Practice honours post summer break went the way of title race leader Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) after the #93’s 1:28.117 was enough to finish 0.228s ahead of second fastest Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) at the BWIN Grand Prix of Austria. P3 went the way of Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) on Friday afternoon, as big hitters miss the Q2 cut.<\/p>\n
THE OPENING STAGES<\/p>\n
There was early drama for reigning World Champion Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) after he crashed at Turn 9. Thankfully the #1 was all OK, but his first choice RS-GP was not. Meanwhile, his 2023 and 2024 sparring partner, Bagnaia, led the session from Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol), with Marc Marquez and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) sitting comfortably in the top four after 30 minutes of running.<\/p>\n
Double Czech GP podium finisher Acosta jumped to the summit before we saw red flags shown following a Turn 6 crash for Quartararo. It looked like some fluid was potentially spilt onto the circuit from Jack Miller\u2019s smoking Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP machine, and after the Frenchman\u2019s YZR-M1 tumbled into the air fence, redeployment and track cleaning measures needed to be undertaken before the session could get back underway for the final 26 minutes. Miguel Oliveira, Miller\u2019s teammate, also crashed where Quartararo went down.<\/p>\n
CHANGES APLENTY IN THE TOP 10 CHASE<\/p>\n
With 17 minutes left, rookie Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) leapt to P1 with a 1:28.877 to go over two tenths clear, before Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) and Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) carved their way into P1 and P2 with just over 10 minutes to go.<\/p>\n
This was a very competitive Friday afternoon. Acosta was soon back occupying top spot from Bagnaia and Marc Marquez, with Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) now P4 ahead of fellow HRC star Zarco. Then, with two minutes to go, Alex Marquez parked himself in P3 to demote Marc Marquez to P4, before the latter then moved the goalposts in Austria.<\/p>\n
The #93 slammed in a 1:28.117, a new all-time lap record, to go two tenths ahead of the rest. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) were late improvers before the chequered flag came out, and that saw both gain automatic Q2 entry as no more top 10 lap times were set.<\/p>\n
FRIDAY\u2019S TOP 10 <\/p>\n
Alex Marquez eventually finished P4 on Friday ahead of Fernandez, with Mir heading straight into Q2 in P6. Morbidelli was just under six tenths away from Marquez in P7, with Zarco, Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), and Binder the last riders to make it into the top 10 as both factory KTMs earn Q2 spots on Friday at their home Grand Prix.<\/p>\n
COMING UP: QUALI AND SPRINT SATURDAY<\/p>\n
A stacked Q1 awaits with the likes of Brno Sprint podium finisher Bastianini, Quartararo, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), and both factory Aprilia Racing riders \u2013 Martin and Marco Bezzecchi \u2013 face the challenge of finishing inside the top two in the first part of qualifying on Saturday morning. Then, it\u2019ll be time for Q2 and the Tissot Sprint.<\/p>\n