Marquez sets pace in wet Motegi MotoGP practice

Honda MotoGP rider Marc Marquez led the way in the wet Saturday morning practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi.

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Key moments:

> Marquez a tenth clear

> Four Ducatis in top seven, but Bagnaia only 15th

> Espargaro triggers red flag

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The anticipation that the classification in Friday’s sole practice would ultimately decide who goes directly to Q2 was proven correct even before the start of the Saturday morning session – with riders greeted by an absolutely soaked track.

But the grid still participated in full, seeking to prepare themselves for what are expected to be similar conditions in qualifying, and in the early minutes all three of the main title contenders in Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo and Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia would get the Turn 3 left-hander wrong – with only Bagnaia managing to get his bike stopped before it rolled into the gravel.

⚠️ @AleixEspargaro and @FabioQ20 off roading at Turn 3

It's POURING at Motegi 🌧️#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/euRuzuE5HJ

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 24, 2022

Later on, Turn 3 caught out KTM’s Brad Binder for the first crash of the session, which was followed minutes later by Binder’s former (and future) KTM stablemate Pol Espargaro having a slow highside at Turn 8.

A crash at Turn 3 disrupts @BradBinder_33's FP2 programme 💥

The South African has, however, secured a Q2 spot ✅#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/kOREwctv5s

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 24, 2022

The Espargaro crash brought out a rare red flag due to the Honda RC213V coming to a halt effectively on the apex while also putting dirt on the racing surface.

A closer look to @polespargaro's crippled Honda 😱#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/9F6cXsPAzD

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 24, 2022

Marquez had led the session at that point with a 1m55.232s, and the 12 minutes remaining on the clock after the restart proved insufficient for him to be dethroned.

Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin was closest to Marquez in second, while Martin’s team-mate Johann Zarco was fifth – with both set to run in Q1 later today.

Factory Ducati rider Jack Miller and KTM’s Miguel Oliveira both improved late on and ended up splitting the two Pramac riders.

Of the championship hopefuls, outside title contender Enea Bastianini (Gresini Ducati) was quickest in seventh, nine tenths off the pace and right behind Yamaha’s Franco Morbidelli. But unlike the three riders ahead of him in the standings, Bastainini will contest Q1 after having crashed late on in Friday practice.

Quartararo ended up 10th, one place up on Espargaro and five places up on Bagnaia.

Q1 participants: Zarco, Nakagami, Rins, Bastianini, Martin, Morbidelli, Crutchlow, D. Binder, Bezzecchi, A. Marquez, Fernandez, Nagashima, Gardner, Di Giannantonio, Tsuda

Straight to Q2: Miller, Bagnaia, Quartararo, A. Espargaro, Marini, M. Marquez, P. Espargaro, B. Binder, Oliveira, Vinales

Practice 2 Results