Quartararo fastest in warm up, pole sitter Bagnaia 15th
It was a perfect start to the first race day of the 2021 MotoGP season for Yamaha, as the factory duo of Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Vinales led the way in the pre race warm up session.
Riders had to contend with extremely windy conditions throughout the session as lap times were around a second off the expected race pace.
Given the conditions it was a relatively smooth session for Quartararo, however, the Frenchman had a scare after the checkered flag had fallen when the wind had his M1 Yamaha aggressively shaking its front end on a practice start.
Early on it was Johann Zarco who was quickest for Pramac Ducati, and he held that position until the final minutes of the session. The 30 year-old ultimately finished third.
It was a slow start to the day for the factory Ducati team, with the fastest ever man around the Losail International Circuit Francesco Bagnaia struggling in the harsh conditions.
Bagnaia finished the session in 15th place, while team-mate Jack Miller was 21st.
The Australian elected to stay in pit lane for most of the session and completed his first flying lap with only five minutes remaining.
Alex Marquez was the highest positioned Honda in fourth place, ahead of team-mate Takaaki Nakagami.
If the wind persits for the race, it could prove a good day for Honda as they’ve enjoyed previous success in similar conditions.
Pol Espargaro was sixth fastest as he continued his adaptation of the Honda. It's been a much tougher weekend for the former KTM rider than in the test with two crashes already.
Rounding out the top ten were rookies Enea Bastianini in seventh and Luca Marini in ninth. While Stefan Bradl was last of the Hondas in eighth and Franco Morbidelli tenth respectively.
