Reigning MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia topped second practice for the Austrian Grand Prix with a new lap record, leading Pramac duo Franco Morbidelli and Jorge Martin.
It took just five minutes for Bagnaia to beat the fastest lap from first practice, the factory Ducati rider clocking a time of 1m29.637s to take the top spot.
His championship rival Martin and Gresini’s Marc Marquez also enjoyed brief stints at the front, before Bagnaia fired back with a 1m29.280s to pull himself three-tenths clear of the opposition.
Bagnaia’s time stood unbeaten until there were less than 10 minutes left in the session, when Martin put on soft tyres on his Pramac Ducati to set a breathtaking time of 1m28.917s.
Marquez went fractionally quicker with two minutes remaining on the board, before Martin and then Morbidelli found even more time to reassert Pramac’s position at the front.
However, it was Bagnaia who had the last laugh, the factory rider usurping the previous lap record with a1m28.508s to ensure he ended Friday on top a year on from his dominant win at Spielberg.
Morbidelli ended up second in one of his most impressive practice outings of 2024, while Martin had to settle for third place, over three tenths down on title rival Bagnaia.
Franco Morbidelli, Pramac Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Marquez was shuffled down to fourth after the late flurry of improvements, while Brad Binder put in a last-gasp effort on the factory KTM to end up a strong fifth with a 1m28.969s.
Gresini’s Alex Marquez couldn’t break the 1m29s barrier but set a lap time good enough for sixth on last year’s GP23 bike, beating Aprilia duo Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales.
Seventh and eighth represented an impressive recovery over the course of the hour for Aprilia after both factory riders had struggled to break inside the top 20 on harder tyres.
Ninth place went to Marco Bezzecchi on the VR46 bike, while Enea Bastianini was able to secure a direct graduation into Q2 in 10th despite a late fall at the tricky Turn 2 chicane.
Tech3 GasGas rider Pedro Acosta just missed out on an automatic entry into the second part of qualifying after a bruising Friday that saw him crash three times, his latest fall taking place at Turn 9 halfway through the session.
His KTM stablemate Jack Miller ended up just behind Acosta in 12th despite occupying a position inside the top five for much of the session.
Fabio Quartararo was…
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