Ducati Dominates Austrian MotoGP Practice as Bagnaia Sets All-Time Lap Record; Binder Lone KTM in Q2

Austrian MotoGP: Bagnaia Leads in Practice, Binder Lone KTM in Q2

Francesco Bagnaia clocked the quickest time during Practice for the MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix, with just one KTM rider securing a spot in the top 10.

Francesco Bagnaia from Ducati topped the MotoGP practice session at the Red Bull Ring ahead of this weekend's Austrian Grand Prix, heading a quartet of Ducati riders in the top four positions.

In his last attempt to improve his time, Bagnaia achieved a record-breaking lap of 1:28.508, surpassing Marco Bezzecchi's previous record of 1:28.544 from 2023 by 0.036 seconds.

In the practice session, Bagnaia clocked the quickest time, beating Franco Morbidelli by 0.281 seconds. Morbidelli, one of the four Ducati riders in the top four spots, was less than 0.1 seconds ahead of Marc Marquez, who secured the fourth position. Jorge Martin finished between them.

During his last attempt at a fast lap, Enea Bastianini suffered a crash, yet he still managed to secure a spot in Q2 by finishing 10th.

On Friday in Austria, Ducati once again showcased their dominance. However, KTM did not fare as well. Brad Binder was the sole KTM rider to advance to Q2, securing fifth place. Meanwhile, Jack Miller, Pedro Acosta, Augusto Fernandez, and Pol Espargaro all failed to break into the top 10, with Espargaro's bike stalling mid-session.

Alex Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi both secured spots in the top 10. Despite Bezzecchi's crash at turn three, seven out of the eight Ducati riders will advance directly to Q2. Fabio Di Giannantonio, who crashed at turn eight and ended up in 20th place, will have to compete in Q1.

Joan Mir had aspirations of reaching Q2 after securing the ninth spot in FP1, but he ultimately concluded Practice in 24th place. The only rider behind him was Stefan Bradl, who had a crash at the 2a-2b chicane earlier in the afternoon.

Aprilia experienced a challenging afternoon until the last 10 minutes. None of their riders were in the top 10 until Maverick Vinales launched a late time attack during the final minutes of Practice. Ultimately, both Vinales and Espargaro secured spots in the top 10, finishing in eighth and seventh place, respectively.

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