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Practice report
MotoGP San Marino GP

MotoGP San Marino GP: Martin sets the pace in opening practice

World championship leader Jorge Martin defied the lingering effects of illness to put his Ducati GP24 top after the first session at Misano

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Jorge Martin was just over a second away from his MotoGP lap record at Misano and a slender 0.037s faster than Aragon winner Marc Marquez in opening practice for the San Marino Grand Prix.

In hot and sunny conditions, Martin, who is struggling with the residue of a stomach virus and is at less than peak fitness, set his best effort on his 13th of 20 laps in the session to top FP1 ahead of Marc Marquez and KTM wildcard Pol Espargaro.

Espargaro initially headed the list on the development version of the KTM RC16 and has good previous form with the Austrian bike at the track, having finished on the podium at Misano in 2020.

The Catalan was the first of three KTMs in the top 10 as Brad Binder took seventh - just three-tenths from leader Martin - and Pedro Acosta on the Tech3 10th, having also posted the highest top speed of 301.6kph (187.4mph).

Franco Morbidelli, who took the first of his three career grand prix victories at Misano in 2020, was fourth for Pramac Ducati and in front of Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo.

The Frenchman started the day promisingly at the site where he celebrated the 2021 MotoGP championship and where Yamaha has been conducting the majority of its testing programme in 2024 as it maximises the concessions allowance.

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Aleix Espargaro was the quickest Aprilia in sixth just ahead of Binder, with world champion Francesco Bagnaia, who said he is still suffering pain in his neck and shoulder after his race crash last weekend, in eighth.

Maverick Viñales rode the other factory Aprilia RS-GP24 to ninth ahead of Acosta.

Jack Miller, expected to be announced as a Pramac Yamaha rider here when the series returns for the next round in two weeks, was 11th with the resurgent Augusto Fernandez in 12th.

Enea Bastianini, a rider with three MotoGP podium finishes at Misano, was 0.761s from top spot in 13th and was in front of the first Honda rider in the FP1 classification of Johann Zarco.

Repsol Honda has been reduced to one-man representation in open practice as Joan Mir could not contest the session due to illness. The 2020 world champion needed medical treatment for a stomach virus on Thursday and was still not fit enough to ride Friday morning.

Luca Marini was 18th fastest and over a second slower than the top Ducati runner.

MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix - FP1 results

   
1
 - 
5
   
   
1
 - 
2
   
Cla Rider # Bike Laps Time Interval km/h Speed Trap
1 Spain J. Martin Pramac Racing 89 Ducati 20

1'31.707

  165.972 296
2 Spain M. Marquez Gresini Racing 93 Ducati 18

+0.037

1'31.744

0.037 165.905 295
3 Spain P. Espargaro Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 44 KTM 20

+0.213

1'31.920

0.176 165.587 297
4 Italy F. Morbidelli Pramac Racing 21 Ducati 20

+0.242

1'31.949

0.029 165.535 295
5 France F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing 20 Yamaha 23

+0.269

1'31.976

0.027 165.486 294
6 Spain A. Espargaro Aprilia Racing Team 41 Aprilia 18

+0.391

1'32.098

0.122 165.267 295
7 South Africa B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 33 KTM 21

+0.428

1'32.135

0.037 165.201 297
8 Italy F. Bagnaia Ducati Team 1 Ducati 16

+0.462

1'32.169

0.034 165.140 295
9 Spain M. Viñales Aprilia Racing Team 12 Aprilia 21

+0.579

1'32.286

0.117 164.930 294
10 Spain P. Acosta Tech 3 31 KTM 21

+0.647

1'32.354

0.068 164.809 301
11 Australia J. Miller Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 43 KTM 21

+0.719

1'32.426

0.072 164.680 297
12 Spain A. Fernandez Tech 3 37 KTM 22

+0.746

1'32.453

0.027 164.632 296
13 Italy E. Bastianini Ducati Team 23 Ducati 20

+0.761

1'32.468

0.015 164.606 295
14 France J. Zarco Team LCR 5 Honda 20

+0.779

1'32.486

0.018 164.574 296
15 Italy M. Bezzecchi Team VR46 72 Ducati 19

+0.888

1'32.595

0.109 164.380 299
16 Spain A. Marquez Gresini Racing 73 Ducati 19

+0.909

1'32.616

0.021 164.343 294
17 Spain A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing 42 Yamaha 20

+0.915

1'32.622

0.006 164.332 295
18 Italy L. Marini Repsol Honda Team 10 Honda 22

+1.117

1'32.824

0.202 163.974 295
19 Italy F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46 49 Ducati 18

+1.326

1'33.033

0.209 163.606 291
20 Japan T. Nakagami Team LCR 30 Honda 20

+1.339

1'33.046

0.013 163.583 293
21 Spain R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team 25 Aprilia 20

+1.456

1'33.163

0.117 163.378 293
22 Portugal M. Oliveira Trackhouse Racing Team 88 Aprilia 18

+1.560

1'33.267

0.104 163.195 295
23 Germany S. Bradl HRC Test Team 6 Honda 18

+2.693

1'34.400

1.133 161.237 291
24 Spain J. Mir Repsol Honda Team 36 Honda 0

 

     

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