FP1 pacesetter Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) ended the Moto2™ second Free Practice session at the top of the timesheets after the Spaniard set a 1:59.112, as the sun sets at the Grand Prix of Qatar. Rookie Pedro Acosta makes it a Red Bull KTM Ajo 1-2 on Day 1, 0.160s off P1, with Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) – recovering from a broken hand – lands P3 late on.

The opening exchanges of FP2 were busy as track conditions allowed the riders to immediately improve their times from the earlier FP1 stint. Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) rose to the top on his fifth flying lap, before Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) moved the goalposts with just under 10 minutes to go. Acosta and Fernandez then exchanged P1, as Dixon then crashed – unhurt – as he chased a time to go back to the summit. In the end, Fernandez held P1 from Acosta, with Schrötter rising to P3 on his last lap.

Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) edged out Canet by 0.004s as the pair finished P4 and P5 respectively at the end of the first day of intermediate class action in 2022. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) is sixth going into Saturday’s action with rookie Filip Salač (Gresini Racing Moto2™) going well in FP2 to finish seventh. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) and Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) were P8 and P9 respectively, as Dixon slipped to P10.

Moto2™ FP3 goes green at 12:20 local time (GMT+3), who will automatically get themselves into the first Q2 session of the season?

Top 10 combined:
1. Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull KTM Ajo) – 1:59.112
2. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) + 0.160
3. Marcel Schrötter (Liqui Moly Intact GP) + 0.164
4. Celestino Vietti (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.437
5. Aron Canet (Flexbox HP40) + 0.444
6. Ai Ogura (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.547
7. Filip Salač (Gresini Racing Moto2™) + 0.554
8. Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) + 0.590
9. Cameron Beaubier (American Racing) + 0.593
10. Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) + 0.650