Bagnaia leads Bezzecchi in second practice, Martin fifth

Factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia set the pace in second practice at MotoGP’s Barcelona Grand Prix, as championship leader Jorge Martin ended up fifth.

A late flying lap from Bagnaia on the GP24 propelled the two-time champion to the top of the order with a 1m38.918s, just under a tenth quicker than VR46 rival Marco Bezzecchi.

Bezzecchi had led the majority of the session on last year’s GP23 bike, immediately improving on Takaaki Nakagami’s FP1 benchmark with a 1m40.242s when the hour-long session began at 3pm local time.

The Italian then became the first rider to break the 1m40s barrier, stamping his authority with a 1m39.829s.

Both Gresini’s Alex Marquez and Tech3 GasGas rider Pedro Acosta were also able to lap in the 1m39s bracket early in the session, but their laps were more than a tenth-and-a-half slower than Bezzecchi’s best effort.

Aprilia’s Vinales joined the ‘1m39s club’ after the halfway point of the session, but he too couldn’t lap within a tenth of Bezzecchi.

It wasn’t until with 13 minutes left that the Italian was dislodged from the top, as Martin posted a 1m39.652s on a fresh set of soft tyres to hit the front.

The Pramac rider then shaved another three tenths on his next flying lap, getting down to a 1m39.214s on his Ducati GP24.

LCR’s Johan Zarco then enjoyed a brief stint at the front, taking advantage of a slipstream from numerous Ducati bikes in the final sector to shoot to the top with a 1m39.197s.

However, it was beaten by a flurry of laps right at the end, as riders made a final attempt to secure an automatic entry into Q2.

It was early pacesetter Bezzecchi who was the first big improver, moving the goalposts with a 1m38.998s. 

But Bagnaia was able to edge him out in the final moments of the session to end Friday practice on top, as he seeks to defend his crown against Martin in this weekend’s finale.

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

The retiring Aleix Espargaro again displayed his Barcelona prowess with the third-fastest time of the day on the Aprilia, ending just over a tenth down on Bagnaia’s chart-topping effort.

Zarco hung on to fourth to secure a morale-boosting Q2 spot for Honda, while Martin settled for fifth, 0.296s behind his title rival Bagnaia.

Vinales complimented the efforts of team-mate Espargaro in sixth ahead of the Gresini…