2022 Qatar MotoGP, Lusail - Full Qualifying Results
Jorge Martin and Enea Bastianini deliver a Ducati one-two in qualifying for the season-opening Qatar MotoGP at Lusail.
It was factory Ducati's Jack Miller who was holding the advantage from Pol Espargaro and Jorge Martin after the opening run, but Marc Marquez then emerged in Francesco Bagnaia's slipstream and was promptly towed to the top.
But another Desmosedici soon demoted the eight-time world champion in the form of Martin on the Pramac GP22, then a 2021-spec bike in the hands of Gresini rider Bastianini, who snatched his first MotoGP front row place!
Marquez held on to third, with Miller and Espargaro brothers Aleix (Aprilia) and Pol (Honda) forming row two.
Fastest in free practice, Suzuki's hopes of a major fast-lap breakthrough were dampened in qualifying with eighth (Joan Mir) and tenth (Alex Rins) places, albeit both within 0.470s of pole.
Having been forced to fight their way through Qualifying 1, Brad Binder and reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo were short of new soft rear tyres for Q2.
Both thus only did one run, when Binder managed seventh and Quartararo eleventh, ahead of only team-mate Franco Morbidelli.
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 Quartararo.
| Qatar MotoGP, Lusail - Full Qualifying Results | ||||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff | Lap | Max |
| 1 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP22) | 1'53.011s | 6/7 | 345k |
| 2 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Gresini Ducati (GP21) | +0.147s | 7/7 | 350k |
| 3 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.272s | 5/7 | 345k |
| 4 | Jack Miller | AUS | Ducati Lenovo (GP22) | +0.287s | 6/7 | 345k |
| 5 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) | +0.308s | 7/7 | 344k |
| 6 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +0.335s | 7/7 | 345k |
| 7 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.339s | 2/3 | 343k |
| 8 | Joan Mir | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.396s | 7/7 | 346k |
| 9 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP22) | +0.400s | 5/7 | 345k |
| 10 | Alex Rins | SPA | Suzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR) | +0.470s | 6/7 | 345k |
| 11 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.624s | 5/6 | 336k |
| 12 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.971s | 6/7 | 342k |
| Qualifying 1: | ||||||
| 13 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Ducati (GP22) | 1'53.78s | 2/5 | 345k |
| 14 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | 1'53.819s | 7/7 | 340k |
| 15 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP21)* | 1'53.915s | 2/7 | 346k |
| 16 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | 1'54.038s | 3/7 | 343k |
| 17 | Luca Marini | ITA | Mooney VR46 Ducati (GP22) | 1'54.222s | 2/6 | 344k |
| 18 | Alex Marquez | SPA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | 1'54.224s | 7/7 | 348k |
| 19 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP) | 1'54.228s | 5/6 | 346k |
| 20 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1) | 1'54.244s | 7/7 | 343k |
| 21 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Gresini Ducati (GP21)* | 1'54.276s | 7/7 | 346k |
| 22 | Remy Gardner | AUS | KTM Tech3 (RC16)* | 1'54.378s | 5/6 | 341k |
| 23 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | KTM Tech3 (RC16)* | 1'54.889s | 2/6 | 343k |
| 24 | Darryn Binder | RSA | WithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)* | 1'56.011s | 3/5 | 344k |
* 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.
