Roberts Third, Beaubier 24th On Opening Day In Qatar

Joe Roberts ended the opening day of the Grand Prix of Qatar with the third best Moto 2 time.

MotoAmericans Joe Roberts and Cameron Beaubier just completed their first day of action in the Barwa Grand Prix of Qatar with the pair of Californians ending the day third and 24^th, respectively, on the timesheets from the second practice session at the Losail International Circuit today.

Italtrans Racing Team’s Roberts improved from 14^th in the afternoon session to third in the night session, taking 1.8 seconds off his time to end the day with a best of 1:59.272. Roberts, who finished fourth in last year’s Grand Prix of Qatar, started the 2020 race from pole position with his lap record setting 1:58.136.

Cameron Beaubier was 24th under the lights in FP2 on Friday in Qatar.

American Racing Team’s Beaubier, meanwhile, was 27^th in the afternoon session before improving to 24^th under the lights at Losail. Beaubier’s best lap came on his 14^th of 15 go-arounds, the lap of 2:00.188 some 1.6 seconds better than his best from FP1. The five-time MotoAmerica Superbike Champion is 1.2 seconds off Elf Marc VDS Racing Team’s Sam Lowes best with the Brit leading the day with his 1:58.959.

SKY Racing Team VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi ended the day second fastest. With Roberts third, Petronas Sprinta Racing’s Xavi Vierge and Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Remy Gardner rounded out the top five on opening day of the Moto2 season.