MotoGP

Ducati 1-2-3 in second Valencia practice, but Bagnaia only ninth

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
3 min read

Luca Marini led a Ducati 1-2-3 in the second MotoGP practice at Valencia, but points leader Francesco Bagnaia was only ninth.

Key moments:

> Quartararo and Bagnaia 0.005s apart

> Marquez best of the rest behind Ducati trio

> Several early crashes

Marini already narrowly headed Yamaha’s title hopeful Fabio Quartararo at the top of the timing screens coming up to the final minutes, when riders kicked off initial qualifying simulations with fresh soft rear tyres.

And, though briefly deposed, the Italian – yet to finish on the podium in MotoGP – lifted his VR46-run Desmosedici GP22 to first place shortly before the chequered flag, courtesy of a 1m30.217s that proved enough for him to end the day as the pace-setter.

Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin and Bagnaia’s factory team-mate Jack Miller completed the top three, with only Honda’s Marc Marquez preventing a Ducati 1-2-3-4 by beating Gresini Ducati rider Enea Bastianini to fourth by 0.004s.

Quartararo wound up eighth, just 0.005s clear of Bagnaia despite a seemingly stronger Friday overall – the Frenchman needing to win to retain the MotoGP crown and for Bagnaia to finish outside the top 14.

There were many crashes in the early going in the session, before things counterintuitively settled down towards the end despite the pace picking up.

Among the first-sector fallers were Yamaha riders Franco Morbidelli and Cal Crutchlow, Gresini Ducati rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio and Marquez, taking a tumble at Turn 1 after having fallen at Turn 2 in first practice.

There was also an off for Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro but further along the track, at Turn 5.

The only other incidents of note were Quartararo having to barge past fellow Yamaha rider Darryn Binder with a forceful Turn 13 move, and Suzuki rider Alex Rins harmlessly bumping into future Honda stablemate Marquez while lining up for practice starts.

Practice 2 Results

Pos Name Team Bike Gap Next Gap Leader Best Time
1 Luca Marini Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 1m30.217s
2 Jorge Martin Pramac Racing Ducati +0.105s +0.105s 1m30.322s
3 Jack Miller Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati +0.023s +0.128s 1m30.345s
4 Marc Marquez Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.045s +0.173s 1m30.39s
5 Enea Bastianini Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati +0.004s +0.177s 1m30.394s
6 Miguel Oliveira Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.028s +0.205s 1m30.422s
7 Johann Zarco Pramac Racing Ducati +0.002s +0.207s 1m30.424s
8 Fabio Quartararo Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha +0.018s +0.225s 1m30.442s
9 Francesco Bagnaia Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati +0.005s +0.23s 1m30.447s
10 Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.072s +0.302s 1m30.519s
11 Alex Rins Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki +0.188s +0.49s 1m30.707s
12 Maverick Viñales Aprilia Racing Aprilia +0.107s +0.597s 1m30.814s
13 Aleix Espargaró Aprilia Racing Aprilia +0.076s +0.673s 1m30.89s
14 Joan Mir Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki +0.114s +0.787s 1m31.004s
15 Marco Bezzecchi Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati +0.01s +0.797s 1m31.014s
16 Franco Morbidelli Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha +0.002s +0.799s 1m31.016s
17 Alex Marquez LCR Honda Castrol Honda +0.132s +0.931s 1m31.148s
18 Pol Espargaró Repsol Honda Team Honda +0.101s +1.032s 1m31.249s
19 Cal Crutchlow WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha +0.096s +1.128s 1m31.345s
20 Raul Fernandez Tech3 KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.253s +1.381s 1m31.598s
21 Remy Gardner Tech3 KTM Factory Racing KTM +0.023s +1.404s 1m31.621s
22 Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda +0.051s +1.455s 1m31.672s
23 Fabio Di Giannantonio Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati +0.09s +1.545s 1m31.762s
24 Darryn Binder WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha +0.658s +2.203s 1m32.42s
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