All four Aprilia RS-GP26 riders finished inside the top ten in Friday’s Qatar Practice session to qualify directly for Q2. Factory riders Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin were third and seventh, with Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez fifth and Ai Ogura ninth.
Aprilia Racing’s November 6 report said Martin had not fully recovered from the injury sustained in the Phillip Island Sprint. Fifth in FP1 and seventh in evening Practice, he achieved the direct-Q2 target. He said he improved throughout the day and felt stronger in the evening than in the afternoon.
Martin nevertheless distinguished his general feeling from the demands of a maximum-effort lap. He said the pain became more noticeable when he tried to push, leaving time-attack performance to improve. Reaching his Q2 target therefore came while he was still working back towards full fitness.
Bezzecchi felt comfortable on the medium tyre from the outset. Second in FP1 and third in Practice, he described clear progress compared with Aprilia’s difficulties in Qatar last year. He also stressed that it was only Friday and that details still needed improvement.
Aprilia Racing manager Paolo Bonora said Bezzecchi was competitive both over a time attack and on race pace, while praising Martin for reaching Q2 despite his injury. All four riders avoided Q1, though qualifying competition remained ahead.
INKA SPORTS Analysis and Conclusion: Different tasks within one strong team result
INKA SPORTS sees the encouraging signs in several bikes reaching a useful working window and the clarity of the factory riders’ feedback. Bezzecchi can focus on refinement, while Martin must also balance physical tolerance with pushing for a lap time. Those are different tasks within the same positive team result.
