Francesco Bagnaia was the fastest in the second free practice of the MotoGP Japanese GP, held this Saturday in Motegi. The half-hour session unfolded without rain, despite the threat of it arriving during the day.
The session started with Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) leading 0.085s ahead of Bagnaia (Ducati), with Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) in third. Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM) was the next rider at the top, with Bagnaia just one thousandth behind after the second flying laps. Martín dropped to third.
Bagnaia actually took the lead on the third flying lap, relegating Miller to second by 0.276s. At that point, still within the first ten minutes, Joan Mir (Repsol Honda) was surprising with the third-fastest time. Miller returned to the top position, Mir climbed to second, and Bagnaia dropped to third.
The four were surpassed by Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3/KTM) 18 minutes from the checkered flag. The rookie was then beaten by Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati), but midway through the session, Martín was leading again. Within the final ten minutes, Bagnaia returned to the top of the timesheets.
The Italian held his position, while there were changes behind him, with Acosta climbing to second, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati) to third, and Viñales to fourth. Until the end, Bagnaia maintained the lead, being 0.017s faster than Acosta.
Viñales climbed to third, with Di Giannantonio finishing in fourth. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) was fifth, while Martín finished seventh, 0.589s off the top. Marc Márquez followed in eighth.
Timesheets:
Seeing red before Q1 ⚡️✌️@PeccoBagnaia leads the way in FP2 ahead of @37_pedroacosta and Maverick ✌️
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 5, 2024
And it's extremely close again, as the top 14 is covered by one second ⏱️#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/0u2xFCq0cW
