MILLER LEADS THE WAY IN QATAR

Jack Miller led the way in practice ahead of the MotoGP season-opening Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar.

The Australian topped the timesheets at the end of FP2 with the fastest time of 1:53.387, just 0.007s away from the lap record, to head a 1-2 for the factory Ducati squad.

In the earlier afternoon session, it was Petronas SRT’s Franco Morbidelli who set the pace, beating out Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro after several riders took turns with the fastest time during FP1.

Miller proved to be fast early, picking up where he left off in preseason testing, to rocket to the top of the timesheets at the start of opening practice. He would ultimately end the session with the third-fastest time.

Several riders crashed during the session with Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) the first to become unstuck, dropping his bike at Turn 4.

Pol Espargaro also took a tumble at Turn 6 on his debut as a factory Honda rider in FP1. The Spaniard fell for a second time while trying to set a quick time at the end of FP2 as well.

FP2 was held under lights with times immediately faster than the previous daylight running.

Jack Miller leads the way in Qatar – Image: LAT

Miller took the opportunity to bank a quick time straightaway before the session was briefly interrupted with an early red flag due to debris on the front straight.

A flurry of activity late in the session, saw a number of riders set quick times before Miller’s near lap record pace secured his place at the top with just 2 minutes left in the session.

Francesco Bagnaia ended the day just 0.035s off the pace of his teammate ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) in third.

Recovering his earlier crash, Johann Zarco slotted into fourth. While Alex Rins (Suzuki), Maverick Vinales (Monster Energy Yamaha), Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia), Valentino Rossi (Petronas Yamaha) and Pol Espargaro (Honda) rounded top ten.

The 11th fastest time was the best that the 2020 MotoGP Champion Joan Mir could achieve at the end of practice.

For more of the latest MotoGP news pick up the current issue of Auto Action. Also make sure you follow us on social media Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and/or weekly email newsletter for all the latest updates between issues.