Francesco Bagnaia was the fastest rider in the Austrian GP MotoGP practice session. In a thrilling conclusion, the two-time champion set a new lap record at the Red Bull Ring.
The session started off calmly, with Bagnaia (Ducati) leading in the early minutes before being overtaken by Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati). Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) was in third, but after the first ten minutes, he jumped to the lead.
💪 @marcmarquez93 takes top spot!
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 16, 2024
He's now a little over a tenth clear of @88jorgemartin and @PeccoBagnaia 💥#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/m8BZpL6pDc
However, this was short-lived, as Bagnaia reclaimed the top spot. With Marc Márquez in second and Martín in third, the leading positions remained unchanged for several minutes. Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac/Ducati) later moved up to fourth, swapping places with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM).
Twelve minutes before the end, there were significant changes in the standings, with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GasGas Tech3/KTM) and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM) breaking into the top five. Martín regained the lead with ten minutes left, followed closely by Marc Márquez, pushing Bagnaia to third. Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia) also joined the battle for the top positions, moving into third place.
As the session neared its end, Marc Márquez briefly took the lead, only to be overtaken by the Pramac Ducati duo, with Franco Morbidelli taking the top spot ahead of Martín. However, Bagnaia quickly responded with an even better lap, setting a new record of 1m28.508s.
1:28.508, a new all-time lap record 🔥🔥🔥
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 16, 2024
An absolute stunner from @PeccoBagnaia! 💪#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/Bv3mpPfmcp
In the final moments, the top positions remained unchanged. Morbidelli finished second, 0.281s behind, with Martín in third, 0.319s adrift. Marc Márquez and Binder completed the top five, with Álex Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) in sixth. The official Aprilia riders, Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales, followed in seventh and eighth, with Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati) in ninth.
Enea Bastianini was the last rider to qualify directly for Q2, securing tenth place, narrowly pushing Acosta into Q1 by just 27 milliseconds.
Timesheets:
An impeccable #MotoGP Practice from @PeccoBagnaia, who put his signature on a new all-time lap record 🔝
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 16, 2024
He leads an all-Ducati top 4 ahead of @BradBinder_33 ⚔️#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/XbFenNos3Y
