Moto GP
Jorge Martin Tops San Marino MotoGP FP1, Edges Out Marc Marquez in Thrilling Start
2024 San Marino MotoGP: Martin Edges Out Marquez in First Practice Session
Current Championship Leader Martin Leads Initial Practice at Misano
Jorge Martin, the front-runner in the MotoGP championship, topped the first practice session for the San Marino Grand Prix, with Marc Marquez following in second place. Meanwhile, the injured Francesco Bagnaia secured the eighth position.
Pramac rider Martin enters the 13th round of the season this weekend with a 23-point lead over Bagnaia and started Friday on a high note.
The champion of the 2023 San Marino Grand Prix led with a time of 1 minute 31.707 seconds, narrowly edging out Marc Marquez by just 0.037 seconds.
KTM wildcard rider Pol Espargaro secured third place in what is his third race of the season. Meanwhile, previous Misano victors Franco Morbidelli (Pramac Ducati) and Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) finished in fourth and fifth positions, respectively.
The initial 45-minute FP1 session at Misano on Friday morning saw ideal conditions, with several riders taking turns leading the standings in the early minutes.
Following a 15-minute run, Marc Marquez topped the leaderboard with a time of 1 minute and 32.077 seconds on his Gresini Ducati.
The winner of the Aragon Grand Prix aimed to start the Misano weekend with the same confidence on his bike as he experienced in Austria, and it appears that he has achieved this early in the round.
Marquez's time remained the fastest until Martin surpassed it with a lap of 1m32.030s, with less than 20 minutes remaining.
This kicked off a streak of three consecutive fastest laps for the Pramac Ducati rider, the quickest being 1m31.707s.
He would maintain his leading position until the finish line, although Marquez nearly overtook him with a time of 1 minute and 31.744 seconds.
Espargaro secured the third position on the prototype RC16 KTM that he piloted at the Red Bull Ring in August. He recorded a time of 1m31.920s, putting him in front of Morbidelli and Quartararo.
Quartararo had a successful morning riding the Yamaha, following a recent test session at Misano where the Japanese manufacturer aims to enhance its position on the grid and address issues with the M1.
Aleix Espargaro secured the sixth position riding the leading Aprilia, while Brad Binder on his KTM was close behind in seventh, just 0.037 seconds slower.
Despite nursing slight injuries from his collision with Alex Marquez at the Aragon Grand Prix, Bagnaia began the weekend cautiously in the first practice session, finishing eighth on his factory Ducati, trailing the leader by 0.462 seconds.
Maverick Vinales from Aprilia and Pedro Acosta riding for Tech3 GASGAS completed the top ten positions.
Enea Bastianini, who previously won the Moto3 race at the San Marino Grand Prix, finished in 12th place for the sister factory Ducati team. Meanwhile, Johann Zarco was the top Honda rider, securing 14th place for LCR.
Joan Mir, a rider for Factory Honda, did not participate in the first practice session and will also sit out the second session because he is un
Stefan Bradl, participating as a wildcard entry for HRC this weekend, finished in 23rd place on the development RC213V bike.
No accidents occurred during the first practice session.
Complete Results of the 2024 San Marino MotoGP First Practice
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