Franco Morbidelli leads proceedings on Practice Friday at the Qatar Grand Prix.
Setting a 1:50.830, the Italian edged out factory Ducati teammates Pecco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez, who did not go for a final run on a fresh soft rear tyre.
Fabio di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez secured yet another a Ducati top 5 lockout as Fabio Quartararo led the charge for the rest of the field.
The KTM duo of Pedro Acosta and Maverick Vinales made it directly to Q2 in 7th and 8th ahead of Gresini Ducati rookie Fermin Aldeguer.
It’s the 20-year-old’s second direct Q2 qualification in a row.
Honda top-runner Johann Zarco completeed the top 10 in Lusail clinching P10 on his final lap of the day, beating Alex Rins by just +0.030s.
The Spaniard finished the day 11th ahead of the factory Honda due of Luca Marini and Joan Mir.
After an okay-ish FP1 session in the afternoon, Practice Friday at the Qatar Grand Prix turned sour for Brad Binder.
The South African ended the day P14 after a crash on his final timed lap buried all hope of a direct spot in Q2 in the gravel trap.
The KTM rider wasn’t the only one to get a taste of tarmac in Practice.
Somkiat Chantra, Augusto Fernandez and Jack Miller found their way into the gravel trap as well. All riders escaped their crashes unscathed.
