MotoGP

New record, more crashes: What went on in second Austria practice

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
2 min read

Reigning MotoGP champion Pecco Bagnaia produced a new lap record of the Red Bull Ring's current MotoGP layout to end Friday practice on top.

Key moments:

  • Ducati 1-2-3-4
  • Di Giannantonio dislocates shoulder in crash
  • Binder and works Aprilia duo only non-Ducatis in top 10

Bagnaia delivered a 1m28.508s late on to head the session - at a track where he won both the sprint and the grand prix last year - by three tenths.

He was followed by fellow Valentino Rossi protege Franco Morbidelli in second, although Morbidelli did benefit from a tow from his Pramac Ducati team-mate (and Bagnaia's title rival) Jorge Martin - who completed the top three.

Marc Marquez was fourth on the Gresini-run 2023-spec Ducati, the best of the GP23 runners despite consistently losing time in the final sector's two fast right-handers.

A last-second improvement from Brad Binder lifted the KTM rider into fifth place and put him into Q2 at the expense of his 2025 team-mate Pedro Acosta.

Acosta had added a third crash of the weekend at Turn 9 earlier in the session.

Alex Marquez ran behind his brother Marc in the final minutes and picked up sixth place, followed by the two works Aprilias of Aleix Espargaro and Maverick Vinales - 0.010s apart and looking more competitive on the soft rear compared to the medium rear, as is increasingly customary for the RS-GP.

Marco Bezzecchi followed Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo on his fastest lap to secure ninth place. He and VR46 team-mate Fabio Di Giannantonio had crashed in quick succession but, while Bezzecchi shrugged off his crash in the Turn 2 chicane, Di Giannantonio's fast Turn 8 fall required him to go to the medical centre, ruling him out of the battle for the top 10.

It was later confirmed that he had dislocated his shoulder in that fall.

British Grand Prix winner Enea Bastianini snuck through into Q2 in 10th, ending the session with a late crash through the chicane and with just 0.027s in hand over Acosta.

Besides Di Giannantonio, another contender who could've threatened Bastianini's Q2 place was KTM tester Pol Espargaro - but he had a mechanical failure on his first soft-tyre lap on one of his prototype KTM RC16s, with the other seemingly not in condition to run.

There was also a crash for Honda tester Stefan Bradl early on, while Aprilia tester Lorenzo Savadori had a mechanical failure but unlike Espargaro he did rejoin.

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