After the excellent start on the first day of the VisitQatar Grand Prix NTS RW Racing GP had hoped for more than eighteenth on the grid for Bo Bendsneyder and twentieth for Jesko Raffin. Both riders suffered from grip problems in the much cooler conditions on the Losail International Circuit during qualifying. The conditions on the second day of the Qatar GP had changed dramatically compared to the first day, with much more wind, coming from a different direction, and considerably lower track temperatures. With FP3 in the hotter afternoon there was no real possibility to anticipate on the circumstances in which the two 15-minutes qualifying sessions were held. Jesko Raffin was the first to head out on track in Q1. The Swiss just missed out on one of the four top spots that give access to Q2. Bo Bendsneyder had already gained access to Q2 by setting the twelfth time in FP2 on Friday, in much better conditions. “With just fifteen minutes there wasn’t enough time to change the settings to help our riders”, RW Racing GP team manager Jarno Janssen explained. “We were prepared for different conditions and we had a set of new tires ready, but it had extremely cooled down compared to any other session and we didn’t have the time to find an answer to that. It’s a real shame, because we know what would have been possible for both Jesko and Bo. Both of them did what they could. Eighteenth and twentieth is a bit of a disappointment after the good results during the test and on the first day, but our original goal was to grab points in the race and for that this position should be good enough.”
Bo Bendsneyder: “It was an extremely difficult session. I’ve never before had so much difficulties to ride these kind of lap times, fighting against the wind, almost being blown off the track. Would the conditions have been more like yesterday, it wouldn’t have been a problem to be around the top 12, but in these circumstances unfortunately it wasn’t possible. It’s a shame, but it looks to be better tomorrow so we’re going to fight for it in the race.”
Results Q1 & Q2 Combined:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Fastest lap |
| 1 | Marcel SCHROTTER | Dynavolt Intact GP | 1’58.585 |
| 2 | Xavi VIERGE | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1’58.731 |
| 3 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | Flexbox HP 40 | 1’58.784 |
| 4 | Luca MARINI | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 1’58.804 |
| 5 | Remy GARDNER | ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team | 1’58.819 |
| 6 | Sam LOWES | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | 1’58.845 |
| 7 | Thomas LUTHI | Dynavolt Intact GP | 1’59.004 |
| 8 | Brad BINDER | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1’59.038 |
| 9 | Alex MARQUEZ | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1’59.062 |
| 10 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | Flexbox HP 40 | 1’59.213 |
| 11 | Jorge MARTIN | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1’59.278 |
| 12 | Jorge NAVARRO | #NAAM? | 1’59.325 |
| 13 | Enea BASTIANINI | Italtrans Racing Team | 1’59.387 |
| 14 | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team | 1’59.397 |
| 15 | Nicolo BULEGA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 1’59.460 |
| 16 | Iker LECUONA | American Racing KTM | 1’59.681 |
| 17 | Andrea LOCATELLI | Italtrans Racing Team | 1’59.708 |
| 18 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | NTS RW Racing GP | 1’59.837 |
| 19 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | +Ego Speed Up | 1’59.754 |
| 20 | Jesko RAFFIN | NTS RW Racing GP | 1’59.786 |
| 21 | Khairul Idham PAWI | Petronas Sprinta Racing | 1’59.931 |
| 22 | Simone CORSI | Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 | 2’00.024 |
| 23 | Joe ROBERTS | American Racing KTM | 2’00.506 |
| 24 | Dominique AEGERTER | MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward | 2’00.518 |
| 25 | Lukas TULOVIC | Kiefer Racing | 2’00.836 |
| 26 | Stefano MANZI | MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward | 2’00.861 |
| 27 | Somkiat CHANTRA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 2’00.872 |
| 28 | Marco BEZZECCHI | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 2’00.880 |
| 29 | Philipp OETTL | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 2’00.929 |
| 30 | Jake DIXON | Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team | 2’00.951 |
| 31 | Dimas EKKY PRATAMA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia | 2’01.291 |
| 32 | Xavi CARDELUS | Sama Qatar Angel Nieto Team | 2’02.863 |
Source: motogp.com, rwracinggp.com
