The MotoGP Austrian GP is underway, and Jorge Martín led the first free practice session this morning at the Red Bull Ring, which was temporarily halted due to a red flag.
Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) was the initial session leader, holding a 0.609s advantage over Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46/Ducati), followed by Raúl Fernández and Pol Espargaró, who is participating in his second wildcard appearance of the season for Red Bull KTM.
After the second flying laps, Martín retained his lead but was eventually overtaken by Pol Espargaró, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM), and Acosta. Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac/Ducati) then took the lead, holding a 0.072s advantage over Pol Espargaró after the first 15 minutes.
After a period without significant changes, Martín reclaimed the top spot, beating Morbidelli by 0.218s, shortly before experiencing a minor crash. Later, Acosta had a severe crash at turn four, leading to the red flag being shown with 3m34s remaining. Although Acosta was unharmed, the track required cleaning, prompting the stoppage.
A scary one for @37_pedroacosta at T4! 😱😱😱
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 16, 2024
The session has been red-flagged after the rookie's second crash 🔴#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/k5vCP60fD9
After the red flag, there were no further changes at the top. Martín remained in the lead, with Morbidelli in second and Pol Espargaró in third. Bagnaia and Binder completed the top five ahead of Acosta, in a session where Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) had several laps canceled and finished only 18th.
Timesheets:
👊 @88jorgemartin tops an eventful FP1 at the Red Bull Ring @FrankyMorbido12 and wildcard @polespargaro follow 💨#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/xxDEU0q8IG
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 16, 2024
