Aleix Espargaró was the fastest on the first day of the Catalan GP in MotoGP. In the afternoon practice, which determines the ten riders automatically qualified for the second qualifying session, he set a new record lap in Barcelona. Marc Márquez once again missed the top ten on Friday and will have to go through Q1.
After the first flying laps, Red Bull KTM had Jack Miller at the top of the timesheets, with Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) in second. KTM then cemented its position, with Brad Binder taking the lead, followed by Miller… before Miller reclaimed the top spot.
Times continued to improve, and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3/KTM) moved into third. At the end of the first ten minutes, Binder crashed at the exit of the first corner – fortunately without major physical consequences. Quartararo also crashed shortly after, at turn five.
Binder returned to the track shortly afterward… only to crash again at turn two. The lead changed 18 minutes from the end when Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) went faster than Miller. At the same time, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team/Ducati) moved up to third, pushing Binder down the order.
In the final quarter of an hour, times continued to drop, reshuffling the order. With seven minutes remaining, the top three were Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati), Acosta, and Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac/Ducati), separated by only 0.038s.
With three minutes left, Espargaró (Aprilia) took the lead with a new lap record, with Miller slotting in behind him. However, Miller was subsequently overtaken by Binder, Acosta, and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), finishing in fifth place. Martín secured sixth place ahead of Morbidelli, with Enea Bastianini (Ducati) in eighth.
Álex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha) surprised everyone with the ninth-fastest time, securing his spot in Q2. The last rider to make it directly to Q2 was Viñales in tenth, relegating Álex Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) to 11th by just 0.055s. Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) will also go to Q1, having finished 12th.
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🤩 @AleixEspargaro tops Friday in his backyard! @BradBinder_33 bounces back from two crashes to take second whilst @marcmarquez93 is one of the few big names who will appear in Q1 🏁#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/IgEmBJoOOz
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) May 24, 2024