MotoGP Doha FP2: Miller leads a Ducati 1-2-3
Jack Miller heads a Ducati 1-2-3 in Doha by a huge 0.313 seconds.
Jack Miller makes a significant improvement in the FP2 session in Doha finishing just 0.366 from the lap record set by Francesco Bagnaia last weekend at the same track, the Ducati’s performance in the latter session of the day was a stark contrast to how they got on in the FP1 session with Miller, Bagnaia and Zarco running outside of the top 20, now we see them in FP2 occupying the 1-2-3 slots with Jorge Martin in P5 putting 4 Ducati’s in the top 5, quite an impressive comeback I must say.
Miller had a great FP2 session and was consistently putting in strong laps, even saving an almost certain hi-side before returning to the pits for some new rubber (and underpants), his lap time of 1:53.145 sets the benchmark for many riders tomorrow as he looks at attack his teammates lap record, his teammate Bagnaia had a solid session once again recovering thanks to the cooler track temps in the desert of Qatar with Pramac Ducati rider Johann Zarco joining the duo in P3.
Fabio Quartararo came to ruin the Ducati party of a possible 1-2-3-4 by placing himself in the P4 slot only 0.046 away from his compatriot Zarco’s lap time, Fabio will be wanting to get back on the front row as he did last week as he knows Ducati will be strong going into turn 1 race day so if he can limit the damage by qualifying as high as possible this will be positive for the Frenchman. In P5 we saw the rather rapid rookie Jorge Martin, Martin put in some really strong lap times throughout the FP2 session and even held P1 for the best part of 30 seconds until Alex Rins stole this from the rookies hands.
Aprilia are continuing to improve after leading FP1, Aleix Espargaro ended FP2 in a solid P6 only 0.501 from Miller’s rapid lap time, also worth noting that Lorenzo Savadori was only 1.2 seconds from his teammate and is slowly but surely improving session by session as he gets to grips with the MotoGP way of life. Franco Morbidelli leads Alex Rins in P7 and P8, Morbidelli having a tough old time in FP1 earlier with oil problems on his bike forcing him to spend a lot of time in the pits.
Last weeks winner Maverick Vinales was the ninth fastest rider with a lap time of 1:53.872, he will be looking to also start on the front row as he did last weekend – his front row start was a major factor in why he won the race, the start gave him an extra position boost after a strong launch off the line thanks to his consistent practice starts, he leads Stefan Bradl who took the very last Q2 slot relegating Miguel Oliveira, Danilo Petrucci and Joan Mir to Q1. Mir is still struggling with his one-lap pace in P13, he cannot seem to string a lap time together which is strong enough for the top positions yet on race day always finds himself at the sharp end, he will need to improve this if he wants to fight for the title again this year.
Further down the order we see the KTM’s of Brad Binder in P18 and Iker Lecuona in last place who is struggling with some arm pump issues. Pol Espargaro finished in P17 on the Honda.
Full results:
