KTM is seen as a strong contender for top positions in the MotoGP Japanese GP, and Brad Binder confirmed this status on Friday by leading the afternoon practice session in Motegi.
The session’s first leader was Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati), with more than four-tenths of a second ahead of Johann Zarco (LCR Honda), Maverick Viñales (Aprilia), and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati). The Spaniard remained in the lead, but Bagnaia moved up to second place, and Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) reached third.
Within the first ten minutes, Bagnaia took the lead, pushing Martín to second. Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati) and his teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio moved up to third and fourth, respectively.
Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3/KTM) placed himself in third, only to be overtaken by Viñales, who briefly held second place with 12 minutes remaining.
But soon after, Binder (Red Bull KTM) rose to the lead, only to be surpassed by Acosta. Five minutes before the end, Bagnaia matched the rookie, but shortly after, Martín went 0.186s faster than both. However, even stronger was Binder, who reclaimed the top spot with two minutes remaining.
The South African held onto the lead until the end, although Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) managed to close in, finishing just 0.033s behind. Martín, Acosta, and Enea Bastianini (Ducati) completed the top five.
Viñales was sixth, ahead of Bagnaia, with Álex Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) in eighth. Di Giannantonio and Bezzecchi secured the final spots for direct qualification to Q2, with Miller missing out by just 30 thousandths of a second, finishing in 11th place.
