Jorge Martín led the practice session for the Thai MotoGP. The Prima Pramac rider was the fastest on Friday in Buriram, despite suffering a crash at the end of the session.
Unlike the morning FP1, this session was all about setting fast lap times. Initially, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini/Ducati) led the way ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha), while some riders had laps canceled for exceeding track limits.
Things didn’t start well for Francesco Bagnaia. The Ducati rider complained of a front brake issue and lost some time in the early stages.
The next rider to top the timesheets was Quartararo, followed by the Gresini duo of Fabio Di Giannantonio and Álex Márquez, with the Spaniard taking the lead on his fourth flying lap. With 41 minutes remaining, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) threatened to move to the top but settled for second place.
With 35 minutes to go, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) displaced Álex Márquez from the front of the timesheets. Viñales was also overtaken by Di Giannantonio later in the second half of the session.
With about 12 minutes to go until the checkered flag, Binder led the way. There were a few changes in the following minutes. The South African rider was overtaken by Viñales and Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac/Ducati). Zarco was soon passed by Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati).
More changes in the final three minutes. Viñales was dethroned by Martín, while Aleix Espargaró moved up to third. Martín crashed shortly after taking the lead, in an incident that occurred in turn three.
No further changes occurred until the end, with Martín leading by 0.098s ahead of Viñales. Aleix Espargaró finished third, Zarco was fourth, and Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati) was fifth, ahead of his teammate Bezzecchi.
After early setbacks, Bagnaia finished seventh and is back in the direct qualifiers for the second qualifying. Quartararo, Binder, and Augusto Fernández (GasGas Tech3/KTM) also secured their places in the top ten of the session. In 11th place, Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) narrowly missed out on the top ten by 0.065s.
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