#QatarGP: Ducati Lenovo Team finishes a weather-affected opening day of action at Lusail
• Bastianini seventh in both dry and wet conditions. Bagnaia tenth in FP1 and twelfth in FP2
The Ducati Lenovo Team has completed the opening day of action for the inaugural Grand Prix of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship, taking place at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar. Due to adverse weather, the Practice session was changed into a 45-minute Free Practice, in order to give all riders the opportunity to test also under wet conditions at the Qatari venue.
The only dry session was, therefore, Free Practice 1, with both Ducati official standard bearers in MotoGP in the top ten. Bastianini finished in seventh place with a lap-time of 1:52.950, while Bagnaia was tenth (1:53.22). Jorge Martín – riding Pramac Racing’s Desmosedici GP machine – set the fastest lap of the session.
The evening’s FP2 took place in wet conditions and saw Marc Márquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) topping the timesheets, while Enea was once again seventh quickest, and Pecco ended up twelfth.
The Practice session, originally scheduled for today, will open tomorrow’s on-track proceedings to – as usual – determine the ten riders that will be seeded directly to Q2. The new Practice will have a 45-minute duration, with the whole schedule for the day brought forward by 20 minutes.
Enea Bastianini (#23, Ducati Lenovo Team)
“It has been a little bit of an unusual day for Qatar, with the rain being the rarest of sights here. Everything went well in the end, as I was able to finish the two sessions in seventh place and felt quite good in both track conditions. We surely have to make a few steps forward in the wet, but we did well in the dry. We’re strong with regards to the time attack, but we still need to work a little bit more on our pace. I’m sure the others will catch up tomorrow, so we’ll need to make another step.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#1, Ducati Lenovo Team)
“This is surely not the day one I was expecting. I was lacking a little bit of feeling, but it’s only the first day; we also had our first wet session with the new bike, and obviously there is work to do with this type of track conditions. We’re our potential and how far we can go, and we’re know that we can be strong on this track – so no pressure. Tomorrow’s schedule is going to be quite an intense one, with Practice as the first session, but if things go as we expect, then we’ll be fast and competitive.”
