- First off, the last time that the grid positions were decided on combined free practice times was in Portugal in 2010, when torrential rain caused the qualifying sessions to be cancelled in all three classes.
- Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) starts from pole for the first time since moving up to the MotoGP™ class, adding to his previous poles in Moto2™ and Moto3™, to become the first rider to start from pole across all three current classes. He is aiming to be second youngest rider of all-time, after Mike Hailwood (Norton & MV Agusta), to have won in the premier-class on bikes from two different manufacturers.
- Andrea Iannone (Team Suzuki Ecstar) starts from the middle of the front row – the best ever grid position for a Suzuki rider in Qatar.
- Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) is in third place on the grid to make it three different manufacturers represented on the front row. The win in 2014 by Marquez was the last time that a Honda rider stood on the top step of the podium in Qatar.
- Heading the second row of the grid is MotoGP™ rookie Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3). This is the best grid position in the MotoGP™ class by a rookie at the opening race of the year since 2008, when Jorge Lorenzo was on pole and set a new record.
- This is the first time ever that all of the top four positions on the MotoGP™ grid have been graduates from the Moto2™ class.
- Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), who has finished second for the last two years in Qatar, is the highest placed Ducati rider on the grid in fifth place.
- In the final place on the second row is Scott Redding (Octo Pramac Racing) – his best grid position since he was third fastest qualifier at the Dutch GP last year.
- Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team), who is making his 12th start in MotoGP™ at Losail, starts from the head of the third row. Pedrosa has scored points in all of his 11 previous appearances at Qatar in the premier class.
- Monster Yamaha Tech 3 rider Jonas Folger, who starts from eighth place on the grid, is the only one of the four rookie in the MotoGP™ class this year to have previously won at Qatar in any of the smaller classes - having taken the Moto2™ victory in 2015.
- In 10th place on the grid is Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), who won in Qatar two years ago after qualifying down in eighth place on the grid.
- The most successful rider in Qatar, Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team), starts from 12th place on the grid, which is the first time that he has not been on either the first or second row the Losail circuit.