |
18 | B.Binder | KTM | +1.092 |
19 | E.Bastianini | DUCATI | +1.371 |
20 | L.Marini | DUCATI | +1.535 |
21 | L.Savadori | APRILIA | +1.826 |
22 | I.Lecuona | KTM | +2.224 |
MotoGP Championship Standings
Pos | Rider | Bike | Points |
1 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 25 |
2 | Johann ZARCO | Ducati | 20 |
3 | Francesco BAGNAIA | Ducati | 16 |
4 | Joan MIR | Suzuki | 13 |
5 | Fabio QUARTARARO | Yamaha | 11 |
6 | Alex RINS | Suzuki | 10 |
7 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia | 9 |
8 | Pol ESPARGARO | Honda | 8 |
9 | Jack MILLER | Ducati | 7 |
10 | Enea BASTIANINI | Ducati | 6 |
11 | Stefan BRADL | Honda | 5 |
12 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 4 |
13 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | 3 |
14 | Brad BINDER | KTM | 2 |
15 | Jorge MARTIN | Ducati | 1 |
16 | Luca MARINI | Ducati | 0 |
17 | Iker LECUONA | KTM | 0 |
18 | Franco MORBIDELLI | Yamaha | 0 |
19 | Lorenzo SAVADORI | Aprilia | 0 |
20 | Alex MARQUEZ | Honda | 0 |
21 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | 0 |
22 | Danilo PETRUCCI | KTM | 0 |
Moto2
Raul Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) continues to take the Moto2 class by storm as the rookie ended Friday at the TISSOT Grand Prix of Doha over half a second clear of his rivals, a sensational 1:58.541 seeing the Spaniard pull clear of second-placed Fabio Di Giannantonio (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2). Fernandez’s teammate and Qatar GP podium finisher Remy Gardner (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completed the top three.
It didn’t take long for the times to immediately be quicker than a very warm FP1, and leading the way in the early stages were two rookies: Celestino Vietti (Sky Racing Team VR46) and Raul Fernandez. It didn’t last long though, as FP1 pacesetter Di Giannantonio stuck in a 1:59.058, with Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) and Marco Bezzecchi (Sky Racing Team VR46) joining the Italian in the top three.
The session was then fairly quiet in terms of improvements, with plenty of riders figuring out race settings rather than searching for a quick lap time. The ever-impressive Raul Fernandez then went two tenths quicker than Sam Lowes’ (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) pole time from last weekend with just under four minutes to go though, a lap that put him over half a second clear of the pack. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) made it two rookies inside the top five too as there were a few movers down the bottom end of the top 14, but no one was troubling Raul Fernandez at the top.
The young Spaniard remained over half a second clear of Di Giannantonio to head into qualifying day as the rider to beat and by some distance, with Qatar GP podium finisher Diggia enjoying a good day at the office to take P2. Gardner beat fourth place Bezzecchi by just 0.020s, and then it’s only 0.005s back to fifth place Roberts as the timesheets got incredibly tight. Two more rookies impressed next up, with sixth-placed Ogura and eighth-placed Vietti sandwiching World Championship leader Lowes as the Qatar GP winner ended the day in seventh.
Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) and Nicolo Bulega (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) – despite an early crash at Turn 6 – were able to comfortably grab places in the all-important top 14 as they complete the top ten, with those provisionally on for a place in Q2 concluded by Stefano Manzi (Flexbox HP 40), Aron Canet (Solunion Aspar Team), Augusto Fernandez (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) and rookie Cameron Beaubier (American Racing), who recovered from a small tumble in FP1.
That means some big name riders may miss out on an automatic place in Q2, with conditions likely to be more difficult for a time attack in FP3. Petronas Sprinta Racing pair Xavi Vierge and Jake Dixon are two of those, with Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), Jorge Navarro (MB Conveyors Speed Up), Tom Lüthi (Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team) and his teammate Bo Bendsneyder also having tricky Friday evenings.
Moto2 Friday Combined Times
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | R.Fernandez | KALEX | 1m58.541 |
2 | F.Di Giannanto | KALEX | +0.517 |
3 | R.Gardner | KALEX | +0.647 |
4 | M.Bezzecchi | KALEX | +0.667 |
5 | J.Roberts | KALEX | +0.672 |
6 | A.Ogura | KALEX | +0.702 |
7 | S.Lowes | KALEX | +0.724 |
8 | C.Vietti | KALEX | +0.774 |
9 | M.Schrotter | KALEX | +0.821 |
10 | N.Bulega | KALEX | +1.066 |
11 | S.Manzi | KALEX | +1.072 |
12 | A.Canet | BOSCOSCURO | +1.123 |
13 | A.Fernandez | KALEX | +1.207 |
14 | C.Beaubier | KALEX | +1.236 |
15 | X.Vierge | KALEX | +1.241 |
16 | S.Chantra | KALEX | +1.244 |
17 | J.Navarro | BOSCOSCURO | +1.251 |
18 | J.Dixon | KALEX | +1.320 |
19 | T.Luthi | KALEX | +1.355 |
20 | B.Bendsneyde | KALEX | +1.366 |
21 | T.Arbolino | KALEX | +1.374 |
22 | L.Dalla Porta | KALEX | +1.440 |
23 | Y.Montella | BOSCOSCURO | +1.703 |
24 | A.Arenas | BOSCOSCURO | +1.836 |
25 | H.Garzo | KALEX | +1.844 |
26 | L.Baldassarri | MV AGUSTA | +2.045 |
27 | H.Syahrin | NTS | +2.317 |
28 | T.Marcon | MV AGUSTA | +4.219 |
Moto3
With an automatic slot in Q2 on their minds, the Moto3 field left it late to try and make one last dash count in FP2 at the TISSOT Grand Prix of Doha… but many didn’t even make it to the line in time. That left Darryn Binder (Petronas Sprinta Racing) on top of the pile, although the South African held onto it by 0.040 ahead of Sergio Garcia (GASGAS Gaviota Aspar Team) as the Spaniard just made it over the line to improve. Gabriel Rodrigo (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) slots into third, another key name from the front group in the Qatar GP making his presence felt on Friday.
Pretty good conditions welcomed Moto3 back on track at Losail International Circuit, and after a scorching FP1 it all came down to pushing for that laptime in FP2. Binder did just that to put in a time around seven tenths off his Qatar GP pole lap, with quiet then falling in the final few minutes as the field filed back into pitlane. Filing back out, however, is where the idea of a last dash came undone as many didn’t manage to cross the line in time to set that final fast lap. The result? A few key names out of position, including Dennis Foggia (Leopard Racing) set to miss the cut in P15 and Qatar GP frontrunner Ayumu Sasaki (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) in P27.
Behind Binder, Garcia and Rodrigo at the top though, John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) ends Friday in fourth as he got back up to the sharp end following bad luck in the Qatar GP, and fellow veteran Tatsuki Suzuki (SIC58 Squadra Corse) completes the top five. Qatar winner Jaume Masia (Red Bull KTM Ajo) slots into sixth overall ahead of rookie sensation Izan Guevara (GASGAS Gaviota Aspar Team), with 2020 Rookie of the Year Jeremy Alcoba (Indonesian Racing Gresini Moto3) in P8 as he moved up from ending FP1 very out of position in last place.
Second superstar rookie and Qatar GP podium finisher Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was ninth and safely holding onto a provisional place in Q2, with Romano Fenati (Sterilgarda Max Racing Team) – the first rider out in the freight train dash – completing the top ten. Stefano Nepa (BOE Owlride) and Ryusei Yamanaka (CarXpert PrüstelGP) were 11th and 12th, with the last of those currently moving through to Q2 comprising two former Qatar GP winners: Kaito Toba (CIP Green Power) and Niccolo Antonelli (Avintia Esponsorama Moto3).
Moto3 Friday Combined Times
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | D.Binder | HONDA | 2m04.781 |
2 | S.Garcia | GASGAS | +0.040 |
3 | G.Rodrigo | HONDA | +0.112 |
4 | J.Mcphee | HONDA | +0.187 |
5 | T.Suzuki | HONDA | +0.242 |
6 | J.Masia | KTM | +0.297 |
7 | I.Guevara | GASGAS | +0.323 |
8 | J.Alcoba | HONDA | +0.362 |
9 | P.Acosta | KTM | +0.388 |
10 | R.Fenati | HUSQVARNA | +0.490 |
11 | S.Nepa | KTM | +0.548 |
12 | R.Yamanaka | KTM | +0.611 |
13 | K.Toba | KTM | +0.616 |
14 | N.Antonelli | KTM | +0.631 |
15 | D.Foggia | HONDA | +0.640 |
16 | A.Fernandez | HUSQVARNA | +0.657 |
17 | J.Dupasquier | KTM | +0.726 |
18 | Y.Kunii | HONDA | +0.745 |
19 | F.Salac | HONDA | +0.756 |
20 | A.Migno | HONDA | +0.768 |
21 | C.Tatay | KTM | +0.874 |
22 | M.Kofler | KTM | +0.884 |
23 | X.Artigas | HONDA | +1.100 |
24 | R.Rossi | KTM | +1.143 |
25 | D.Öncü | KTM | +1.361 |
26 | A.Izdihar | HONDA | +1.438 |
27 | A.Sasaki | KTM | +1.472 |
28 | L.Fellon | HONDA | +2.035 |
2021 MotoGP Round Two
Time Schedule (AEDT)
Time | Class | Session |
2125-2205 | Moto3 | FP3 |
2220-2300 | Moto2 | FP3 |
2315-0000 | MotoGP | FP3 |
0130-0145 (Sun) | Moto3 | Q1 |
0155-0210 (Sun) | Moto3 | Q2 |
0225-0240 (Sun) | Moto2 | Q1 |
0250-0205 (Sun) | Moto2 | Q2 |
0220-0250 (Sun) | MotoGP | FP4 |
0300-0315 (Sun) | MotoGP | Q1 |
0325-0340 (Sun) | MotoGP | Q2 |
Time | Class | Session |
2140-2200 | Moto3 | WUP |
2210-2230 | Moto2 | WUP |
2240-2300 | MotoGP | WUP |
0000 (Mon) | Moto3 | Race |
0120 (Mon) | Moto2 | Race |
0300 (Mon) | MotoGP | Race |
2021 FIM MotoGP World Championship calendar
Round | Date | Location |
Round 2 | Apr-04 | Doha, Losail (night race) |
Round 3 | Apr-18 | Portugal, Portimao |
Round 4 | May-02 | Spain, Jerez |
Round 5 | May-16 | France, Le Mans |
Round 6 | May-30 | Italy- Mugello |
Round 7 | Jun-06 | Catalunya, Barcelona |
Round 8 | Jun-20 | Germany, Sachsenring |
Round 9 | Jun-27 | Netherlands, Assen |
Round 10 | Jul-11 | Finland, KymiRing (subject to homologation) |
Round 11 | Aug-15 | Austria, Red Bull Ring |
Round 12 | Aug-29 | Great Britain, Silverstone |
Round 13 | Sep-12 | Aragon, Motorland Aragon |
Round 14 | Sep-19 | Sam Marino, Misano |
Round 15 | Oct-03 | Japan, Motegi |
Round 16 | Oct-10 | Thailand, Chang International Circuit |
Round 17 | Oct-24 | Australia, Phillip Island |
Round 18 | Oct-31 | Malaysia, Sepang |
Round 19 | Nov-14 | Valencia, Circuit Ricardo Tormo |
Round 20 | TBA | Argentina, Termas de Rio Hondo |
Round 21 | TBA | Americas, COTA |