MotoGP Qatar FP2: Alex Rins leads as Suzuki look rapid

Alex Rins finishes Friday as the fastest rider with Suzuki looking incredibly fast.

Suzuki said during pre-season testing that they had a faster engine, no one expected it to be this fast though! Suzuki are consistently good at being able to qualify outside of the top 10 and rarely make it into Q2, therefore when they finished today’s FP2 session in P1 and P3 it caused a massive stir with Alex Rins actually overtaking the Ducati of Fabio Di Giannantonio on the straight, something that is unheard of from anyone nevermind a Suzuki which has been down on speed in the speed traps ever since they returned to MotoGP.

Alex Rins was the quickest man in the FP2 session leading 8-time champion Marc Marquez by just 0.035 seconds at the flag with Joan Mir in third place, there’s no doubt that it is more competitive this year and Suzuki are able to slice and dice at the front on day one. They may have finally been able to sort out their qualifying issues giving both riders a fighting chance each race instead of having to battle their way through the pack every time, this is only day one and round one though, let’s see how consistent they can be after a few rounds…

Jorge Martin was the fastest Ducati in P4, Ducati have looked to be struggling this weekend and were way down the order in FP1 not even finishing inside the top 10, after some configuration they look to be on the up with Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia joining Martin in the top 10 in P6 and P10 respectively, Martin and Miller sandwiching in Franco Morbidelli in P5 as the fastest Yamaha.

It wouldn’t be a MotoGP weekend if Aleix Espargaro didn’t get angry at someone, this time directing his anger towards his teammate Maverick Vinales who held him up whilst he was on a fast lap, despite that Aleix bagged himself a provisional Q2 spot with Pol Espargaro and Fabio Quartararo also within the top 10.

Sitting outside Q2 are some strong names including Enea Bastianini in P11, Takaaki Nakagami in P12, Miguel Oliveira in P13, Andrea Dovizioso in P14 and FP1 leader Brad Binder in P15, all of these riders finished within 0.815 of P1 and have enough left in the tank to battle for a front-row start tomorrow.

Full results – 

Featured image – Dorna