Skip to main content

Sign up for free

  • Get quick access to your favorite articles

  • Manage alerts on breaking news and favorite drivers

  • Make your voice heard with article commenting.

Autosport Plus

Discover premium content
Subscribe
Live text
General

Qatar MotoGP

Live Text

Sort by
Newest first
Lorenzo leads Iannone, Dovizioso, Rossi, Marquez, Pedrosa, Vinales, Crutchlow, Hernandez and Smith.
Vinales is down to seventh, Marquez also started slowly and has dropped to fifth.
Lorenzo leads Iannone, a slow start for Vinales, he has lost a number of places already.
Green flag
Go!
The riders return to the grid.
Lorenzo and Hernandez on hard fronts and soft rears. Soft fronts and backs for the rest of the field.
An update on the tyre compounds - hard fronts and medium rears for Marquez, Rossi and Crutchlow.
Marquez and Vinales will join him on the front row, with Iannone, Rossi and Dovizioso on the second row tomorrow night.
So, that's the first qualifying session of the new season in the books. Pole for Lorenzo is the perfect way to start his title defence.
Marquez's moment was actually after his practice start. The factory Honda veered to the left and spat him off the road.
Marquez also ran off the road in the closing stages.
Information
The top 12: Lorenzo, Marquez, Vinales, Iannone, Rossi, Dovizioso, Pedrosa, Barbera, Espargaro, Crutchlow, Smith and Redding.
Replays suggest Lorenzo made a mistake on his final lap.
Checkered flag
Jorge Lorenzo will start the Qatar Grand Prix from pole position.
Iannone also improves but stays fourth.
Rossi goes P5.
Vinales goes P3.
Redding is also set to improve.
But Iannone, Rossi and Vinales are all fastest of all through the first two sectors.
Still Lorenzo on pole.
Marquez does not improve, he greets the chequered flag. Ditto Lorenzo, Dovizioso and Smith.
Rossi improves, he is seventh, but gets another lap.
Marquez is fastest of all through the first sector. Lorenzo is not on a flier.
90 seconds to go. Riders are starting their final flying laps.
Dovizioso improves again, he is fourth, 0.420s off Lorenzo.
Three minutes to go, all 12 riders are on track. Now or never, gents.
Smith also improves, he moves up to ninth.
Dovizioso improves, he is seventh, 0.720s off Lorenzo's benchmark.
Dovizioso and Smith are both fastest of all through the first sector.
Riders are heading back to the pits momentarily, only Marquez, Barbera, Dovizioso and Smith still on track.
The order with six minutes to go: Lorenzo, Marquez, Iannone, Pedrosa, Barbera, Vinales, Dovizioso, Crutchlow, Rossi, Smith, Redding, Espargaro.
Marquez gets to within 0.091s of Lorenzo, on his fourth lap.

By: Matt Beer

Published: