APRILIA LOCKS OUT THE TOP FOUR IN QATAR FP2

Aprilia dominated MotoGP’s second free practice in Qatar, with Marco Bezzecchi leading a four-rider sweep at the top of the timesheets. Raul Fernandez, Ai Ogura and Jorge Martin followed their teammate, while Marc Marquez was the fastest Ducati in fifth, 0.427 seconds behind.

The 30-minute session was held in Saturday’s midday sun, with the track more than 10 degrees Celsius warmer than it had been on Friday evening. Lap times were consequently slower. Marquez initially set the pace, recording a 1:52.034 and holding nearly half a second over Bezzecchi. With three minutes remaining, Bezzecchi moved to the front with a 1:51.571. Several riders posted quick sector times late on, but none managed to beat him. Marquez was also using different tyres from the Aprilia riders.

The session was an opportunity to prepare for qualifying, which followed immediately. Friday’s timed practice had already secured the top 10 direct passage to Q2; the remaining riders had to contest Q1, where the first two would advance.

Fabio Di Giannantonio had topped Friday’s timed practice for VR46 with a 1:50.406, narrowly breaking Marc Marquez’s lap record. Saturday’s warmer conditions made matching that pace difficult.

Honda rookie Diogo Moreira, who had been second-last on Friday, improved to seventh. Pedro Acosta also showed signs of recovery after a difficult opening day. The KTM rider had finished 14th in Friday’s timed practice and complained of poor rear grip and difficulty turning the bike. He had been fourth in the warmer first practice, then placed ninth in FP2. Although he could not repeat that earlier result, the improvement offered encouragement for KTM.