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MotoGP Austrian GP

MotoGP Austrian GP: Bagnaia sets lap record to lead Pramac duo in FP2

Pramac duo remain quick in FP2, but Bangaia surges clear on the factory Ducati

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Reigning MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia topped second practice for the Austrian Grand Prix with a new lap record, leading Pramac duo Franco Morbidelli and Jorge Martin.

It took just five minutes for Bagnaia to beat the fastest lap from first practice, the factory Ducati rider clocking a time of 1m29.637s to take the top spot.

His championship rival Martin and Gresini’s Marc Marquez also enjoyed brief stints at the front, before Bagnaia fired back with a 1m29.280s to pull himself three-tenths clear of the opposition.

Bagnaia’s time stood unbeaten until there were less than 10 minutes left in the session, when Martin put on soft tyres on his Pramac Ducati to set a breathtaking time of 1m28.917s.

Marquez went fractionally quicker with two minutes remaining on the board, before Martin and then Morbidelli found even more time to reassert Pramac’s position at the front.

However, it was Bagnaia who had the last laugh, the factory rider usurping the previous lap record with a1m28.508s to ensure he ended Friday on top a year on from his dominant win at Spielberg.

Morbidelli ended up second in one of his most impressive practice outings of 2024, while Martin had to settle for third place, over three tenths down on title rival Bagnaia.

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Marquez was shuffled down to fourth after the late flurry of improvements, while Brad Binder put in a last-gasp effort on the factory KTM to end up a strong fifth with a 1m28.969s.

Gresini’s Alex Marquez couldn’t break the 1m29s barrier but set a lap time good enough for sixth on last year’s GP23 bike, beating Aprilia duo Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales.

Seventh and eighth represented an impressive recovery over the course of the hour for Aprilia after both factory riders had struggled to break inside the top 20 on harder tyres.

Ninth place went to Marco Bezzecchi on the VR46 bike, while Enea Bastianini was able to secure a direct graduation into Q2 in 10th despite a late fall at the tricky Turn 2 chicane.

Tech3 GasGas rider Pedro Acosta just missed out on an automatic entry into the second part of qualifying after a bruising Friday that saw him crash three times, his latest fall taking place at Turn 9 halfway through the session.

His KTM stablemate Jack Miller ended up just behind Acosta in 12th despite occupying a position inside the top five for much of the session.

Fabio Quartararo was Yamaha’s highest-placed rider in 13th place, just ahead of top Honda man Johann Zarco on the LCR-entered RC213V.

A number of riders suffered crashes at Turn 2 during second practice, while VR46's Fabio di Giannantonio had a high-speed off exiting Turn 7 on his Ducati GP23. Di Giannantonio was diagnosed with a dislocated left shoulder following initial tests and is being taken to a nearby hospital for further evaluation.

Meanwhile, KTM wildcard Pol Espargaro's session ended early after he had to pull over at the side of the track with a mechanical problem. He was testing several new parts on the RC16.

MotoGP Austrian GP: FP2 results

   
1
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5
   
   
1
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2
   
Cla Rider # Bike Laps Time Interval km/h Speed Trap
1 Italy F. Bagnaia Ducati Team 1 Ducati 22

1'28.508

  175.956  
2 Italy F. Morbidelli Pramac Racing 21 Ducati 23

+0.281

1'28.789

0.281 175.400  
3 Spain J. Martin Pramac Racing 89 Ducati 27

+0.319

1'28.827

0.038 175.325  
4 Spain M. Marquez Gresini Racing 93 Ducati 26

+0.350

1'28.858

0.031 175.263  
5 South Africa B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 33 KTM 25

+0.461

1'28.969

0.111 175.045  
6 Spain A. Marquez Gresini Racing 73 Ducati 27

+0.548

1'29.056

0.087 174.874  
7 Spain A. Espargaro Aprilia Racing Team 41 Aprilia 20

+0.599

1'29.107

0.051 174.774  
8 Spain M. Viñales Aprilia Racing Team 12 Aprilia 22

+0.609

1'29.117

0.010 174.754  
9 Italy M. Bezzecchi Team VR46 72 Ducati 24

+0.725

1'29.233

0.116 174.527  
10 Italy E. Bastianini Ducati Team 23 Ducati 24

+0.773

1'29.281

0.048 174.433  
11 Spain P. Acosta Tech 3 31 KTM 21

+0.800

1'29.308

0.027 174.380  
12 Australia J. Miller Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 43 KTM 28

+0.821

1'29.329

0.021 174.339  
13 France F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing 20 Yamaha 26

+0.872

1'29.380

0.051 174.240  
14 France J. Zarco Team LCR 5 Honda 26

+1.098

1'29.606

0.226 173.800  
15 Spain A. Fernandez Tech 3 37 KTM 24

+1.254

1'29.762

0.156 173.498  
16 Italy L. Marini Repsol Honda Team 10 Honda 27

+1.301

1'29.809

0.047 173.408  
17 Spain A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing 42 Yamaha 22

+1.314

1'29.822

0.013 173.382  
18 Portugal M. Oliveira Trackhouse Racing Team 88 Aprilia 23

+1.373

1'29.881

0.059 173.269  
19 Spain R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team 25 Aprilia 26

+1.444

1'29.952

0.071 173.132  
20 Italy F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46 49 Ducati 8

+1.550

1'30.058

0.106 172.928  
21 Spain P. Espargaro Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 44 KTM 12

+1.675

1'30.183

0.125 172.688  
22 Japan T. Nakagami Team LCR 30 Honda 23

+1.913

1'30.421

0.238 172.234  
23 Italy L. Savadori Aprilia Racing Team 32 Aprilia 23

+2.037

1'30.545

0.124 171.998  
24 Spain J. Mir Repsol Honda Team 36 Honda 23

 

     
25 Germany S. Bradl HRC Test Team 6 Honda 21

+2.387

1'30.895

0.350 171.336  

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