Practice report

MotoGP Thailand GP: Marquez brothers lead main practice, Bagnaia to Q1

Alex and Marc Marquez carry their strong testing form at Buriram to the Thai GP

Alex Marquez took the top spot in second practice for the Thai Grand Prix with a last-gasp effort, while Francesco Bagnaia failed to secure an automatic entry into Q2.

Riding last year's GP24, the Gresini rider set a best time of 1m29.020s with just seconds to run in the hour-long session at Buriram to leapfrog his elder brother and factory Ducati rider Marc Marquez.

Six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez also managed to improve his time on his final flying lap, but ultimately wound up 0.052s behind in second.

KTM's Pedro Acosta jumped to third place at the end of practice, while Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi was able to hold on to fourth despite a late crash at Turn 3.

Bezzecchi's fall brought out the yellow flags, which meant Bagnaia's best effort of 1m29.492s was deleted by the race control.

The two-time MotoGP champion made another attempt at gaining a place in Q2, but his last effort was scuppered when he encountered VR46's Franco Morbidelli on the racing line. He eventually finished in 13th place.

Morbidelli himself safely made it through to the second part of qualifying in fifth, ahead of the top Honda of Joan Mir, but could be penalised for impeding Bagnaia.

Both Trackhouse riders finished inside the top 10, while Fabio Quartartaro guided Yamaha to eighth place despite a late crash.

1 - 2
Cla	Rider	#	Bike	Laps	Time	Interval	km/h	Speed Trap
1	A. Marquez Aprilia Racing Team	73	Ducati	23	1'29.020		184.165
2	M. Marquez Ducati Team	93	Ducati	26	+0.052 1'29.072	0.052	184.057
3	P. Acosta Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	37	KTM	23	+0.242 1'29.262	0.190	183.666
4	M. Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing Team	72	Aprilia	20	+0.247 1'29.267	0.005	183.655
5	F. Morbidelli Team VR46	21	Ducati	25	+0.286 1'29.306	0.039	183.575
6	J. Mir Honda World Superbike Team	36	Honda	23	+0.378 1'29.398	0.092	183.386
7	R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team	25	Aprilia	20	+0.442 1'29.462	0.064	183.255
8	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20	Yamaha	27	+0.465 1'29.485	0.023	183.208
9	A. Ogura Trackhouse Racing Team	79	Aprilia	23	+0.577 1'29.597	0.112	182.979
10	J. Zarco Team LCR	5	Honda	25	+0.588 1'29.608	0.011	182.956
11	M. Viñales Tech 3	12	KTM	28	+0.661 1'29.681	0.073	182.807
12	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33	KTM	26	+0.675 1'29.695	0.014	182.779
13	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	63	Ducati	23	+0.691 1'29.711	0.016	182.746
14	J. Miller Pramac Racing	43	Yamaha	21	+0.726 1'29.746	0.035	182.675
15	F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46	49	Ducati	21	+0.733 1'29.753	0.007	182.661
16	L. Marini Honda World Superbike Team	10	Honda	26	+0.767 1'29.787	0.034	182.592
17	A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing	42	Yamaha	24	+0.962 1'29.982	0.195	182.196
18	M. Oliveira Pramac Racing	88	Yamaha	24	+0.965 1'29.985	0.003	182.190
19	E. Bastianini Tech 3	23	KTM	21	+1.145 1'30.165	0.180	181.826
20	F. Aldeguer Aprilia Racing Team	54	Ducati	24	+1.249 1'30.269	0.104	181.617
21	S. Chantra Team LCR	35	Honda	23	+1.266 1'30.286	0.017	181.582
22	L. Savadori Aprilia Racing Team	32	Aprilia	24	+2.004 1'31.024	0.738	180.110
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