Darryn Binder dominated Friday’s Moto3 practice sessions by setting the fastest time of the day on just his third lap of FP2.

One of just four riders to break the 2’05 barrier, Binder claimed the honours with a 2’04.781 to sit 0.040 ahead of next-best-rider Sergio Garcia. Teammate John McPhee finished just over one-tenth behind, in fourth, as once again a number of riders failed to set a final hot-lap after misjudging their strategies.

The riders returned to another intensely hot Losail track for the second race weekend in a row in Qatar as 40℃ air temperatures heated the asphalt to a heady 54℃.

Garcia was the man in charge as Moto3 initially began preparations for the DohaGP with Jaume Masia challenging for early pace after the first 10 minutes of the afternoon’s FP1. Last week’s qualifying sensation, Izan Guevara soon joined the fun by setting the time to beat so far, a 2’06.905 on his fifth lap, with the KTM/GasGas dominance looking to carry across the consecutive weekends.

With the majority of the preparation already done, and track conditions unfavourably different to Sunday’s race time, the mid-session was a quietly steady affair, Masia returning to challenge the times - with a 2’06.8 - with 12 minutes to go. Dennis Foggia slid into fourth as he looked to recover his fortunes from a disastrous opening race, ahead of Andrea Migno and Stefano Nepa, while Gabriel Rodrigo, Deniz Öncü, Tatsuki Suzuki and podium-sitter Pedro Acosta rounded out the top-10.

The closing minutes saw McPhee circulating on track with Sunday’s winner, Masia, before the Scot joined the pack in the pits with six to go. Kaito Toba was the first to make himself known as the final three minute began, the CIP rider claiming second on his 11th attempt as the field looked to put in some early time attacks.

McPhee claimed control as the chequered flag first dropped but it was Masia comfortably back at the top as the dust eventually settled, his a 2’05.360 effort sitting him over half a second ahead of the rest. Foggia and Filip Salac, bested the Scot in the closing seconds to round out the top-three with McPhee holding fourth from Honda team Asia teammates Andi Farid Izdihar and Yuki Kunii. Xavier Artigas hoped to recover from Sunday’s misdemeanour in seventh, with Toba, Romano Fenati and Guevara concluding the top-10 but with FP2 beckoning, the times were far from the expected outcomes.

A 20 degree temperature drop saw the early evening session heading out on a 33℃ track for its 6pm start. Lorenzo Fellon instantly suffering a technical issue on his out-lap and forcing the rookie to push his Sic58 machine back for assistance.

The opening shuffle left Petronas firmly in charge as the only riders so far within the 2’04’s. Binder’s 2’04.781 leading McPhee by just 0.187 with FP2’s early benchmark for the all-important Q2 promotion shootout. Niccolò Antonelli claimed third from Migno and Masia with Suzuki heading the PruestelGP riders of Ryusei Yamanaka and Jason Dupasquier and a gaggle of KTM’s.

Fenati was the man on the move at the halfway stage as he navigated his Max Racing Husqvarna to third before being promptly relegated as Guevara stole the position. Teammate Garcia, Jeremy Alcoba, Masia and Rodrigo were also fighting for glory as the times ramped up, the latter Gresini rider successful in splitting the Petronas pair, for second, on his eighth lap.

12 minutes to go and the track fell silent as the lightweight class prepared for their final runs. 2’05.537 the current gateway to Q2 promotion, set by Salac, with his Snipers teammate the first rider outside of the top-14 and just 0.7s the gap to the top.

Six minutes of peace was finally broken by Green Powered Toba and Max Kofler, Carlos Tatay joining the duo as the only three riders out on track but with three minutes left on the clock the rest of the pack remained in the pits - a dangerous tactic as last weekend’s outcome proved.

The strategy was to prove problematic once again as the teams released their riders with 2’30 to go, the majority only making it out on track with just over 2 minutes to go, providing a tense wait to see who would make the line before the flag came out. Further drama ensued as a group of riders bunched together in the final sector, killing time they didn’t have in a bid to get the perfect tow and meeting the flag before their hot lap began.

Binder maintained control as the dust settled on the end-of-session carnage, Garcia forcing out Rodrigo and McPhee for second, with Suzuki moving up to fifth. Earlier efforts from Masia, Guevara and Alcoba guaranteed them top-eight spots while Pedro Acosta joined the KTM stronghold in ninth. Fenati held on to 10th without setting another flyer while Nepa, Yamanaka, Toba and Antonelli were able to ensure their provisional promotion.

Foggia, Adrian Fernandez, Dupasquier, Kunii, Salac and Migno missing out as they concluded the top-20.