2022 Qatar MotoGP, Lusail - Free Practice (4) Results
Johann Zarco has set the pace during final practice for the season-opening Qatar MotoGP, at a dusty Lusail.
Lap times were again incredibly close with the top six - featuring Ducati, Honda, Aprilia, Yamaha and KTM - covered by 0.196s.
While nearly all riders used soft tyres on Friday night, many riders moved to the mediums in FP4 (the hard compounds only being seen in the daylight sessions).
Although Zarco topped the session on softs fitted to his Pramac Ducati, the rest of the top ten set their best laps with at least one medium tyre, at the front and/or rear.
The mediums (front and rear) also helped the likes of Brad Binder bounce back into contention with KTM, with team-mate Oliveira also on form with the medium front.
Brad's younger brother and class rookie Darryn Binder suffered a technical problem with his RNF Yamaha as he left pitlane at the start of the session, costing him track time.
Qualifying 1 - for those outside the top ten after third free practice, including Zarco and reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo - will now get underway.
Unlike in previous years, there has been no pre-season testing held at the circuit, meaning teams and riders came into the event without any track data since last year's Doha double. The race start time has also been moved forwards, to 18:00, shortly after sunset.
The opening MotoGP sessions of each day, plus all of the Moto3 and Moto2 track action thus take place in daylight.
Yamaha took victory in both of last year's races courtesy of a win each for Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo.
| Qatar MotoGP, Lusail - Free Practice (4) Results | ||||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff | Lap | Max |
| 1 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP22) | 1'54.420s | 14/14 | 344k |
| 2 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +0.296s | 12/12 | 344k |
| 3 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) | +0.388s | 9/12 | 345k |
| 4 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.389s | 13/13 | 340k |
| 5 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.390s | 5/8 | 345k |
| 6 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.398s | 5/10 | 342k |
| 7 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.408s | 9/13 | 342k |
| 8 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP22) | +0.410s | 10/12 | 348k |
| 9 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.411s | 4/12 | 344k |
| 10 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Gresini Ducati (GP21) | +0.444s | 10/11 | 348k |
| 11 | Joan Mir | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.549s | 9/14 | 344k |
| 12 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP22) | +0.585s | 6/11 | 348k |
| 13 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) | +0.595s | 12/12 | 344k |
| 14 | Jack Miller | AUS | Ducati Lenovo (GP22) | +0.698s | 4/16 | 350k |
| 15 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.808s | 6/13 | 338k |
| 16 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP21)* | +0.856s | 9/9 | 348k |
| 17 | Alex Marquez | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +0.921s | 11/14 | 344k |
| 18 | Luca Marini | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) | +0.995s | 9/10 | 346k |
| 19 | Alex Rins | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +1.055s | 5/13 | 342k |
| 20 | Remy Gardner | AUS | KTM Tech3 (RC16)* | +1.169s | 3/12 | 339k |
| 21 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | KTM Tech3 (RC16)* | +1.282s | 4/9 | 343k |
| 22 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1) | +1.373s | 9/10 | 338k |
| 23 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Gresini Ducati (GP21)* | +2.048s | 6/11 | 346k |
| 24 | Darryn Binder | RSA | WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)* | +2.297s | 10/10 | 339k |
* Rookie
Fastest Practice time:
Alex Rins SPA Suzuki 1m 53.432s
Official Qatar MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati 1m 52.772s (2021)
Fastest race lap:
Francesco Bagnaia ITA Ducati 1m 54.491s (2021)
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
