Marquez Dominates in Turbulent Phillip Island Practice as Martin Crashes Out

2024 Australian MotoGP: Marc Marquez Dominates Eventful Practice, Jorge Martin Suffers Crash

Marquez Tops the Charts in GP23’s Opening Session on Friday

Marc Marquez dominated an intense practice session lasting an hour at the 2024 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix, an event marked by a crash involving championship frontrunner Jorge Martin and a temporary halt due to a red flag.

Following a significant downpour that led to the cancellation of the FP1 session at Phillip Island earlier today, the weather fortunately took a turn for the better, allowing for the day's sole MotoGP practice session to proceed for an hour.

Kicking off the session with determination, Marquez quickly rose to the top, clocking a time of 1 minute and 27.770 seconds, outpacing his Gresini teammate Alex Marquez.

Pramac Ducati's Jorge Martin, who is currently leading the championship, finished in fourth place following an early fall during the race, with his championship competitor, Francesco Bagnaia, coming in just behind him in fifth place.

Unexpected falls for Pedro Acosta and Jack Miller resulted in significant setbacks, causing them to miss out on the Q2 positions.

As the risk of rain hung over the Phillip Island circuit, the beginning of the hour-long afternoon session saw a flurry of activity. This was because all the participants were eager to familiarize themselves with the newly laid track surface and secure a competitive lap time early on.

Marc Marquez quickly established the lead with a time of 1 minute 29.413 seconds, whereas Martin experienced a crash at Turn 4 after colliding with the back of Fabio Quartararo's Yamaha in an attempt to prevent a larger crash.

Miller experienced his first crash at the very turn that was renamed after him last year, happening moments later as he veered onto the damp grass.

Maverick Vinales from Aprilia moved to the lead position in the standings after the first 10 minutes of the session, posting a time of 1 minute and 29.383 seconds.

Nevertheless, Marquez quickly ascended to the leading position with a time of 1m29.020s. Shortly thereafter, the session was halted by red flags triggered by the presence of animals on the track.

The pause was short-lived, as KTM's Miller swiftly regained pace, clocking a 1m28.731s to become the fastest on the track with slightly less than 35 minutes remaining.

Over the following 20 minutes, Marquez and Vinales exchanged the lead position, until Marquez secured the top position by clocking a time of 1 minute and 27.770 seconds. This occurred with eight minutes remaining when he opted for a new soft rear tyre.

A last-minute lap time of 1m27.872s propelled Alex Marquez into second place, as Marco Bezzecchi from VR46 secured third, rounding out a top-three sweep for GP23.

Martin secured the fourth position among the GP24 racers following his initial mishap, with Bagnaia rounding out the top five despite appearing disorganized during the first half of the session.

Vinales emerged as the sole Aprilia rider to clinch a spot directly into Q2 by finishing sixth, while Brad Binder stood out as the only KTM rider in the top 10, following his team-mate Miller's second crash at the session's close, and Tech3 newcomer Pedro Acosta also experienced a fall.

Fabio Di Giannantonio from VR46, alongside Pramac's Franco Morbidelli and Yamaha rider Alex Rins, rounded out the top 10.

Quartararo maintained a position among the top 10 until the final lap, but subsequent gains by competitors pushed him down to 11th place, requiring him to compete in Q1.

Johann Zarco emerged as the leading Honda rider, consistently placing within the top 10, whereas Enea Bastianini faces a challenging task in maintaining his third-place position in the rankings after concluding the practice session on his official Ducati in 16th place.

Complete Practice Outcomes for the 2024 Australian

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