MotoGP Malaysia Practice LIVE: Francesco Bagnaia fastest ahead of Martin and Bastianini, Quartararo in Q2

Reigning world champion Pecco Bagnaia struck a major blow in the first free practice session of the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Ducati Lenovo rider set the fastest time in 1'58.795, demonstrating once again his mastery of the Desmosedici GP24.

Pecco Bagnaia hit hard during the first free practice session of the Malaysian Grand Prix, the 19th round of the 2024 MotoGP championship. The team's rider Ducati Lenovo set a best time of 1'58.795, establishing himself as the undisputed leader of this session. His dynamic performance left behind theAprilia de Maverick Vinales and the Ducati of Marco Bezzecchi, from the team VR46, which complete the virtual podium.

Behind them, Jack Miller, at the wheel of his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, took fourth place, while the young Peter Acosta, on his KTM GASGAS, had to deal with a fall at the end of the session. Fortunately, the incident did not have any serious consequences, and Acosta was able to meet the challenge without too much hassle.

George Martin, the star pilot of First Pramac Racing, finished the session in a respectable sixth place, just ahead Alex Marquez, which has shown encouraging signs with the Ducati of the team Gresini Racing. fabio quartararo, finished a little further back in eighth position with his Yamaha , trying to find the rhythm on this demanding circuit.

Notably, Andrea Iannone, recalled to replace Fabio DiGiannantonio who is due to undergo shoulder surgery, managed to improve at the end of the session thanks to a new tyre, thus finishing ninth. On the other hand, Marc Marquez had a slightly more difficult start to the weekend, finishing twelfth.

The battle promises to be thrilling as the riders fine-tune their settings in the coming sessions, but bagnaia clearly set the tone with his brilliant performance. The pressure is now on his rivals to react! Will they do so during this Practice at the end of which we will know the list of drivers who will have immediately acquired their ticket for Q2 on Saturday? Before we know, here is the table that summarizes the facts known so far.

MotoGP™ Malaysia, Sepang	2023	2024
FP1	1'59.513 Jorge Martin (See here)	1'58.795 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Practice	1'57.823 Alex Marquez (See here)	1'57.679 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
FP2	1'58.960 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	(See here)
Q1	1'57.823 Fabio Di Giannantonio (See here)	(See here)
Q2	1'57.491 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	(See here)
Sprint	Alex Marquez, Martin, Bagnaia (See here)	(See here)
Warm Up	1'59.218 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	(See here)
Course	Bastianini, A. Marquez, Bagnaia (See here)	(See here)
All time lap record	1'57.491 Francesco Bagnaia 2023 (See here)

Things are about to get serious as tomorrow's qualifying sessions loom: for now, it's time to get into Q2, 10 places are up for grabs... it's for now, so let's go!!

The sun is out, we're setting sail for 60 minutes

Martin sets the reference time in 1.39.841s. Quartararo, Zarco, Acosta and Iannone complete the top 5.

Demonstration of style for MMarquez..

Binder Falls

AEspargaro also makes a mistake in turn 3

We are driving fast…Martin holds the line in 1.39.841s ahead of Miller, Acosta, Morbidelli, Iannone, Zarco, Quartararo, MMarquez, AMarquez, Bastianini and Rins

There are 34 minutes left in this session and Martin is on a very good pace which allows him to stay in front: Miller, Acosta, Morbidelli, Iannone, Zarco, Bastianini, Quartararo, MMarquez, AMarquez and Bagnaia complete the top 10

Bagnaia not to joy….

New fall of AEspargaro..

Bezzecchi crashes at turn 15

There are 23 minutes left and Martin remains the leader of this session with a cumulative time of 1.58.939s. Miller and Acosta bring up the rear.

Which pair will I use?

Nakagami sets a great time, he takes the 3rd best time in 1.59.080s

There are 12 minutes left before the finish, and it is Bagnaia who takes the lead in 1.58.280s.

But Martin responded and regained control in 1.57.729s. Bastianini, Bagnaia, Quartararo, Morbidelli, Acosta, Rins, MMarquez, Miller, and AMarquez complete the top10 for Q2

The Niçois 4th, qualified for the moment for Q2!!

At 3min, Bagnaia responds to Martin in 1.57.679s.

Martin's fall!!!!

End of session and the 10 drivers qualified for Q2 are: Bagnaia, Martin, Bastianini, Vinales, AMarquez, Quarataro, Morbidelli, Rins, Miller and MMarquez

 

MotoGP Malaysia Practice: Chronos