Alex Marquez pipped Sam Lowes by 0.038 seconds to top the combined Moto2 practice times on Friday in Qatar.
Red Bull KTM Ajo's Miguel Oliveira was the early pacesetter in the first session of the year, run during the day, though a flurry of ever improving laptimes in the opening stages culminated in Marc VDS' Marquez taking over top spot with a 2:02.139s.
Session-topping laps for Jorge Navarro and Marcel Schrotter soon followed, but four-times Moto2 race winner Marquez reclaimed top spot with a 2:01.965s.
This looked good to remain the best effort of FP1, but a final assault on the timing screens from Pons' new signing Lorenzo Baldassaarri saw his 2:01.601s become the benchmark for the start of FP2.
Run under the floodlights, the second 45-minute outing once again saw top spot change hands rapidly in a short space of time in the opening minutes.
Sky VR46 rider Francesco Bagnaia – who will be stepping up to MotoGP next year with Pramac – was the first to dip underneath the 2:01s barrier with a 2:00.985s, though Marquez edged ahead 10 minutes later with a 2:00.951s.
With three minutes on the clock, Marquez made one final improvement to a 2:00.932s to cement top spot on Friday.
CGBM KTM's Lowes, who returns to the class after a tough year in MotoGP with Aprilia in '17, made a steady start to his Moto2 comeback in FP1 in 16th, but turned up the pace for the second session and shot up to second with a 2:00.970s.
Bagnaia was shuffled back to third ahead of Intact GP's Schrotter, while FP1 pacesetter Baldassaari completed the top five.
Oliveira ended Friday sixth on his KTM from Isaac Vinales and Luca Marini, who has moved to the Sky VR46 team for this season. Binder and class rookie Romano Fenati rounded out the top 10.
Navarro faded from deep inside the top 10 at the end of FP1 to 11th in the second session, while reigning Moto3 world champion Joan Mir impressed in 13th despite missing the final pre-season test through injury.
There were no crashes across both sessions, though intermediate class returnees Hector Barbera [17th] and Eric Granado [31st] encountered mechanical issues on their Pons and Forward Racing machines.
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