Raul Fernandez surprised all by setting the pace at the end of Practice for the Qatar MotoGP as the penultimate round of the season got underway under the lights of the Lusail International Circuit.
RNF Aprilia’s Raul Fernandez dominated the second practice of the Qatar MotoGP weekend, and despite an anxious finish to the session title contenders Bagnaia and Martin secured Q2 spots.
As Friday’s action came to the conclusion the Spaniard led Fabio di Giannantonio by setting the fastest time during the final stages of the session on the CryptoData RNF Racing Aprilia.
Factory Aprilia riders Maverick Vinales, who set the fastest time only to have it canceled due to yellow flags, and Aleix Espargaro made it three RS-GPs inside the top five on an exceptional evening for Aprilia, finishing third and fifth respectively.
Brad Binder emerged as the top KTM rider in fourth place, splitting the Aprilia duo.
The sixth spot was secured by Luca Marini as Prima Pramac’s Jorge Martin topped factory stablemate Pecco Bagnaia by just 0.007 seconds finishing seventh and eighth respectively.
Augusto Fernandez led the GasGas Factory Racing Tech 3 team in ninth place while Marc Marquez was the only Honda rider to secure a spot directly into Q2.
The fastest laps by Bagnaia and Marquez were lost as a result of Espargaro’s previously mentioned crash, which also eliminated Q2-worthy times from riders like Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Ducati) and Enea Bastianini (Ducati).
They will be a part of a strong Q1 lineup that also includes Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo who was severely compromised by yellow flags, and KTM’s Jack Miller who crashed twice during the session, the second of which took place during the time attacks.
Q1 will also include Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez and Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco who finished no higher than 16th after crashing in the second practice session.
2023 Qatar MotoGP Practice Results
| Pos. | Name | Nat. | Team | Motorcycle | Lap Time |
| 1 | Raul Fernandez | 🇪🇦 | CryptoData RNF Racing | Aprilia RS-GP | 1m 52.843 |
| 2 | Fabio di Giannantonio | 🇮🇹 | Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati GP22 | 1m 52.892 |
| 3 | Maverick Vinales | 🇪🇦 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia RS-GP | 1m 52.936 |
| 4 | Brad Binder | 🇿🇦 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 | 1m 52.955 |
| 5 | Aleix Espargaro | 🇪🇦 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia RS-GP | 1m 53.033 |
| 6 | Luca Marini | 🇮🇹 | Mooney VR46 Racing | Ducati GP22 | 1m 53.094 |
| 7 | Jorge Martin | 🇪🇦 | Prima Pramac Racing | Ducati GP23 | 1m 53.195 |
| 8 | Pecco Bagnaia | 🇮🇹 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP23 | 1m 53.202 |
| 9 | Augusto Fernandez | 🇪🇦 | GasGas Factory Racing Tech3 | KTM RC16 | 1m 53.289 |
| 10 | Marc Marquez | 🇪🇦 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda RC213V | 1m 53.323 |
| 11 | Jack Miller | 🇦🇺 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 | 1m 53.337 |
| 12 | Alex Marquez | 🇪🇦 | Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati GP22 | 1m 53.561 |
| 13 | Franco Morbidelli | 🇮🇹 | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha M1 | 1m 53.564 |
| 14 | Pol Espargaro | 🇪🇦 | GasGas Factory Racing Tech3 | KTM RC16 | 1m 53.696 |
| 15 | Marco Bezzecchi | 🇮🇹 | Mooney VR46 Racing | Ducati GP22 | 1m 53.704 |
| 16 | Johann Zarco | 🇨🇵 | Prima Pramac Racing | Ducati GP23 | 1m 53.778 |
| 17 | Joan Mir | 🇪🇦 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda RC213V | 1m 53.921 |
| 18 | Enea Bastianini | 🇮🇹 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP23 | 1m 53.937 |
| 19 | Miguel Oliveira | 🇵🇹 | CryptoData RNF Racing | Aprilia RS-GP | 1m 54.005 |
| 20 | Iker Lecuona | 🇪🇦 | LCR Honda Castrol | Honda RC213V | 1m 54.254 |
| 21 | Fabio Quartararo | 🇨🇵 | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha M1 | 1m 54.260 |
| 22 | Takaaki Nakagami | 🇯🇵 | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | Honda RC213V | 1m 54.441 |
