Austrian MotoGP, Red Bull Ring - Friday Practice Results

Key:
^X Rider is X positions higher than Free Practice 1.
= Rider is same position as Free Practice 1.
˅X Rider is X positions lower than Free Practice 1.
* Rookie

Official Red Bull Ring MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Enea Bastianini ITA Ducati 1m 28.772s (2022)
Fastest race lap:
Jorge Martin SPA Ducati 1m 29.854s (2022)

Marco Bezzecchi leads Friday afternoon practice for the Austrian MotoGP at Red Bull Ring, despite a late technical issue, while Marc Marquez and Jack Miller are among the riders forced to take part in Saturday’s Qualifying 1.

Bezzecchi parked his VR46 machine, which looked to have run out of fuel, next to team owner Valentino Rossi, watching trackside, who gave Bez a scooter ride back to the pits.

Rain fears meant some riders immediately attacked on new soft tyres, with Marco Bezzecchi ahead of Brad Binder, Maverick Vinales and Takaaki Nakagami after 15mins of the hour.

Bezzecchi remained on top until Vinales (soft-soft) pulled 0.375s clear during the middle stages.

Riding at the track where his Yamaha career came to a sudden end in 2021, Vinales was still ahead of Bezzecchi and Binder when rain flags were waved with 25mins to go.

The rain was especially bad news for the likes of morning leader Johann Zarco and Marc Marquez, still outside the top ten.

Running the new high downforce Honda aerodynamics, Marquez had followed Fabio Quartararo (also on the larger M1 fairing) for several laps, the #93 struggling to stop his bike behind the Frenchman.

Marquez then tripped up after following Enea Bastianini, the rider he ran into the back of at Assen, out of the pits. As the Ducati rider hit the brakes for the first chicane, Marquez was closing too quickly and was forced to thread his way around the red machine and across the gravel.

Worse was to follow for Bastianini, who later fell on his own at the chicane.

But the rain drops cleared for the final ten minutes, when Marquez and then RNF’s Miguel Oliveira rocketed up the order feature in second – but the Repsol Honda rider would later be stripped of the lap for exceeding track limits.

Marquez’s efforts to set another flyer were later hampered when he was held up by former team-mate Pol Espargaro. The incident was put under investigation by the FIM Stewards.

Meanwhile, Bagnaia briefly took over P1, before Bezzecchi delivered a 1m 28.533s for a new lap record. Vinales then got to within 0.044s of Bezzecchi to split the Ducatis, for second.

Brad Binder put KTM into fourth, followed by the Pramac Ducati of Zarco and Jorge Martin. Silverstone winner Aleix Espargaro was seventh with Alex Marquez, Quartararo and Oliveira also securing direct access to Qualifying 2.

After struggling in the braking zones on his way to 22nd this morning, Miller climbed to seventh, but then dropped to 14th by the chequered flag.

* Rookie

Official Red Bull Ring MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Enea Bastianini ITA Ducati 1m 28.772s (2022)
Fastest race lap:
Jorge Martin SPA Ducati1m 29.854s (2022)

Johann Zarco, currently unsigned for 2024, gives a reminder of his talents by topping opening practice for the Austrian MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring.

It was also a promising session for countryman Fabio Quartararo, who provided a welcome boost for Yamaha by being fastest for most of the session, using the new larger M1 fairing.

Aprilia’s early leader Maverick Vinales likewise remained in second for much of the 45-minutes before Zarco’s late charge - on a new medium rear tyre - nudged him to third.

Silverstone sprint winner Alex Marquez was forced to pull off track in the opening minutes due to smoke rising from the front disc of his Gresini Ducati, apparently caused by leaking fluid.

The Spaniard overcame the early scare to clinch fourth place, ahead of VR46 Ducati's Marco Bezzecchi (who ran wide) and Gresini’s Fabio di Giannantonio.

LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami was the top Honda rider in seventh.

Marc Marquez and Repsol Honda team-mate Joan Mir tried the new high-downforce RC213V fairing used by Nakagami at Silverstone.

Marquez later ran wide and toppled over in the Turn 4 gravel, his 16th accident of the season, after switching back to the old fairing.

Ducati's reigning champion and title leader Francesco Bagnaia began the weekend in eighth, ahead of Silverstone winner Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia), with Zarco’s Pramac Ducati team-mate Jorge Martin completing the top ten.

Brad Binder was the fastest of the home KTM riders, in 14th, with Pol Espargaro 16th for GASGAS, rookie team-mate Augusto Fernandez 19th after a fall and Jack Miller only 22nd after running wide.

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Ducati’s reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia takes a 41-point lead over Pramac’s Jorge Martin into this weekend’s Austrian MotoGP, with VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi slipping to third (-47 points) after his Silverstone accident.

Desmosedicis have only been beaten twice at the Austrian circuit in the nine races since it returned to the calendar in 2016: Miguel Oliveira snatching Tech3 KTM’s first-ever MotoGP victory at the final corner of a restarted 2020 race, before Brad Binder gave the home factory a memorable 2021 win after staying on slicks in the rain.

Binder returns holding fourth in the standings, with KTM still seeking its first Sunday win of the season after two Sprint victories for the South African.

Johann Zarco’s is the highest-placed rider yet to officially secure a 2024 seat, with Aleix Espargaro climbing to sixth in the standings after a dramatic last lap victory for Aprilia at Silverstone.

Luca Marini (VR46), Alex Marquez (Gresini), Jack Miller (KTM) and Espargaro’s team-mate Maverick Vinales complete the current top ten, followed by Monster Yamaha riders Fabio Quartararo and Franco Morbidelli.

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• Austrian Moto3: Latest Results

Rookie Augusto Fernandez is now up to 13th, while GASGAS Tech3 team-mate Pol Espargaro will be taking part in his second event since returning from extensive injuries at Portimao.

KTM has traditionally used its home event to reveal more about its future plans, might they reveal more on how they intend to solve the conundrum of where to place Moto2 star Pedro Acosta?

LCR Honda’s Alex Rins remains absent due to his Mugello leg injuries and is again replaced by WorldSBK rider Iker Lecuona.