Portuguese rider Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia) was this Friday the 12th fastest in the sum of the two free practice sessions at the Qatar Grand Prix, the opening race of the MotoGP World Championship.
The best record was achieved in the first of the day’s two sessions, with the Almada-born rider finishing 0.714 seconds behind the fastest, Spaniard Jorge Martin (Ducati). Spaniard Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) was second in free practice, at 0.047 seconds, with compatriot Pedro Acosta (GasGas) in third, at 0.071s, on a track less suited to the characteristics of the Aprilia than the Ducati.
The afternoon session, the second of the day, was marked by rain, which led the organization to change the program so that the drivers would not have to race with the reflection of the circuit lights on the wet track during the night.
Thus, the Spaniard Marc Márquez (Ducati) was the fastest, in a session in which Miguel Oliveira did not go beyond 20th position.
The Portuguese driver missed the direct passage to the second stage of Saturday’s qualifying by just over a tenth of a second.
The defending champion, Italian Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), was only 10th fastest.
The Qatar GP is the first of the 21 races scheduled for the 2024 World Speed Championship.
Qualifying and the race are scheduled for Saturday sprintwith the main race expected to be held on Sunday.