Espargaro Sets New Lap Record in Incident-Filled Catalan MotoGP Friday Practice

Results from Friday's practice sessions for the 2024 Catalan MotoGP in Barcelona, the sixth round out of 21 in the world championship series.

* Newcom

Just one day following his announcement to retire, Aleix Espargaro shattered the existing lap record, topping the charts in a tumultuous Friday practice session for the 2024 Catalan MotoGP.

At the same time, Marc Marquez found himself outside the top ten positions, his situation worsened by yellow flags triggered by a crash involving his brother and teammate, Alex. Consequently, he is set to participate in Saturday's Qualifying 1 session.

Brad Binder (on two separate occasions at Turn 2), Fabio Quartararo, Fabio di Giannantonio (also twice), Alex Marquez, and Augusto Fernandez all experienced setbacks during the afternoon session.

Despite facing early difficulties twice, Binder had climbed to second place, right behind his KTM teammate Jack Miller, by the halfway point.

Maverick Vinales ascended to the lead after becoming the initial rider to equip new soft tires, momentarily maintaining the top position for Aprilia until his team-mate Espargaro secured the second spot, making it a one-two finish for the RS-GP team.

Early leader Jorge Martin took the lead on his Pramac Ducati, followed closely by newcomer Pedro Acosta, Franco Morbidelli, and Francesco Bagnaia, who positioned themselves ahead of the Aprilias and just behind Martin.

However, in the final moments, Espargaro shattered the existing lap record, while Binder overcame his previous difficulties to position himself ahead of Acosta and Bagnaia.

Alex Rins made a notable impression by propelling the updated Yamaha aerodynamics to ninth place, securing a direct spot in Qualifying 2.

HRC wildcard rider Stefan Bradl, who, similarly to Johann Zarco, had access to the new aerodynamics kit, was unable to participate in this afternoon's session due to being unwell.

* Beginner

Jorge Martin of Pramac, who is currently leading in the MotoGP championship, was ahead of his 2025 team competitor Marc Marquez from Gresini and KTM's Brad Binder in the first practice session of the 2024 Catalan MotoGP.

Martin, leading the world championship by a substantial 38 points, delivered his top performance on his last attempt, securing a finish that was 0.292 seconds ahead of Marquez.

Yet, towards the conclusion, Martin opted for a fresh set of tires, whereas Marquez continued on the worn ones…

Binder, newcomer Pedro Acosta from GASGAS, and Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro, who recently announced his retirement at the season's end, were all closely matched, with less than half a second (0.472s) separating them from Martin.

Alex Marquez, along with the current champion Francesco Bagnaia, Augusto Fernandez, Jack Miller, and Raul Fernandez, rounded out the top ten.

Following a secretive test session at Mugello, the Honda and Yamaha squads are introducing new components this weekend, featuring aerodynamic upgrades on the M1s and on Johann Zarco's and Stefan Bradl's RC213Vs.

Zarco secured the 13th position, despite employing the basic aerodynamics package. Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins recorded the same lap time, placing them 15th and 16th respectively. Meanwhile, Luca Marini experienced improvement, becoming the highest-ranked Repsol Honda rider in 17th place, trailing Martin by 1.049 seconds.

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