Marc Marquez topped FP1 at the Qatar Grand Prix, but the real story was a return to form for title rival Jorge Martin.

Marquez could win his 10th world championship this weekend if things go his way, but Aprilia’s star man has shown that it likely won’t be the case.

Martin broke his wrist two weeks ago while battling with Marquez in Australia, and his return a week later in Malaysia was cut short due to pain in the joint and difficulty braking.

However, in Qatar, Martin was able to compete, albeit still off Marquez in top spot, but in a surprise fifth.

Between him and his title rival was Aprilia teammate Marco Bezzecchi in second, with the Italian still mathematically in with a chance of winning the championship.

Then came Fabio Di Giannantonio and Pedro Acosta, who suffered a surprise late breakdown on his KTM.

MotoGP Qatar full FP1 results

Position	Rider	Team	Time
1	93 M. Marquez	Ducati Lenovo Team	1:52.27
2	72 M. Bezzecchi	Aprilia Racing	1:52.38
3	49 F. Di Giannantonio	Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team	1:52.69
4	37 P. Acosta	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	1:52.95
5	89 J. Martin	Aprilia Racing	1:53.01
6	63 F. Bagnaia	Ducati Lenovo Team	1:53.07
7	25 R. Fernandez	SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team	1:53.18
8	10 L. Marini	Honda HRC Castrol	1:53.23
9	21 F. Morbidelli	Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team	1:53.30
10	5 J. Zarco	Castrol Honda LCR	1:53.36
11	79 A. Ogura	SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team	1:53.54
12	54 F. Aldeguer	BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP	1:53.61
13	33 B. Binder	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	1:53.63
14	27 I. Lecuona	BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP	1:53.71
15	12 M. Viñales	Red Bull KTM Tech3	1:53.72
16	11 D. Moreira	Pro Honda LCR	1:54.06
17	23 E. Bastianini	Red Bull KTM Tech3	1:54.24
18	96 J. Dixon	Honda HRC Castrol	1:55.42

What FP1 means for the MotoGP title fight

Martin needs to collect a minimum of eight points to keep his title hopes alive in the remaining two Grand Prix, while Bezzecchi needs a minimum of 30.

That would be in the eventuality that Marquez wins the sprint and Grand Prix for a maximum haul of 37 points.

Given Martin's condition in Sepang last time out, it looked very likely that Marquez could easily take 30 points on his closest rival, but such a jump up the timesheets in FP1 suggests Martin will be able to spoil an early party for Marquez.