Sembilan kali juara dunia, Valentino Rossi, akan memulai balapan hari Minggu dari posisi kedelapan.
Pebalap tim Movistar Yamaha itu hanya mampu mencatatkan waktu putaran 1 menit 54,389 detik.
Sedangkan tandem Rossi, Maverick Vinales, harus puas memulai balapan dari posisi ke-12 usai hanya mampu mencatatkan waktu putaran 1 menit 54,707 detik.
Berikut hasil kualifikasi MotoGP Qatar 2018:
| Pos | Pebalap | Tim | Waktu |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johann ZARCO | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1'53.680 |
| 2 | Marc MARQUEZ | Repsol Honda Team | 1'53.882 |
| 3 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Alma Pramac Racing | 1'53.887 |
| 4 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | LCR Honda CASTROL | 1'54.072 |
| 5 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | Ducati Team | 1'54.074 |
| 6 | Alex RINS | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | 1'54.339 |
| 7 | Dani PEDROSA | Repsol Honda Team | 1'54.368 |
| 8 | Valentino ROSSI | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | 1'54.389 |
| 9 | Jorge LORENZO | Ducati Team | 1'54.431 |
| 10 | Jack MILLER | Alma Pramac Racing | 1'54.449 |
| 11 | Andrea IANNONE | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | 1'54.619 |
| 12 | Maverick VIÑALES | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | 1'54.707 |
| Q2. | |||
| 13 | Aleix ESPARGARO | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1'55.140 |
| 14 | Franco MORBIDELLI | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1'55.169 |
| 15 | Hafizh SYAHRIN | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | 1'55.258 |
| 16 | Tito RABAT | Reale Avintia Racing | 1'55.273 |
| 17 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | 1'55.380 |
| 18 | Thomas LUTHI | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | 1'55.381 |
| 19 | Karel ABRAHAM | Angel Nieto Team | 1'55.392 |
| 20 | Bradley SMITH | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1'55.553 |
| 21 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Angel Nieto Team | 1'55.638 |
| 22 | Pol ESPARGARO | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1'55.706 |
| 23 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | LCR Honda IDEMITSU | 1'56.401 |
| 24 | Xavier SIMEON | Reale Avintia Racing | 1'56.545 |