Jorge Martin Edges Out Marc Marquez in Thrilling FP1 Session at 2024 San Marino MotoGP

2024 San Marino MotoGP: Martin Edges Out Marquez in Opening Practice

Martin Leads the Pack in Initial Misano Session

In the opening practice session of the San Marino Grand Prix, MotoGP standings front-runner Jorge Martin was ahead of Marc Marquez, with the hurt Francesco Bagnaia securing the eighth spot.

Pramac competitor Martin heads into this weekend's season's 13th race with a 23-point lead over Bagnaia, starting off Friday with a solid performance.

The victor of the 2023 San Marino Grand Prix led the pack with a time of 1 minute and 31.707 seconds, narrowly outpacing Marc Marquez by just 0.037 seconds.

KTM's guest rider Pol Espargaro secured third place in his third race of the year, with past Misano victors Franco Morbidelli from Pramac Ducati and Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo finishing in the top five.

The 45-minute FP1 session at Misano on Friday morning commenced under ideal conditions, with the lead swapping regularly during the early stages of the session.

Fifteen minutes into the session, Marc Marquez took the lead, clocking a time of 1 minute and 32.077 seconds on his Gresini Ducati.

The victor of the Aragon Grand Prix aimed to start the Misano weekend feeling as confident on his motorcycle as he did in Austria, and it appears that he's managed to do just that in the initial phases of the event.

Until there were just under 20 minutes remaining, Marquez's time was the one to beat, until Martin surpassed it with a lap time of 1 minute and 32.030 seconds.

The Pramac Ducati competitor embarked on a streak of leading the session with three consecutive top laps, peaking with an impressive time of 1 minute, 31.707 seconds.

This ensured he remained in the lead until the race's conclusion, although Marquez nearly managed to overtake him with a time of 1 minute and 31.744 seconds.

Securing the third spot was Espargaro, who piloted the prototype RC16 KTM at the Red Bull Ring in August, clocking in at 1m31.920s. This time positioned him in front of both Morbidelli and Quartararo.

Quartararo had a successful morning session riding the Yamaha, following recent trials at Misano. This effort comes as the Japanese brand aims to elevate its position on the grid and enhance the performance of its challenging M1.

Aleix Espargaro secured the sixth position riding the leading Aprilia, closely followed by Brad Binder on a KTM, who was just 0.037 seconds behind in seventh place.

Bagnaia, who was dealing with a few slight injuries from his collision with Alex Marquez at the Aragon GP, began the weekend on a solid note during the first free practice session (FP1), securing the eighth spot on his official Ducati, trailing by 0.462 seconds.

Maverick Vinales from Aprilia and Tech3 GASGAS's Pedro Acosta completed the top ten positions.

Previous San Marino Grand Prix Moto3 champion Enea Bastianini secured the 12th position riding for the affiliated Ducati team, whereas Johann Zarco was at the forefront for Honda, finishing 14th with the LCR team.

Honda team member Joan Mir was not present for the first practice session and will be absent for the second one as well, owing to sickness.

Stefan Bradl, serving as HRC's wildcard entry this weekend, finished in 23rd place riding the experimental RC213V.

No accidents occurred during the first practice session.

Complete Results for the 2024 San Marino MotoGP First Free

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