Bagnaia Dominates San Marino MotoGP FP2, Edges Out Marquez in Tight Contest

2024 San Marino MotoGP: Francesco Bagnaia Outpaces Marc Marquez in Close Second Practice Session

Bagnaia Tops Misano Friday Sessions Following Tough Aragon Grand Prix the Previous Week

Defending world champion Francesco Bagnaia concluded the Friday practice sessions for the 2024 MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix with the fastest time, leading ahead of Marc Marquez.

The Ducati team's racer is dealing with a few minor injuries resulting from his collision with Alex Marquez during the previous weekend's Aragon Grand Prix.

Kicking off Friday at Misano with a solid performance in FP1, Bagnaia surged to the forefront during an intense FP2 session, clocking in at 1m30.685s, which positioned him 0.185 seconds ahead of the competition.

In the afternoon session, Ducati's Gresini team member Marc Marquez secured the second spot once more, as the frontrunner in the championship, Jorge Martin, rounded out the top three

The top four contenders for the championship have secured their spots in Q2 during the qualifying round, thanks to Enea Bastianini's late surge to fifth position. Fabio Quartararo will be the one carrying the flag for Yamaha in this segment.

Tech3 GASGAS competitor Pedro Acosta established the early lead within the first 10 minutes of the hour-long session.

The newcomer clocked in at 1 minute and 31.700 seconds, later bettering that time to 1 minute and 31.672 seconds.

With approximately 35 minutes remaining, Marc Marquez overtook him by clocking a lap time of 1 minute and 31.364 seconds. However, Acosta quickly reclaimed his leading position shortly thereafter, registering a lap time of 1 minute and 31.301 seconds.

As the final 10 minutes of the second practice session's time attack phase commenced, Marquez took the lead once more, clocking in at 1 minute and 31.034 seconds.

Pramac's Martin broke through the 1m30s threshold for the first time this weekend, clocking in at 1m30.966s.

However, this would not halt Bagnaia's momentum, as the current world champion initially posted a time of 1m30.885s on his factory team Ducati with three minutes remaining, only to surpass that with a 1m30.685s on his subsequent attempt.

This would ensure Bagnaia remains in the lead in the rankings as the race concluded.

Marquez secured the second position, trailing behind Martin, as his teammate from Pramac, Franco Morbidelli, advanced to fourth place, surpassing Bastianini with a last-minute maneuver.

Acosta secured the sixth position following his performance at the front during Practice, even after a crash towards the end, alongside VR46 team member Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia rider Maverick Vinales, Quartararo, who reached his first Q2 since the Dutch GP in June, and KTM's Jack Miller.

Morbidelli's recent surge pushed Brad Binder down from the top 10, leading him into Q1.

The KTM competitor will be up against Aleix Espargaro, who took a tumble off his Aprilia towards the end, along with Pol Espargaro of KTM and Alex Marquez from Gresini Ducati, during Saturday morning's Q1 session.

Johann Zarco earned the highest position among Honda riders, finishing 15th, as Alex Rins found it challenging to replicate the performance of his Yamaha colleague, Quartararo, from Friday, ending up in 17th place.

Complete outcomes from the 2024 MotoGP San Marino Grand Prix practice sessions

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