Suzuki emerged from the first day of Friday free practice action for the opening round of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship in Qatar as the team to beat after landing first and third on the timesheets in Lusail.
The Japanese squad looked the most assured following the first night-time session of the Qatar MotoGP weekend and appeared to confirm the gains made by the team over a single lap as Alex Rins topped the timesheets with a 1m 53.432s, while Mir was only a tenth further back in third place.
Splitting the pair was Marc Marquez, who showed a strong turn of form on the new Repsol Honda, with Jorge Martin leading a muted Ducati challenge in fourth around a circuit expected to suit the new GP22.
Franco Morbidelli flew the flag for Yamaha in fifth position for a solid start to proceedings for the Italian in his first event of full fitness for nine months, while Jack Miller was sixth despite being aggrieved after being baulked on the final corner.
Similarly, Aleix Espargaro was furious with team-mate Maverick Vinales after being held by his his fellow Aprilia rider, but the Spaniard was still safely inside the cut-off for Q2 in seventh.
Defending champion began his title defence with eighth best on the Yamaha, ahead of Honda’s Pol Espargaro and Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia, who bounced back from a crash in FP1 to sneak into the top ten.
With the cooler conditions of FP2 potentially making it the more advantageous session compared with FP3 - which will be held earlier in the day - those outside the top ten will potentially find it a task to crack Q2 automatically.
This was demonstrated by Brad Binder, who plummeted from 1st to 15th between sessions as one of four KTMs unable to make it into the top ten. Also on the cusp are Enea Bastianini in 11th, Takaaki Nakagami in 12th and Johann Zarco down in 18th.
Top rookie was Raul Fernandez in 19th, ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and Remy Gardner.
2022 Qatar MotoGP | Lusail International Circuit | Friday PRACTICE [FP1+FP2]
| 2022 Qatar MotoGP | Lusail International Circuit | Friday PRACTICE [FP1+FP2] | Round 1 / 21 | |||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat. | MotoGP Team | MotoGP Bike | Timing |
| 1 | Alex Rins | ESP | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1m 53.432 |
| 2 | Marc Marquez | ESP | Repsol Honda Team | Honda RC213V | 1m 53.467 |
| 3 | Joan Mir | ESP | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1m 53.579 |
| 4 | Jorge Martin | ESP | Pramac Racing | Ducati GP21 | 1m 53.652 |
| 5 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-M1 | 1m 53.845 |
| 6 | Jack Miller | AUS | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP21 | 1m 53.870 |
| 7 | Aleix Espargaro | ESP | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia RS-GP | 1m 53.886 |
| 8 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-M1 | 1m 53.906 |
| 9 | Pol Espargaro | ESP | Repsol Honda Team | Honda RC213V | 1m 53.963 |
| 10 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP21 | 1m 53.971 |
| 11 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Gresini Racing | Ducati GP21 | 1m 54.013 |
| 12 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda | Honda RC213V | 1m 54.038 |
| 13 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Red Bull KTM Racing | KTM RC16 | 1m 54.053 |
| 14 | Andrea Dovizioso | ITA | WithU RNF Racing Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-M1 | 1m 54.153 |
| 15 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM Racing | KTM RC16 | 1m 54.247 |
| 16 | Alex Marquez | ESP | LCR Honda | Honda RC213V | 1m 54.475 |
| 17 | Maverick Vinales | ESP | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprila RS-GP | 1m 54.524 |
| 18 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Pramac Racing | Ducati GP21 | 1m 54.565 |
| 19 | Raul Fernandez | ESP | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 | 1m 54.884 |
| 20 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | VR46 Racing | Ducati GP21 | 1m, 54.900 |
| 21 | Remy Gardner | AUS | Tech3 KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 | 1m 54.929 |
| 22 | Fabio di Giannantonio | ITA | Gresini Racing | Ducati GP21 | 1m 55.371 |
| 23 | Luca Marini | ITA | VR46 Racing | Ducati GP21 | 1m 55.775 |
| 24 | Darryn Binder | RSA | WithU RNF Racing Yamaha | Yamaha YZF-M1 | 1m 55.915 |
