Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi topped the timesheets in the final Qatar MotoGP practice session, as the manufacturer locked out the top four.
Marc Marquez led for most of the majority of the session, but was displaced by a strong flurry of pace from the Aprilia riders at the end of FP2.
With the championship battle reaching a pivotal point, the Aprilia riders overcame some pressure from the fast Ducati riders throughout practice to seal a 1-2-3-4 by just under a hundredth of a second.
It was Bezzecchi who led the charge on the factory Aprilia, with his 1:51.571s time enough to finish fastest by just over a tenth of a second.
The Trackhouse Aprilia pair ended practice in second and third, with Raul Fernandez leading team-mate Ai Ogura.
Jorge Martin was a surprise fourth after showing strong pace despite his injury, as Marquez slotted into fifth by the end of the session.
Fermin Aldeguer took sixth at the chequered flag ahead of Diogo Moreira in seventh and Fabio Di Giannantonio in eighth.
Pedro Acosta improved on his pace and rhythm from Friday’s sessions and took ninth, while Luca Marini completed the top 10 over 11th-placed Francesco Bagnaia.
Johann Zarco finished 12th, with Enea Bastianini 13th at the flag ahead of Iker Lecuona and Brad Binder.
Maverick Vinales ended the session 16th, while Franco Morbidelli and Jake Dixon rounded out the standings in 17th and 18th.
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