Practice report

MotoGP Japanese GP: Bagnaia leads Martin in mixed-weather FP1

Title rivals set the pace in rain-interrupted opening practice session at Motegi

Reigning MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Team) led current points leader Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) on the timesheets following a rain-hit Free Practice 1 for this weekend’s Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi.

Another two Ducatis rounded out the top four in a session in which running was limited by two showers that caused the riders to spend long periods sitting in their garages. They were Fabio di Giannantonio (Team VR46) and eight-time world champion Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing).

Takaaki Nakagami gave his fans a photo moment in his final home race as a full-time MotoGP rider when he took the top spot on the timing screens just after the session got underway.

But it was mere minutes before a more likely contender took over at the top of the order in the form of VR46's Marco Bezzecchi, who was the first to break the 1m46s barrier.

But it was Bagnaia who led the way with a 1m45.209s lap when light rain began to fall just 13 minutes into the session. At this point, the entire field headed for the pits and all fell quiet.

Only with 10 minutes remaining in the session did the riders venture out onto the circuit again. The track looked as good as dry at that point, but it was only a couple of minutes before the rain flags began to wave once more.

Although a handful of riders continued to circulate until the end, the lap times remained as they had been at the point rain first fell. That left Bagnaia 0.109s clear of Martin at the end of the weekend’s first session, with di Giannantonio and Marquez next up.

Jack Miller was the fastest non-Ducati on his KTM Factory Racing entry in fifth. He headed Bezzecchi in the final reckoning.

Watch: What We Learned on Friday | 2024 #JapaneseGP

The fastest home bike was, unusually, a Honda, with Joan Mir clocking the seventh-fastest time. Like Marquez and in contrast to most of the field, he was running the soft front tyre.

Johann Zarco (LCR Honda), Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) and Enea Bastianini – who lies a distant third in the title race for Ducati – rounded out the top 10.

Nakagami eventually landed up 12th, behind Gresini’s second rider Alex Marquez. KTM’s rookie Pedro Acosta (Tech 3) was 13th-quickest and Alex Rins was fastest Yamaha in 14th.

Lorenzo Savadori, who steps in for the injured Miguel Oliveira at Trackhouse Racing this weekend, was 22nd on the timesheets. So hurried was the plan for the Italian to take up this ride that he took to the track in unbranded leathers for Free Practice 1.

Yamaha’s wildcard entry for its home race, Remy Gardner, was 23rd and last.

No rider completed more than 12 laps in a session that was of limited value. It is however unlikely to be the last time we see rain at Motegi this weekend, with the forecast for Saturday looking decidedly damp.

MotoGP Japanese GP - FP1 results:

1 - 2
Cla	Rider	#	Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Speed Trap
1	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	1	Ducati	9	1'45.209		164.278	311
2	J. Martin Pramac Racing	89	Ducati	9	+0.109 1'45.318	0.109	164.108	313
3	F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46	49	Ducati	8	+0.380 1'45.589	0.271	163.687	308
4	M. Marquez Gresini Racing	93	Ducati	8	+0.572 1'45.781	0.192	163.390	311
5	J. Miller Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	43	KTM	10	+0.573 1'45.782	0.001	163.388	310
6	M. Bezzecchi Team VR46	72	Ducati	8	+0.705 1'45.914	0.132	163.185	311
7	J. Mir Repsol Honda Team	36	Honda	9	+0.726 1'45.935	0.021	163.152	310
8	J. Zarco Team LCR	5	Honda	6	+0.740 1'45.949	0.014	163.131	313
9	M. Viñales Aprilia Racing Team	12	Aprilia	7	+0.750 1'45.959	0.010	163.115	308
10	E. Bastianini Ducati Team	23	Ducati	8	+0.759 1'45.968	0.009	163.102	311
11	A. Marquez Gresini Racing	73	Ducati	7	+0.776 1'45.985	0.017	163.075	310
12	T. Nakagami Team LCR	30	Honda	6	+0.828 1'46.037	0.052	162.995	310
13	P. Acosta Tech 3	31	KTM	9	+0.853 1'46.062	0.025	162.957	313
14	A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing	42	Yamaha	8	+0.881 1'46.090	0.028	162.914	308
15	A. Espargaro Aprilia Racing Team	41	Aprilia	8	+0.893 1'46.102	0.012	162.896	313
16	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33	KTM	9	+1.036 1'46.245	0.143	162.676	311
17	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20	Yamaha	11	+1.087 1'46.296	0.051	162.598	306
18	F. Morbidelli Pramac Racing	21	Ducati	10	+1.232 1'46.441	0.145	162.377	311
19	L. Marini Repsol Honda Team	10	Honda	8	+1.251 1'46.460	0.019	162.348	310
20	R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team	25	Aprilia	9	+1.778 1'46.987	0.527	161.548	305
21	A. Fernandez Tech 3	37	KTM	7	+1.829 1'47.038	0.051	161.471	306
22	L. Savadori Trackhouse Racing Team	32	Aprilia	9	+3.433 1'48.642	1.604	159.087	305
23	R. Gardner Yamaha Factory Racing	87	Yamaha	9	+4.997 1'50.206	1.564	156.829	305
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