2024 Official Qatar MotoGP Test results - Day 1

After a Shakedown and Official test in Sepang, 2024 MotoGP pre-season testing concludes with two days in Qatar, where track action at the same Lusail venue as the March 8-10 season-opener takes place from 2pm to 9pm on Monday and Tuesday.

Raul Fernandez will be returning to action after missing days two and three at Sepang due to injuries from a highside. However new Pramac Ducati rider Franco Morbidelli will again be absent after last month’s Superbike training accident.

Reigning double world champion Francesco Bagnaia was fastest with a new all-time lap record at the Sepang test, as Ducati riders filled the top four places.

Aleix Espargaro was the lead Aprilia in fifth, with Brad Binder the top KTM in seventh, Joan Mir the lead Honda in tenth and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo eleventh.

However, in terms of Sprint race simulations, it was new VR46 Ducati rider Fabio di Giannantonio who was quickest of all.

Marc Marquez was sixth for Gresini Ducati, but closer on race pace, with GASGAS rookie Pedro Acosta impressive in both the Shakedown and Official test.

Since the Qatar test starts in daylight, with dusk at around 6pm, a slow start to each day is expected, with dusty and windy conditions meaning only Ducati test rider Michele Pirro (replacing Morbidelli) and Acosta set a lap time in the opening hour.

But serious testing began in the second hour, when Aprilia's Maverick Vinales set the first 1m 54s. The Spaniard remained on top after further improvements, before team-mate Espargaro took over at around 6:30pm.

The injured Raul Fernandez went fastest on the 2023-spec Trackhouse machine with an Aprilia one-two-three forming shortly after 7pm.

The most important testing hours are 7-9pm, which covers the start of the MotoGP Sprint on March 9 and the end of Sunday's main race on March 10.

It was during those hours that Ducati launched a fightback from Bagnaia, Jorge Martin, di Giannantonio and Enea Bastianini.

Bagnaia ultimately finished the opening day quickest with a 1m 52.040s, just a few tenths from the official pole record, with last year's title rival Martin closing to within 0.220s of the Italian.

Espargaro and Aprilia were third, while late progress saw the lead KTM of Binder rise to fourth, in front of defending Qatar winner di Giannantonio on the VR46 GP23.

Johann Zarco likewise broke into the top ten late on to be the fastest Honda, just ahead of countryman Quartararo (Yamaha).

Marc Marquez was the final rider within one second of Bagnaia, in 16th.

Miguel Oliveira stood out from the other RS-GPs in 21st, just behind Quartararo's new Yamaha team-mate Alex Rins and the GASGAS of Augusto Fernandez.

Bastianini - with a massive 355.3km/h - and Binder (349.5 km/h) ruled the top speed charts. 

But while Bastianini's best looked a one-off, and also dragged up his average, Binder's KTM had the highest average at 348.1km/h followed by the Yamahas of Rins and Quartararo (346.8km/h)

Marco Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez, Augusto Fernandez and Jack Miller were among the opening-day fallers...

Official Qatar MotoGP records

Best lap: Luca Marini (VR46 Ducati) 1m 51.762s (2023)

Fastest race lap: Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo) 1m 52.978s (2023)