MotoGP Qatar FP1: Brad Binder puts in late lap to lead FP1

March 4, 2022 EMR Writer

KTM powaaaaaa, Brad Binder is the man we are talking about after FP1.

Brad Binder fired in the fastest lap of the opening session of the season after a late charge to topple Suzuki’s reign of a 1-2 in the session. Suzuki looked incredibly strong throughout FP1 with Alex Rins topping the speed charts and the 2020 World Champions leading the way in a 1-2 throughout, however in the final moments of the session they would be bested by the KTM of Brad Binder and whole lotta Honda’s and Yamaha’s with Alex Rins finishing up in P3 and Joan Mir in P7.

The top two positions would be split by just 0.056 seconds with Brad Binder taking the top spot over Takaaki Nakagami in second place as the fastest Honda, we would see three Honda’s in the top 5 as the new variation of the RC213V shows huge promise with Pol Espargaro leading his teammate Marc Marquez in P4 and P5 respectively.

Sandwiched in the middle is Alex Rins who will be giving his all this year to try and secure a contract extension after a disastrous 2021 season that saw him finish in P13 overall. Finishing outside of the top 5 was Franco Morbidelli who’s late fastest lap promoted him to P6 over Joan Mir.

Rounding out the top 10 were Aleix Espargaro on the Aprilia leading Alex Marquez then Miguel Oliveira ahead of 2021 champion Fabio Quartararo in P11, surprisingly we saw no Ducati’s in the top 11 despite there being eight of them on the grid, tragically we saw them sit right at the bottom of the timesheets with Jorge Martin the fastest man in red in P12.

In the factory Ducati team Jack Miller finished up in P13 and Francesco Bagnaia in P18 after a crash, Remy Gardner was the fastest rookie in P19.

Full results –