News Summary
- Qatar MotoGP FP1 starts at 14:45 in Lusail on Friday, November 6, followed by Practice at 19:00.
- The ten fastest riders in the evening session advance directly to Q2. Everyone else starts qualifying in Q1.
- Friday’s first session starts at 11:45 GMT in the UK and 17:15 IST in India. The evening session starts at 16:00 GMT and 21:30 IST.
The 2026 Qatar Grand Prix gets underway for the MotoGP field on Friday, November 6, with Free Practice 1 at 14:45 local time and Practice at 19:00. The second session carries the immediate competitive stakes at Lusail. Its ten fastest riders secure a place in the final phase of Saturday’s qualifying, which sets the grid for both the sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix.
The two sessions also give teams a chance to work in different conditions. FP1 takes place in the afternoon, while the evening session starts under the floodlights at the same local time as Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s race. Teams can use the opening 45 minutes to establish a set-up, then see how the bike responds after dark while keeping an eye on the cut for Q2.
Qatar MotoGP Friday practice start times
| Market | FP1 | Practice |
|---|---|---|
| Qatar — AST | 14:45 Fri | 19:00 Fri |
| Brazil — BRT | 08:45 Fri | 13:00 Fri |
| UK and Ireland — GMT | 11:45 Fri | 16:00 Fri |
| US and Canada — Eastern | 06:45 Fri | 11:00 Fri |
| US and Canada — Pacific | 03:45 Fri | 08:00 Fri |
| India — IST | 17:15 Fri | 21:30 Fri |
| Sydney and Melbourne — AEDT | 22:45 Fri | 03:00 Sat |
| New Zealand — NZDT | 00:45 Sat | 05:00 Sat |
The table covers the premier class. Viewers in Sydney and Melbourne have a late Friday start for FP1 and an early Saturday start for Practice. In New Zealand, both sessions fall on Saturday, November 7. The full Qatar MotoGP schedule also has the times for qualifying, the sprint and the Grand Prix.
How Friday Practice decides who reaches Q2
FP1 lasts 45 minutes and gives riders their first track time of the weekend to work on set-up, tyre choice and rhythm. The lap times from that session have no bearing on who gets into Q2. Direct entry is decided by each rider’s fastest lap in the separate, 60-minute Practice session.
The position to watch in the closing minutes is 10th. A rider can spend much of the hour inside the cut and still drop into Q1 if others improve on their final runs. Times from FP1 do not carry over, so leading the opening session offers no protection once the evening session begins.
The riders outside Friday’s top ten go into Q1 on Saturday. Only the two fastest riders in Q1 advance to join the ten already through to Q2. Those 12 riders then contest pole and the first four rows of the grid, with the same qualifying result used to set the starting order for both races. For a rider who misses Friday’s cut and fails to advance from Q1, the best available grid position is 13th.
What to watch in the first session under the lights
Marc Márquez arrives in Qatar with a 44-point lead over Jorge Martín and a 67-point advantage over Marco Bezzecchi in the MotoGP championship standings. Lusail is Márquez’s first opportunity to clinch the 2026 title, with his points gains across the sprint and Grand Prix determining whether he can seal it on Sunday.
Friday offers an earlier measure of how his weekend is shaping up. A direct place in Q2 would give Márquez one fewer hurdle before fighting for a front-row start in both races. The evening times will also show who can put together a fast lap in the conditions riders will face when the points are awarded.
Saturday’s programme starts for the premier class with FP2 at 14:00 local time, followed by Q1 at 14:40. The sprint starts at 19:00 local time.
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the Qatar Grand Prix in MotoGP.
