Submitted by David Emmett on
Johann Zarco has topped the timesheets with two hours left of the Qatar MotoGP test, with a stunning lap which got him to within a tenth of a second of the outright pole lap. The Monster Tech3 Yamaha rider came up just short of Jorge Lorenzo's 2008 pole record, set back when MotoGP still had special one-lap qualifying tires.
Zarco's outright time is way quicker than the opposition can manage. Cal Crutchlow is currently second, four tenths slower than the Frenchman, while Alex Rins is a further two tenths behind Crutchlow on the Suzuki GSX-RR. Danilo Petrucci leads a trio of Ducati GP18s, ahead of Jorge Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso.
With an hour left of the test, many riders will be embarking on a long run or race simulation to test their setup at the same time the race is scheduled to be run. Track action will stop at 8pm, and the track will be covered with water for a wet race test from 8:30pm to 9pm.
Times at 7pm:
| Pos | No | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
| 1 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Yamaha M1 | 1:54.029 | ||
| 2 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda RC213V | 1:54.457 | 0.428 | 0.428 |
| 3 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki GSX-RR | 1:54.650 | 0.621 | 0.193 |
| 4 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati GP18 | 1:54.659 | 0.630 | 0.009 |
| 5 | 99 | Jorge Lorenzo | Ducati GP18 | 1:54.692 | 0.663 | 0.033 |
| 6 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati GP18 | 1:54.748 | 0.719 | 0.056 |
| 7 | 26 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda RC213V | 1:54.774 | 0.745 | 0.026 |
| 8 | 93 | Marc Marquez | Honda RC213V | 1:54.878 | 0.849 | 0.104 |
| 9 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha M1 | 1:55.048 | 1.019 | 0.170 |
| 10 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Honda RC213V | 1:55.132 | 1.103 | 0.084 |
| 11 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:55.232 | 1.203 | 0.100 |
| 12 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati GP17 | 1:55.239 | 1.210 | 0.007 |
| 13 | 55 | Hafizh Syahrin | Yamaha M1 | 1:55.273 | 1.244 | 0.034 |
| 14 | 17 | Karel Abraham | Ducati GP16 | 1:55.300 | 1.271 | 0.027 |
| 15 | 19 | Alvaro Bautista | Ducati GP17 | 1:55.347 | 1.318 | 0.047 |
| 16 | 53 | Tito Rabat | Ducati GP17 | 1:55.465 | 1.436 | 0.118 |
| 17 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | KTM RC16 | 1:55.489 | 1.460 | 0.024 |
| 18 | 38 | Bradley Smith | KTM RC16 | 1:55.566 | 1.537 | 0.077 |
| 19 | 45 | Scott Redding | Aprilia RS-GP | 1:55.595 | 1.566 | 0.029 |
| 20 | 25 | Maverick Viñales | Yamaha M1 | 1:55.721 | 1.692 | 0.126 |
| 21 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda RC213V | 1:55.978 | 1.949 | 0.257 |
| 22 | 12 | Tom Luthi | Honda RC213V | 1:56.122 | 2.093 | 0.144 |
| 23 | 10 | Xavier Simeon | Ducati GP16 | 1:56.339 | 2.310 | 0.217 |
| 2017 Pole time: | 2017 | Maverick Viñales | 1:54.316 |
| Fastest lap in the 2017 race: | 2017 | Johann Zarco | 1:55.990 |
| Circuit Race Record Lap: | 2016 | Jorge Lorenzo | 1:54.927 |
| Best ever lap at the circuit: | 2008 | Jorge Lorenzo | 1:53.927 |
