2024 San Marino MotoGP: Martin pips Marquez in FP1
Championship leader Martin tops first Misano practice
MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin led Marc Marquez in the first practice session for the San Marino Grand Prix, while an injured Francesco Bagnaia was eighth.
Pramac rider Martin comes into this weekend’s 13th round of the season 23 points clear of Bagnaia and kicked off Friday in strong form.
The 2023 San Marino GP winner topped the order with a 1m31.707s, though was only 0.037s clear of Marc Marquez.
KTM wildcard Pol Espargaro completed the top three as he makes his third appearance of the season, while former Misano race winners Franco Morbidelli (Pramac Ducati) and Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) rounded out the top five.
Conditions were perfect for the start of the 45-minute FP1 at Misano on Friday morning, with top spot changing hands frequently inside the opening moments of the session.
After 15 minutes of running, Marc Marquez led the way with a 1m32.077s on his Gresini Ducati.
The Aragon GP winner looked to kick off the Misano weekend with the same feeling on his bike that he had in Austria - and that seems to be the case at this early stage of the round.
Marquez’s lap stood as the benchmark until just under 20 minutes to go, when Martin took over with a 1m32.030s.
This began a run of three straight session-best laps for the Pramac Ducati rider, with the best a 1m31.707s.
This would keep him top of the order through to the chequered flag, though Marquez would come close to dethroning him with a 1m31.744s.
Completing the top three was Espargaro on the experimental RC16 KTM he rode at the Red Bull Ring in August. He posted a 1m31.920s, placing him ahead of Morbidelli and Quartararo.
Quartararo enjoyed a strong morning on the Yamaha, having recently tested at Misano as the Japanese marque looks to boost itself up the grid and improve its troubled M1.
Aleix Espargaro was sixth on the first of the Aprilias, with Brad Binder (KTM) 0.037s adrift in seventh.
Bagnaia, carrying some minor injuries from his Aragon GP tangle with Alex Marquez, made a steady start to the weekend in FP1 and was eighth on his factory Ducati - 0.462s off the pace.
Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) and Pedro Acosta (Tech3 GASGAS) rounded out the top 10.
Former San Marino GP Moto3 winner Enea Bastianini was 12th on the sister factory team Ducati, while Johann Zarco led the Honda charge in 14th for LCR.
Factory Honda rider Joan Mir was absent from FP1 and will miss the second session due to illness.
Stefan Bradl, HRC’s wildcard this weekend, was 23rd on the development RC213V.
There were no crashes in FP1.
