Marc Marquez on a 2023-spec Ducati led a trio of 2024-spec Desmosedicis in the second and final Friday practice at the Thai Grand Prix in the MotoGP class.
Key moments:
- Marquez tows Morbidelli to P1 and lap record
- Title contenders book Q2 spots with ease
- Vinales impresses for Aprilia
- Acosta and Zarco keep Binder out
- Espargaro taken to hospital
A well-timed tow from the fourth of the Ducati GP24s, that of Franco Morbidelli, elevated Marquez to the top of the timing sheets with a 1m29.165s - the new MotoGP lap record at the track.
Championship leader Jorge Martin was a tenth behind him in second, followed by a late-improving Enea Bastianini - who had shrugged off an early-session crash at Turn 5.
💥 @Bestia23 thought he was safe but it caught him out when he wasn't looking! #ThaiGP 🇹🇭 pic.twitter.com/BZs8FBRAUc
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 25, 2024
Martin's rival and Bastianini's team-mate Pecco Bagnaia looked to be having a frustrating session in the early going, seemingly dissatisfied with his bike's set-up, but bounced back in the end to place fourth, comfortably booking a Q2 spot alongside his fellow frontrunners.
Morbidelli was sixth - only Aprilia's Maverick Vinales and a gap of four hundredths prevented him from making it a top-five lockout for Ducati.
Vinales' Aprilia team-mate Aleix Espargaro rode for 12 laps after his heavy crash in first practice, but withdrew from the session before riders went into new-tyre time attacks.
He was taken to a local hospital in the aftermath for further assessment, which turned up no serious injuries.
Rookie Pedro Acosta, in lingering shoulder pain after his bad Australian Grand Prix sprint crash, looked on course to miss out on the top 10 before pulling out a superb final sector to claim seventh at the very end.
The top 10 was completed by Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati), Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Ducati) and Johann Zarco (LCR Honda), Zarco having made use of a tow from the elder Marquez.
Acosta's last-gasp improvement consigned his future KTM team-mate Brad Binder to a Q1 spot instead, Binder trailing Acosta by a tenth and Zarco by just 0.001s.
Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo had also looked good to book a Q2 spot before his charge ran out of steam late on, as he placed 12th.
The only other rider to crash during the session besides Bastianini was Aprilia tester Lorenzo Savadori.
Advancing to Q2:
Marc Marquez
Jorge Martin
Enea Bastianini
Francesco Bagnaia
Maverick Vinales
Franco Morbidelli
Pedro Acosta
Alex Marquez
Marco Bezzecchi
Johann Zarco
Contesting Q1:
Brad Binder
Fabio Quartararo
Jack Miller
Raul Fernandez
Taka Nakagami
Fabio Di Giannantonio
Luca Marini
Alex Rins
Joan Mir
Augusto Fernandez
Lorenzo Savadori
Aleix Espargaro (in doubt)
