Ducati leads the Friday MotoGP free practice in Japan. Pecco Bagnaia 2nd chased by Fabio Quartararo, Enea Bastianini out of the top-10.
Motegi is an anomalous free practice Friday, with only one free practice session for each of the three classes MotoGP, Moto2, Moto3. A decision made for logistical reasons and which forced teams and drivers to work in a hurry to find a good setting. But the rain is the real variable that could unhinge the balance of the first day.
To mark the best lap in FP1 is the Ducati of Jack Miller in 01’44 ″ 509, followed closely by Pecco Bagnaia at 28 thousandths and Fabio Quartararo at 49 thousandths. A ranking that would once again portend a challenge between the big three Bagnaia, Espargarò and Quartararo, but it is forbidden to make predictions in an unpredictable weekend, where the weather does not allow for anything good. However Aleix Espargarò he is 4th with his Aprilia RS-GP22 at 68 thousandths behind the Australian’s Ducati.
The FP1 classification at Motegi
Luca Marini’s Ducati, Marc Marquez and Pol Espargarò’s Hondas, Maverick Vinales’ Aprilia and Brad Binder and Miguel Oliveira’s KTMs also enter the top ten. Difficult day, however, for Enea Bastianini which does not go beyond the 14th time and will therefore have to hope for a Saturday without rain to try to hit the direct assault on Q2. Not an easy task and where the distances are super close, with the first eleven collected in less than three tenths, 19 riders in a second.
Eyes on Pecco Bagnaia which is only 10 points in the standings from the leader Quartararo. For the Piedmontese, there were small problems in the first laps, with a front end that was too close to the limit due to the soft tire and an electronics problem that was immediately resolved. Better with the hard front, we begin to outline the strategy for qualifying. “There is a lot of braking, but you have to bring in speed and it’s a bit atypical, so we worked on the balance – explains the Piedmontese from Ducati at the end of FP1 -. In the final stages we took a decisive step in the corners and for the balance of the bike“.
Rain is forecast for Saturday, dry for Sunday. Fabio Quartararo he will also have to deal with the weather to defend his world leadership. “It’s pretty hard to accelerate here against Ducati with their ground clearance devices and aerodynamics. But I feel we have done our best. Our result is impressive“.
19 riders within a second! 😮@jackmilleraus leads a Ducati 1-2 at the end of today’s 75-minute FP1 #JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/Udt3W4I0QM
– MotoGP ™ 🏁 (@MotoGP) September 23, 2022
