On the first day of the Moto2 test in Qatar, Bo Bendsneyder picked up the tread where she left it in Jerez last week. The Dutchman confirmed her good form with a best time of 2.00.684, good for thirteenth in the ranking of the three combined sessions. Bendsneyder was the only NTS RW Racing GP rider on the track of the Losail International Circuit. Team mate Steven Odendaal has to miss the test in Qatar because of the injury to her foot, on which she will have surgery on Monday. Her replacement Jesko Raffin arrived in Doha today and will step on the NTS tomorrow. Bendsneyder had a good feeling from the start of the first of the three sessions. Despite the strong wind, she could improve in every session and close the gap to the top. In the third session she set her fastest time, good for eleventh in the session, on a tire that already had twenty laps on the counter.
Bo Bendsneyder: “Because of the strong wind it was a bit difficult sometimes, but those conditions apply to everyone. We have tried some new things, especially at the front, and with that we have been able to make a good step in the end. We are not yet focusing on a fast lap – that will come tomorrow or the day after tomorrow – but now we have mainly concentrated on race pace. Being able to set these kind of lap times already, is proof that the base is good, because it has been more or less the same since we first tested in Valencia.”
Results day 1:
| Pos | Rider | Team | Fastest lap |
| 1 | Brad BINDER | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 1:59.776 |
| 2 | Sam LOWES | Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 | 2:00.178 |
| 3 | Iker LECUONA | American Racing KTM | 2:00.201 |
| 4 | Jorge NAVARRO | +Ego Speed Up | 2:00.269 |
| 5 | Alex MARQUEZ | EG 0.0 Marc VDS | 2:00.429 |
| 6 | Tom LUTHI | Dynavolt Intact GP | 2:00.444 |
| 7 | Xavi VIERGE | EG 0.0 Marc VDS | 2:00.591 |
| 8 | Augusto FERNANDEZ | FlexBox HP 40 | 2:00.638 |
| 9 | Luca MARINI | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 2:00.647 |
| 10 | Marcel SCHROTTER | Dynavolt Intact GP | 2:00.647 |
| 11 | Remy GARDNER | ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team | 2:00.650 |
| 12 | Nicolo BULEGA | SKY Racing Team VR46 | 2:00.663 |
| 13 | Bo BENDSNEYDER | NTS RW Racing GP | 2:00.684 |
| 14 | Jorge MARTIN | Red Bull KTM Ajo | 2:00.713 |
| 15 | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | +Ego Speed Up | 2:01.064 |
| 16 | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team | 2:01.155 |
| 17 | Jake DIXON | Angel Nieto Team | 2:01.356 |
| 18 | Simone CORSI | Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 | 2:01.364 |
| 19 | Enea BASTIANINI | Italtrans Racing Team | 2:01.401 |
| 20 | Lorenzo BALDASSARRI | FlexBox HP 40 | 2:01.458 |
| 21 | Joe ROBERTS | American Racing KTM | 2:01.622 |
| 22 | Somkiat CHANTRA | Idemitsu Honda Team Asia | 2:01.840 |
| 23 | Khairul Idham PAWI | Petronas Sprinta Racing | 2:01.979 |
| 24 | Andrea LOCATELLI | Italtrans Racing Team | 2:02.114 |
| 25 | Stefano MANZI | MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward | 2:02.120 |
| 26 | Marco BEZZECCHI | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 2:02.195 |
| 27 | Dominique AEGERTER | MV Agusta Idealavoro Forward | 2:02.322 |
| 28 | Philipp OETTL | Red Bull KTM Tech 3 | 2:02.865 |
| 29 | Xavier CARDELUS | Angel Nieto Team | 2:03.402 |
| 30 | Dimas Ekky PRATAMA | Idemitsu Honda Team Asia | 2:04.087 |
| 31 | Lukas TULOVIC | Kiefer Racing | 2:04.405 |
Source: rwracinggp.com, motogp.com
