The 2021 Doha motorcycle Grand Prix (officially known as the Tissot Grand Prix of Doha) was the second round of the

2021 Grand Prix motorcycle racing season 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

. It was added to the calendar as a response to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. It was held at the Losail International Circuit in Lusail on 4 April 2021.

Background

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

On 22 January 2021 Dorna announced a significant update of the provisional calendar following the postponement of the

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

and American Grands Prix, originally scheduled as the second and third rounds of the championship (on 11 and 18 April respectively) due to the COVID-19 situation in both countries, with potential rescheduling for the last quarter of 2021. The organizers of the Qatar Grand Prix have signed a contract with Dorna Sports, owner of the sport's commercial rights, to host a double stage at the Losail International Circuit, becoming the sixth circuit in the history to host two consecutive World Championship races, and is the first time to be held in Qatar. The race is named after the city of

Doha Doha ( ) is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor (city), Al Khor and Lusail, it is home to most of the country's population. It ...

, where the circuit is located just outside the city of Lusail, north of Doha.

MotoGP Championship standings before the race

After winning the Qatar Grand Prix, Maverick Viñales leads the riders' ranking with 25 points, followed by Johann Zarco (20),

Francesco Bagnaia Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia ( ; born 14 January 1997) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer competing in MotoGP World Championship, MotoGP for the Ducati Corse, Ducati Lenovo Team. He is the and List of 500cc/MotoGP World Riders' Champions, ...

(16), Joan Mir (13) and Fabio Quartararo (11). In the constructors' classification, Yamaha is first at 25 points, followed by

Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A () is an Italian motorcycle manufacturing company headquartered in Bologna, Italy. History Barely a month after the official liberation of Italy in 1944, SIATA announced its intention to sell this engine, called ...

at 20 points.

Suzuki is a Japanese multinational mobility manufacturer headquartered in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, Shizuoka. It manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard motor, outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a va ...

is third at 13 points, with

Aprilia Aprilia is an Italian motorcycle and Scooter (motorcycle), scooter manufacturer in Noale, Italy, founded by Alberto Beggio. History Early days Aprilia, named after the Pre-war automobile, pre-war Lancia Aprilia, was founded after the Seco ...

and

Honda commonly known as just Honda, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate automotive manufacturer headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in October 1946 by Soichiro Honda, Honda has bee ...

following with 9 and 8 points respectively. KTM closes with 3 points. In the team championship standings, Monster Energy Yamaha leads with 36 points, 13 more than Ducati Lenovo Team and Team Suzuki Ecstar and 15 more than Pramac Racing. Repsol Honda Team is fifth at 13 points.

Moto2 Championship riders' standings before the race

After the first race of the season, Sam Lowes leads the intermediate class with 25 points, 5 more than Remy Gardner, 9 more than

Fabio Di Giannantonio Fabio Di Giannantonio (born 10 October 1998) is an Italian Grand Prix motorcycle racer, riding for Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team in the MotoGP class of Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 2025. Career Early career Born in Rome, in 2015, Di ...

, 12 more than Marco Bezzecchi and 14 more than Raúl Fernández.

Moto3 Championship riders' standings before the race

In the lightest class the top five places are occupied by Jaume Masiá, with 25 points, Pedro Acosta (20), Darryn Binder (16), Sergio García (13) and Gabriel Rodrigo (11).

MotoGP participants

Stefan Bradl replaced

Marc Márquez Marc Márquez Alentà (born 17 February 1993) is a Spanish Grand Prix motorcycle road racer who races for the Ducati Lenovo Team. He previously raced for the Ducati satellite team Gresini in 2024 and Honda's factory team from his MotoGP deb ...

in the second leg of the season as well, as Márquez extended his recovery from the end-of-season 2020 injury.

Moto2 participants

Tommaso Marcon replaced Simone Corsi for this round because of an injury.

Moto3 participants

The drivers and teams were the same as the season entry list with no additional stand-in riders for the race.

Free practice

MotoGP

In the first session, Aleix Espargaró finished at the top of the standings ahead of Álex Rins and Maverick Viñales. In the second session three Ducatis were the fastest, with Jack Miller the fastest, followed by

and Johann Zarco. In the third session, Fabio Quartararo was the best ahead of Rins and Joan Mir's Suzuki

Combined Free Practice 1-2-3

The top ten bikers (written in bold) qualified in Q2. The fastest personal time of the bikers are written in bold type.

Free Practice 4

Zarco was the fastest of the session, ahead of Viñales and Mir.

Moto2

In the first session,

was the fastest, followed by Marco Bezzecchi and Joe Roberts. In the second session, Raúl Fernández preceded Di Giannantonio and Roberts. In the third session Sam Lowes finished at the top of the standings, ahead of Bezzecchi and Remy Gardner.

Combined Free Practice

The top fourteen bikers (written in bold) qualified in Q2. The fastest personal time of the bikers are written in bold type.

Moto3

In the first session, Jaume Masiá was the fastest, followed by Dennis Foggia and Filip Salač. In the second session, Darryn Binder finished at the top, with Sergio García and Gabriel Rodrigo second and third respectively. Jason Dupasquier was fastest in the third session, ahead of Foggia and

John McPhee John Angus McPhee (born March 8, 1931) is an American author. He is considered one of the pioneers of creative nonfiction. He is a four-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in the category General Nonfiction, and he won that award on the fourt ...

Combined Free Practice

The top fourteen bikers (written in bold) qualified in Q2. The fastest personal time of the bikers are written in bold type.

Qualifying

MotoGP

Moto2

Moto3

;Notes * – Sergio García, Pedro Acosta, Romano Fenati, Stefano Nepa, Dennis Foggia, Riccardo Rossi and Deniz Öncü received a pit lane start penalty for irresponsible driving in the FP2.

Warm up

MotoGP

Johann Zarco was the fastest, followed by Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Viñales.

Moto2

Marco Bezzecchi finished the warm up in the lead ahead of Marcel Schrotter and Remy Gardner.

Moto3

Jaume Masiá preceded Andrea Migno and Gabriel Rodrigo.

Race

MotoGP

Moto2

Moto3

Championship standings after the race

Below are the standings for the top five riders, constructors, and teams after the round.

MotoGP

;Riders' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings ;Teams' Championship standings

Moto2

;Riders' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings ;Teams' Championship standings

Moto3

;Riders' Championship standings ;Constructors' Championship standings ;Teams' Championship standings

Notes

References

External links

* * * {{MotoGP 2020–29

Doha motorcycle Grand Prix Doha motorcycle Grand Prix

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the highest class of motorcycle road racing events held on Road racing, road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held sin ...

Doha motorcycle Grand Prix