Espargaro breaks course record; Marquez sentenced to first quarter

Marc Marquez already said it at the presentation of the MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix: “If someone has four dollars, he should put it in Aprilia this weekend,” and The Noale motorcycle, owned by Aleix Espargaro, showed the best time in practice this Friday, managing to break the absolute track record with a time of 1:38.562. lower the 1,38,639 mark from which Pecco Bagnaia reached pole position last year. Aleix, who announced his retirement at the end of the season on Thursday and who won at this track last year, is running after the best in this regard, although KTM, especially Pedro Acosta, who finished third in the standings, seems to have something to say : Brad Binder had the second fastest time, despite two falls early in the session, and Jack Miller had the fifth fastest time, just behind Banaya.

Sixth was Jorge Martin, who will race directly in the second quarter this Saturday, as will his teammate Franco Morbidelli, who seems to be gradually regaining the feel of the Ducati. Enea Bastianini finished eighth, while surprise Alex Rins posted the 9th fastest time and his best result of the year, placing the first Japanese motorcycle in time, the only one in the top ten, rounding out the top of the announcements for the Q2 Maverick Viñales.

Alex Marquez finished eleventh ahead of his brother Marc Marquez, so both Gresini Ducatis will have to go through the always awkward and dangerous first part of qualifying along with Miguel Oliveira or Fabio Quartararo in 14th place. Also surprising were Marco Bezzecchi, who finished 15th with some technical problems on his Ducati, and Fabio Di Giannantonio, who also crashed twice, as did Binder.

The last four, as in Austin, are the Hondas of Johan Zarco, Takaaki Nakagami, Joan Mira and Luca Marini. In addition to Binder and Di Giannantonio, Quartararo, Augusto Fernandez and Alex Marquez also fell.

Practical classification for the 2024 MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix: