2024 MotoGP World Championship
Round 18 – Chang International Circuit – Friday
PT Grand Prix of Thailand
MotoGP Friday Quotes
Marc Marquez – P1
“It was a good Friday, but our goal for tomorrow – at least the realistic one – is to qualify on the front two rows. I know where we’re losing ground and where we can improve, we’re suffering in the first two sectors and it won’t be easy tomorrow.”
Jorge Martin – P2
“Well, it was a good day. I think we did a great job. We worked a lot on the used tyres. That was important. For sure, I see Pecco and Marco are strong also. So, you know, maybe last year I had something extra. This year we are so close. So, it will be a nice challenge tomorrow to beat them. My bike was shaking quite a lot. I had some movements from the rear, so I was struggling to… It was really physical and I need to calm it down a bit for tomorrow, but overall I feel good and we did a great job. So yeah, I think I was the only rider to go with really used tyres out there. I tried both medium and hard, so overall the work was really good and we need to work a bit now on the details.”
Enea Bastianini – P3
“The Practice session went well, crash aside, and we kept improving lap after lap. This morning, my confidence was not ideal, and I was unable to push as hard as I wanted. Things went better this afternoon, and I felt comfortable, but at the moment we’re missing something pace-wise. We must improve the bike stability: I still cannot brake as hard as Martín and (Marc) Márquez, but I believe we can make another step forward tomorrow. It’s only a matter of details.”
Francesco Bagnaia – P4
“As it happened last weekend in Phillip Island, we did go the wrong way set-up wise in the Practice session. Before the time attack, we went in the opposite direction and it worked; I’m happy, because we ended up being a little ahead of schedule with the set-up work and to be in a good position is surely a positive thing. The time attack was good, especially as it wasn’t the cleanest of laps. The goal was to be in the top ten, so let’s see what we can do to improve some more tomorrow morning.”
Maverick Vinales – P5
“Conditions were difficult and the feeling wasn’t entirely good because there was no grip, which complicates riding the bike as it seems like you’re on ice. Fortunately, I managed to do a flying lap that sent me through to Q2. We made some changes during the practice session which allowed us to take a step forward, so we have an idea of which way to go.”
Franco Morbidelli – P6
TBC
Pedro Acosta – P7
“I am super happy to be back on the bike! The shoulder feels good, it took us a few laps to warm it up properly, but once done, the pain was manageable. FP1 was about understanding how we could ride with the shoulder, maybe adjust the bike so I can feel more comfortable on the bike for the brakes. In Practice, we felt good, I am happy to finish in the top 10, let’s see how we can approach Saturday, which will be more demanding physically for us.”
Alex Marquez – P8
“We did quite a few changes to the bike set-up, and they worked, and the main thing is that we’re in Q2. We still need to do a lot of work and focus on tyre choice, which is something that we still have to evaluate.”
Marco Bezzecchi – P9
“Overall I would say a good day, as always the goal for Friday is the direct to Q2. This morning I started strong, then in the afternoon, when I put the softest compound option at the rear, I have struggled more. In these conditions I’m not perfect in terms of entry with the brakes, the first part of acceleration and the bike does not turn. Here, like in Mandalika, we have the hard on the front, perfect for braking, but then with the understeer it does not help me. The balance remains positive, we are competitive and we return to the data for the Sprint.”
Johann Zarco – P10
“Today means another confirmation of the step forward we’d taken during the previous Asian rounds. We focused on getting a Q2 spot and finally did it; that’s positive; we are always progressing. As per tomorrow, the main goal is to do a good qualifying session, to keep improving the feeling on the bike, and then fight for the best possible result on the Sprint”.
Brad Binder – P11
“My ideal lap time is looking good but it’s a pity I couldn’t quite pull it together. Looking forward to getting back on track tomorrow . The more laps the better.”
Fabio Quartararo – P12
“It was not a super positive Friday for us. The pace was okay. We were pushing like hell from lap 1, but we can see that we are missing some grip during the time attack. We were not able to be fast enough to be inside the top 10. I have mixed feelings: I didn’t expect to have such a fast pace, but I also didn’t expect be this far from first in the time attack.”
Jack Miller – P13
“Friday done and dusted here in Thailand, plenty of laps in the books. Unfortunately we’ll be going through Q1 tomorrow, no stranger to these warmer conditions so we’ll be right.”
Raul Fernandez – P14
“I was very close to go to Q2. It was a very good Friday for us, we have been working well and on some areas for next year, mainly my position on the bike to improve it. Basically, I’m happy with what I tried and I’ll keep it for the rest of the season. This is a positive step and otherwise, we didn’t change the bike too much other than that. We made a mistake on the time attack – I felt better with the hard front tire, but we tried to do the time attack with the soft because it is a tire that we know very well, but it wasn’t the best choice. On my second time attack I couldn’t improve but the rest was good, my pace was good and also my feeling with the bike. I know that there are two or three different points that I can improve for tomorrow but, overall, I’m happy. We have been working well, it’s just a shame that we missed out on Q2. Anyway, tomorrow we have another opportunity and more time to prepare and to find out which front tire will work better.”
Takaaki Nakagami – P15
“It’s been a tight Friday, but I’ve enjoyed it a lot! The feeling on the bike is way better than in Australia, and that’s important. Today, I missed the lap time because I could not find any slipstream. In any case, we are taking steps to improve weekend after weekend, and we are working consistently. I’m happy, I can’t wait for tomorrow’s qualifying and Sprint”.
Fabio Di Giannantonio – P16
“Physically it is really tough here! I did not expect to struggle so much, but with so many right-hand turns I am suffering. I cannot stay on the bike as I want, in terms of position I mean and I cannot brake hard and being competitive. A shame, because in Australia I felt good, instead here we have taken a step back, we are far from the strongest guys. In any case, we don’t give up, we are not effective in terms of riding, but we continue to work for a good race.”
Luca Marini – P17
“It’s always incredible how close MotoGP is, putting in a good lap is really important and even the smallest difference can change your position a lot. I wasn’t able to put in this really good lap today, so we have some margin to improve tomorrow still. We spent a decent amount of time trying different things with the bike, with one eye on next year. There are some points to still understand, but we found some positives – especially in braking with these changes. I also need to work on my riding, to keep improving that as the bike evolves. I am looking forward to delivering more tomorrow.”
Alex Rins – P18
“It was not an easy day, for sure. It was difficult to manage. The morning session was not bad, I was feeling okay, especially considering that I didn’t ride here last year. I was far from first in FP1, but the first feeling on track was good. But this afternoon was tough. We need to keep working.”
Joan Mir – P19
“Tonight we need to work well to match the results of Taka and Zarco, because they show that there is more to unlock. It was a difficult day for me as we still have some vibrations in the bike which means I am not able to show my full potential. We need to work to understand what the other riders are doing and why I am suffering more than the others. When you give your 100% you don’t have regret, and I am always giving my 100%.”
Augusto Fernandez – P20
“The final result is not good, but I did feel pretty good all day with the used tyres and the race pace. When we changed to medium tyres, we made no improvements, so I did my best time in the second run of Practice. It is a bit strange, so we will look into it and try making improvements for tomorrow.”
Lorenzo Savadori – P21
“We are still testing some parts which we know are not working ideally at the moment, but the engineers at Aprilia need to gather some data to check it fully for next year. We are still working in a good direction and also need to try several things in these extreme conditions because obviously it’s very hot here. For me it’s not easy knowing I could be closer to the front, but we need to work on that. The temperature on the bike today was quite good as well and we have some solutions to improve more and are also working on that.”
Team Managers
Paolo Bonora – Aprilia
“An uphill start for Aleix. The crash in FP1 kept him from doing a lot of laps, but we’re confident that he’ll be able to recover well for the sprint race. Maverick, on the other hand, managed to go straight through to Q2, despite a less than perfect feeling with the bike. We need to keep working with the goal of increasing grip and rider confidence on the bike.”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director
“It’s always a bit disappointing when you finish just outside the top 10 on the Friday, but we will focus on the positives. Fabio has shown great pace throughout both sessions today. Though he had hoped for a direct place in Q2, he is more satisfied with the way the bike is performing compared to last week. Álex, on the other hand, is still searching for a set-up that makes him feel better on the bike. The team will gather all of today’s data to check if we can find something that will help both riders for tomorrow’s qualifying and Sprint. We’re hoping that it will stay dry, but either way our team and riders will be giving it their 100% to get the best results possible.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – Trackhouse Team Manager
“Today was a hot day here in Buriram and I think we did quite a good job. We had a small crash with Lorenzo, but he needed to try many things for Aprilia and got some good feedback and a lot of data. This is important for tomorrow and also for the future for Aprilia and us. Raul was fast already this morning, he was riding very well and he also felt good on the bike. Of course, you always want to go directly into Q2 which was close, but we were missing two tenths. So, let’s see what we can do tomorrow – I think we should be able to fight for a top 10 position for the weekend.”
MotoGP Practice
Australian GP winner Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) heads into Saturday at the summit of the time-sheets as the eight-time World Champion set a brilliant new Buriram all-time lap record in Practice. Marquez’s 1:29.165 was enough to see him beat Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) by 0.110s, with the World Championship leader a further 0.052s clear of third place Enea Bastianini. His Ducati Lenovo team-mate, title-hunting Francesco Bagnaia, ended Friday at the PT Grand Prix of Thailand in P4 with the top four in the title fight just 0.195s apart heading into a vital Saturday.
It must be said though that Jorge Martin reeled plenty of fast laps and looked pretty comfortable doing it, he looks like the man to beat, despite what he said in his quotes above.
Marc Marquez was the early session leader after the first set of laps landed, and it stayed that way heading into the final 20 minutes. But it was a very intriguing session in the meantime. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) were operating inside the top five, and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) was in a close second as he returns to action following his crash on Saturday in Australia.
Bagnaia was P4 with 18 minutes to go, however, the reigning Champion looked far from happy. Martin, meanwhile, was seventh before the fresh soft rubber was unwrapped.
Marquez’s stint at the summit ended when Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) rose to P1 on a fresh medium compound rear tyre. The South African then got down to a 1:29.949 on his next flying lap to move the goalposts further, as Quartararo climbed back to P2 and only 0.138s away from the South African.
Then, another Pierer Mobility Group machine went fastest. This time it was Acosta, but Quartararo then beat the rookie by 0.018s, much to the delight of the Frenchman. 0.035s then split the top three as Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing MotoGP) improved to a 1:29.857.
That soon changed though. Martin’s 1:29.543 saw the Championship leader go P1 before Bagnaia responded with a P2 time – 0.103s away from his title rival. Another name then pounced as Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) beat Martin, but the 2023 Thai GP winner returned the favour as the #89 pinched a 0.231s advantage with eight minutes to go. And his 1:29.275 was a new all-time lap record.
Bagnaia got within a tenth of Martin a few minutes later before Marc Marquez bagged provisional top spot with under two minutes to go, Marc’s advantage up to 0.110s. Elsewhere, having gone fastest not too long ago, Acosta found himself outside the top 10 with just one lap remaining – but the GASGAS man delivered a lap good enough for seventh when it mattered most.
So at the end of Friday’s play, Marquez’ new record leads a trio of GP24s into Saturday as Viñales fronts the non-Ducati charge in fifth, three-tenths away from the eight-time World Champion.
Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) finished sixth on Friday ahead of the late improving Acosta, with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoG™) another rider that set a PB lap time late on to take eighth.
Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and the impressive Zarco are the other automatic Q2 qualifiers, as Binder missed out by the truly barest of margins: 0.001s.
Both Fabio Quartararo and Jack Miller were well inside the top ten with only minutes remaining in the session but a flurry of fast laps from other competitors means that the popular pair will have to contest Q1.
Aleix Espargaró had a difficult day due to a bad crash on turn 12 during the early moments of FP1. The Spanish rider had medical checks done after the accident which showed no clinically relevant injuries. Espargaró then ended his practice session early to be transported to the Buriram hospital for further checks which did not find any injuries caused by the crash.
With the top 17 covered by less than a second, the Q1 scrap will be a fascinating one as the most important Saturday of the season appears on the Thailand horizon.
MotoGP Practice Times
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
1 | M Marquez | Duc | 1m29.165 | 330.2 |
2 | J Martin | Duc | +0.110 | 338.5 |
3 | E Bastianini | Duc | +0.162 | 337.5 |
4 | F Bagnaia | Duc | +0.195 | 335.4 |
5 | M Viñales | Apr | +0.341 | 333.3 |
6 | F Morbidelli | Duc | +0.384 | 334.3 |
7 | P Acosta | KTM | +0.437 | 336.4 |
8 | A Marquez | Duc | +0.448 | 330.2 |
9 | M Bezzecchi | Duc | +0.455 | 332.3 |
10 | J Zarco | Hon | +0.517 | 332.3 |
11 | B Binder | KTM | +0.518 | 333.3 |
12 | F Quartararo | Yam | +0.591 | 334.3 |
13 | J Miller | KTM | +0.672 | 332.3 |
14 | R Fernandez | Apr | +0.692 | 332.3 |
15 | T Nakagami | Hon | +0.831 | 330.2 |
16 | F Giannantonio | Duc | +0.834 | 330.2 |
17 | L Marini | Hon | +0.973 | 332.3 |
18 | A Rins | Yam | +1.033 | 334.3 |
19 | J Mir | Hon | +1.052 | 334.3 |
20 | A Fernandez | KTM | +1.264 | 333.3 |
21 | L Savadori | Apr | +1.847 | 333.3 |
22 | A Espargaro | Apr | +2.218 | 333.3 |
MotoGP Championship Standings
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | Martin | 424 |
2 | Bagnaia | 404 |
3 | Marquez | 345 |
4 | Bastianini | 331 |
5 | Binder | 192 |
6 | Acosta | 181 |
7 | Viñales | 171 |
8 | Morbidelli | 151 |
9 | Di Giannantonio | 150 |
10 | A Espargaro | 136 |
11 | Bezzecchi | 134 |
12 | Marquez | 125 |
13 | Quartararo | 93 |
14 | Miller | 71 |
15 | Oliveira | 71 |
16 | Fernandez | 66 |
17 | Zarco | 40 |
18 | Nakagami | 28 |
19 | Rins | 23 |
20 | Fernandez | 21 |
21 | Mir | 20 |
22 | P Espargaro | 12 |
23 | Marini | 9 |
24 | Pedrosa | 7 |
25 | Bradl | 2 |
26 | Gardner | 0 |
27 | Savadori | 0 |
Moto2
A two-tenth advantage heading into Saturday will do just nicely for Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) as the Spaniard enjoyed a fruitful day at the office in Thailand. Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) – despite a nasty incident in Free Practice involving Zonta van den Goorbergh (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP) that saw both handed penalties for Sunday’s race – acted as Canet’s closest challenger at the end of play, while third place went the way of Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing).
Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) and Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp) rounded out the top five on Day 1 in Buriram, 0.4s adrift of Canet’s pace.
Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) ended Friday in P6, but it wasn’t a straight forward day for the World Championship leader after he suffered a bike issue at the end of Practice 1.
Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp) finished one place behind Ogura in P8, while Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) has work to do in Practice 2 after finishing day one 15th.
Phillip Island podium finisher Senna Agius was 1.5-seconds from pacesetter Canet.
Moto2 Practice One Times
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
1 | A Canet | Kal | 1m35.192 | 274.8 |
2 | T Arbolino | Kal | +0.218 | 276.9 |
3 | M Ramirez | Kal | +0.250 | 279.0 |
4 | J Dixon | Kal | +0.416 | 276.9 |
5 | A Lopez | Bos | +0.440 | 280.5 |
6 | A Ogura | Bos | +0.452 | 276.9 |
7 | F Aldeguer | Bos | +0.533 | 276.2 |
8 | M Gonzalez | Kal | +0.548 | 274.1 |
9 | A Arenas | Kal | +0.664 | 276.9 |
10 | J Navarro | Kal | +0.692 | 275.5 |
11 | I Guevara | Kal | +0.699 | 278.3 |
12 | D Moreira | Kal | +0.702 | 275.5 |
13 | D Öncü | Kal | +0.702 | 280.5 |
14 | S Chantra | Kal | +0.724 | 276.9 |
15 | S Garcia | Bos | +0.740 | 276.9 |
16 | F Salac | Kal | +0.791 | 278.3 |
17 | J Alcoba | Kal | +0.830 | 276.9 |
18 | A Sasaki | Kal | +0.873 | 279.7 |
19 | D Foggia | Kal | +0.878 | 278.3 |
20 | B Baltus | Kal | +0.977 | 278.3 |
21 | M Aji | Kal | +0.999 | 276.9 |
22 | D Binder | Kal | +1.083 | 279.7 |
23 | Z Goorbergh | Kal | +1.114 | 274.1 |
24 | J Masia | Kal | +1.171 | 276.2 |
25 | A Escrig | For | +1.355 | 276.9 |
26 | S Agius | Kal | +1.510 | 277.6 |
27 | X Cardelus | Kal | +2.148 | 277.6 |
28 | X Artigas | For | +2.233 | 276.9 |
29 | H Voight | Kal | +2.980 | 271.3 |
Moto2 Championship Standings
Pos | R Rider | Points |
1 | A Ogura | 241 |
2 | A Canet | 176 |
3 | F Aldguer | 175 |
4 | S Garcia | 175 |
5 | A Lopez | 163 |
6 | M Gonzalez | 163 |
7 | J Roberts | 153 |
8 | C Vietti | 140 |
9 | T Arbolino | 135 |
10 | J Dixon | 133 |
11 | M Ramirez | 85 |
12 | J Alcba | 79 |
13 | S Chantra | 78 |
14 | A Arenas | 68 |
15 | S Agius | 63 |
16 | F Salc | 59 |
17 | D Biner | 54 |
18 | D Moreira | 47 |
19 | B Baltus | 40 |
20 | D Öncü | 34 |
21 | I Guevara | 34 |
22 | Z Vd | 31 |
23 | D Foggia | 18 |
24 | X Artigas | 10 |
25 | B Bensneyder | 7 |
26 | J Navrro | 6 |
27 | A Saski | 4 |
28 | J Masia | 4 |
29 | M Aji | 4 |
30 | M Ferari | 1 |
31 | X Cardelus | 0 |
32 | M Schotter | 0 |
33 | A Escrig | 0 |
34 | M Pasini | 0 |
35 | H Voiht | 0 |
36 | D Muñoz | 0 |
37 | U Orrdre | 0 |
Moto3
David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) is the Moto3 rider to beat so far in Buriram after the 2024 World Champion was the only rider to dip into the 1:40s in Practice 1, despite a crash coming at Turn 12 in the afternoon. A 1:40.703 saw the Colombian beat second place Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) by 0.385s, with the Australian less than a tenth ahead of third place Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing).
David Alonso – P1
“I have been very comfortable from the start. The crash in the morning has been testing the limit and the one in the afternoon has been a bit of a concentration lapse. The pace in the second session has not been the best, because I have made several mistakes. The feelings are really positive, but we must not lose focus, we must be very concentrated because here with the heat everything is more complicated. The race will be tough due to the high temperatures. Tomorrow we will work to see which tyre is the best for the race, because there will be a lot of degradation.”
Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) – two of the three riders chasing the overall runners-up spot – claimed P4 and P5, with both over half a second down on Alonso.
The other rider chasing the 2024 silver medal, Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI), was seventh quickest behind sixth place Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse).
Aussir rookie Jacob Roulstone was 21st at the end of day one despite being less than 1.3-seconds slower than pacesetter Alonso.
Jacob Roulstone
“We were slow to get to the pace this morning, as we struggled with the set up and the hard-braking required from this track, but we fixed many issues pointed out between the two sessions, and I think that the feeling was much better in P1. We were able to do a long and quite consistent run with used tyres, which I was happy about. I am heading to tomorrow with good confidence as I do feel like we will be able to make progress in P2.”
Moto3 Practice One Times
Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
1 | D Alonso | CFM | 1m40.703 | 233.7 |
2 | J Kelso | KTM | +0.385 | 232.7 |
3 | A Fernandez | HON | +0.453 | 233.2 |
4 | D Holgado | GAS | +0.584 | 233.7 |
5 | C Veijer | HUS | +0.587 | 234.7 |
6 | L Lunetta | HON | +0.653 | 233.7 |
7 | I Ortola | KTM | +0.723 | 235.8 |
8 | D Almansa | HON | +0.736 | 233.7 |
9 | J Rueda | KTM | +0.757 | 233.2 |
10 | A Piqueras | HON | +0.788 | 232.2 |
11 | D Muñoz | KTM | +0.795 | 234.7 |
12 | R Rossi | KTM | +0.841 | 233.7 |
13 | S Ogden | HON | +0.896 | 234.2 |
14 | R Yamanaka | KTM | +0.898 | 231.2 |
15 | S Nepa | KTM | +0.903 | 234.2 |
16 | N Carraro | KTM | +0.936 | 231.7 |
17 | T Furusato | HON | +0.941 | 234.2 |
18 | J Esteban | CFM | +0.947 | 234.7 |
19 | T Suzuki | HUS | +1.100 | 234.2 |
20 | F Farioli | HON | +1.285 | 233.2 |
21 | J Roulstone | GAS | +1.289 | 231.7 |
22 | X Zurutuza | KTM | +1.331 | 234.2 |
23 | M Bertelle | HON | +1.428 | 232.7 |
24 | T Buasri | HON | +1.612 | 233.2 |
25 | E O’shea | HON | +1.884 | 232.7 |
Not Classified | ||||
NS | N Dettwiler | KTM | / | / |
Moto3 Championship Standings
Pos | Rider | Points |
1 | D Alonso | 346 |
2 | D Holgado | 232 |
3 | C Veijer | 209 |
4 | I Ortola | 191 |
5 | A Fernandez | 153 |
6 | D Muñoz | 152 |
7 | A Piqueras | 137 |
8 | A Rueda | 128 |
9 | J Kelso | 115 |
10 | R Yamanaka | 106 |
11 | T Furusato | 97 |
12 | L Lunetta | 86 |
13 | T Suzuki | 82 |
14 | S Nepa | 78 |
15 | J Roulstone | 53 |
16 | M Bertelle | 49 |
17 | J Esteban | 45 |
18 | R Rossi | 30 |
19 | F Farioli | 27 |
20 | N Carraro | 22 |
21 | S Ogden | 15 |
22 | X Zurutuza | 11 |
23 | D Almansa | 11 |
24 | V Perez | 3 |
25 | N Dettwiler | 2 |
26 | J Whatley | 0 |
27 | T Buasri | 0 |
28 | J Rosenthaler | 0 |
29 | E O’shea | 0 |
30 | R Wakamatsu | 0 |
31 | D Shahril | 0 |
32 | H Al | 0 |
33 | A Aditama | 0 |