Ducati Sporting Club UK > News Items > Ducati Press Releases > Jack Miller concludes Friday free practice for GP of Qatar in sixth place. Pecco Bagnaia tenth

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MotoGP | Round 1 - Qatar GP 2022 | Friday 4 March 2022

Jack Miller concludes Friday free practice for GP of Qatar in sixth place. Pecco Bagnaia tenth

Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia took to the track this afternoon for the first Friday free practice of the 2022 MotoGP season, which begins as usual, at night, with the Grand Prix of Qatar, at the Lusail International Circuit in Doha this weekend.

After the first FP1 session held in the daylight with track temperatures just above 40 degrees, the Ducati Lenovo Team riders returned to the track at 6pm, as the sun went down, for FP2, finding conditions similar to those they are likely to encounter in Sunday's race, which is scheduled at the same time. On the floodlit track, both Jack and Pecco improved on their morning lap times and managed to finish Friday in the top ten, securing a provisional spot in Q2 tomorrow.

In his time attack attempt, Miller improved his lap time by over a second and a half, ending Friday in sixth place. On the other side of the garage, Bagnaia, who finished the first session only 18th after suffering a small crash, stopped the clock at 1:53.971 in FP2 to set the tenth fastest time overall.

Jack Miller (#43 Ducati Lenovo Team) - 6th (1:53.870)
"All in all, it was a good day. In FP2, I had some small issues, and I couldn't ride consistently. In the end, I was able to put a good lap together and I am satisfied with it. Despite the sand surrounding the circuit, the asphalt was pretty clean today, and the conditions were excellent. I'm satisfied with these first two sessions here in Qatar, and I'm confident I can improve again tomorrow".

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) - 10th (1:53.971)
"I'm not completely happy with this first day because I struggled a bit, especially at the start. I was expecting to be a little faster this evening in FP2. Anyway, I am positive: my team and I have already identified the areas we need to work on to improve my feeling with the bike, so I am confident I can do well in qualifying tomorrow".

The Ducati Lenovo Team riders will be back on track tomorrow at 13:15 local time (12:15 Italian time) for FP3, while the first qualifying of the 2022 season will take place at 18:00 (CET +2.00), after FP4.