
Jorge Martin took the lead during the opening practice session for the MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix, representing Pramac, while the current championship leader, Francesco Bagnaia, found himself nearly a second behind in 10th place.
The session started with Maverick Vinales and Alex Marquez trading the fastest lap times. Gresini rider Marquez set the early pace with a 1m32.030s, but Vinales soon set a quicker time of 1m31.657s.
Marquez countered with a lap of 1m31.486s, regaining the top spot, but Vinales managed to go even faster, clocking in at 1m31.484s, which remained unbeaten for most of the session.
With just 10 minutes to go, Vinales’ Aprilia teammate, Espargaro, set an impressive time of 1m31.171s, taking the lead with a three-tenths-of-a-second advantage. However, the session had more surprises in store as Jorge Martin, representing Pramac, broke the 1m31s barrier with only five minutes left on the clock, securing the top spot.
Martin’s lap of 1m30.520s placed him 0.238s ahead of the competition, despite Vinales making a late attempt to reclaim the lead with a time of 1m30.758s, which fell short.
Pol Espargaro also impressed, securing third place with a time of 1m31.012s on his Tech3 KTM. His brother Aleix finished in fourth.
Franco Morbidelli rounded out the top five on the fastest Yamaha, and Augusto Fernandez delivered a strong performance in sixth place.
Fabio di Giannantonio, who has been rumored for a move to Repsol Honda in 2024, claimed the seventh spot, with his time matching that of RNF Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez.
Unfortunately, Alex Marquez couldn’t improve on his early-session time and dropped to ninth, 0.966s behind Jorge Martin.
The top 10 was rounded off by Francesco Bagnaia, who entered the session with a 29-point lead over his main championship rival, Jorge Martin. However, despite some improvement in the final minutes, Bagnaia was the fourth-quickest Ducati, finishing 0.987s behind Martin with a best time of 1m31.507s.
The LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami was the top Honda in the session, with Fabio Quartararo, the 2021 champion, finishing in 12th place. The factory KTM team had a subdued session, with both Jack Miller and Brad Binder more than a second off the pace in 13th and 14th, respectively. VR46 duo Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi also found themselves outside the top positions in 15th and 16th.
Marc Marquez had a challenging session, ending up in 18th place on the factory Honda, two places ahead of his teammate, Joan Mir.
Fortunately, the session proceeded without any crashes, although a few riders experienced minor moments while exiting corners. The MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix promises to be an exciting and closely contested event as the riders continue to fine-tune their setups and strategies.
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