Recapping the MotoGP/2/3/E action from Red Bull Ring on Friday

2024 MotoGP World Championship
Round 11 – Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich
Red Bull Ring – Spielberg – Friday

Francesco Bagnaia – P1

“We’re happy, because we were able to try everything we had scheduled to try. This track suits my riding style well and I felt comfortable already from the first run. This afternoon, we made another step forward during the second run which was in the same direction we took from the morning, and that helped me a lot; unfortunately I didn’t feel like it was worth taking the risk to try the hard front tyre, which would have stil been an important piece of the puzzle; we chose not to as most of the riders who tried it ended up crashing.”

Marc Marquez – P4

“We recovered the good feeling we had missing for a few sessions and in this afternoon’s practice we were strong and close to the leaders. Now we must continue to work in this direction and try to be quick tomorrow as well. We can still do some fine tuning and be among the top riders.”

Alex Marquez – P6

“I must say that we saved the day by getting the direct seed to Q2, but we’ll need to work hard if we want to get a good sleep. The feeling on the track wasn’t the best and we’re still missing something with regards to speed and rear-end grip. We’re happy with the sixth position for today, but we need to keep our heads down because pace-wise we’re still behind compared to our rivals.”

Aleix Espargaro – P7

“It was actually a positive day, considering how difficult this track is for us. After two crashes in free practice, we did some good work and the Team improved the bike quite a bit in the afternoon. I’m satisfied with the competitiveness demonstrated during the practice session, although I am still trying to find my race pace.”

Maverick Vinales – P8

“I am happy because it was a difficult day, but we saved it in the end. Being in Q2 is fundamental. I’m fast in the time-attack, but my race pace is still rather far from where I would like to be. We need to continue analysing the data carefully to improve.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P9

“I’m really happy, I immediately had great feelings while riding. I really like this track! It’s a shame about the double crash, my mistake in both cases. I was lucky because the bike didn’t suffer big damages and I was able to get back on track in time to fully exploit the sessions. The first time attack went very well, in the second I made a mistake, but the previous lap time was enough to get into the Q2. The goal for tomorrow are the first two rows. I wish Fabio (Digi) the best of luck, I didn’t see him into the garage, but I know he’s in the hospital and won’t take part in the race.”

Enea Bastianini – P10

“Unfortunately, we struggled more than expected, especially under heavy braking. We still need to understand why it happened, but I’m sure we’ll be able to improve tomorrow. Luckily, I’m in Q2 despite the crash, but I was always on the limit today. Honestly, I did like the hard tyre, even though I thought it was a little too much of a risk to try it during the time attack. It needs a few laps to get into temperature, but after tucking the front a few times I chose to not use it for the single-lap attempt. I don’t know if this was the right choice in the end, as right now I don’t feel comfortable with the medium option. We’ll try to understand which direction to take tomorrow, also depending on the track temperatures.”

Pedro Acosta – P11

“Three crashes, that we will need to look into of course, but the day was not that bad overall, the crashes aside. We need to trust the process, we were very close to the direct Q2 today. We lost some time with the crashes and some other issues, but with more time tomorrow, I am sure that we will be able to improve the areas where we struggled today.”

Jack Miller – P12

“Never a dull moment at the Red Bull Ring, it is always a treat to spin laps here! We left some time on the track today, but we’re competitive and I felt really good in the long run! Fingers crossed we can keep the momentum going into tomorrow.”

Fabio Quartararo – P13

“This morning wasn’t great, but this afternoon was much better. We tried something that we never tried before. It was not fantastic, but it brought us closer to the way we used to ride the Yamaha. So, for me, we made a small step compared to this morning. The pace was better, more consistent. We’re still far from the fastest guys, but this afternoon wasn’t bad. I think that tomorrow we will make one more step in this direction. The changes we are making are helping, so I think there’s still a possibility to go to Q2.”

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Johann Zarco – P14

“I’m happy with today’s job: we’ve positively started the day and took a step forward during the afternoon session, as I’ve gotten a better feeling. I’ve done my best, pushing as if I were fighting for a win. When I can do this, it is essential as we get to analyze the performance, so I’m pleased because we’ve gathered useful data. Let’s try to do a good qualifying tomorrow and then push and fight on the Sprint!”

Augusto Fernandez – P15

“It has been a hard day, especially towards the end, but I am quite happy with the work we have put in, because the feeling improved in the afternoon. We were able to point out the issues quickly and fix them, so it is positive for me. We are a bit far, but our main goal is to get closer to the rest of the Pierer Mobility riders, so let’s continue working in that direction.”

Luca Marini – P16

“We had another good day, and I am very happy that we are able to make another improvement to the bike. It’s important to remain focused on the steps that we are taking and that there is progress being made. If we can take something positive like this from every GP, it’s encouraging. Conditions today were a bit tricky, there’s not a lot of grip but we’re still able to make improvements. Certainly we have more to do and we need to keep working to stay close to everyone else. Let’s see what’s possible to do on Saturday.”

Alex Rins – P17

“I’m in a really good shape. I was able to give my 100% from the beginning. It’s true that at first I felt a bit ‘lost’. This track looks easy, but it’s so technical and so difficult. You need to brake in exactly the right place to avoid going straight, lose the bike, and everything. We did a good Friday, but we are still far from the top. We gave it our maximum, but we need to keep working on the bike, the settings, and the electronics. But I’m happy, because I’m feeling quite good.”

Miguel Oliveira – P18

“It was a tough day – probably one of the hardest Fridays. I didn’t have grip out of the corners and getting the bike stopping wasn’t working properly, so we are pretty much out of the window. I pushed on the last run to try to get closer, but it’s still far off where we want to be so we have got quite a bit of work to do. In normal running, I was the fastest Aprilia most of the time, but then Aleix (Espargaro) and Maverick (Viñales) did one good lap and that was it. It’s still too far off from where we should be.”

Raul Fernandez – P19

“It was quite difficult. In the first session I was trying to change my position on the bike a bit to feel the bike better and to try to find out how we can improve for the future. At the beginning I felt very happy but, for whatever reason, as soon as I have to use the soft tire, I’m always slow and I really need to understand why. It was the same in Silverstone – compared to the other Aprilia’s in terms of pace, I’m more or less equal to them, but with the soft tire it’s hard to manage the bike well. I can’t use the potential of the tire for the time attack. This track seems to be quite hard for all Aprilia riders, but we have a reference now from Aleix (Espargaro) and Maverick (Viñales) and can see their data, especially on the fast lap time. For me, it’s interesting to see how they can make use of the tire. That’s my job now, to find out how to make the best use of the soft in order to be better in Qualifying.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P22

“It’s been a tough day; we’ve struggled both in the morning and the afternoon. I couldn’t stop the bike the way I wanted. Right now, our question mark is the front tyre feeling. Today, I’ve focused my riding on not making mistakes and gathering information. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow”.

Lorenzo Savadori – P23

“At the beginning, I started with the base bike and was fast straight away, so that was some nice confirmation. Obviously, having to test new things, performance remains on the back burner. It was still a positive day and some interesting things came out for development of the bike.”

Joan Mir – P24

“The new item we brought today was a positive step for us and shows we have found a direction to go. I was feeling very good this morning, and also in the afternoon honestly, we tried the hard front and a very used rear medium – our lap times and pace were quite good like this. When we put the new tyre for our time attack, we had a strange feeling with the bike and there was a lot of traffic and yellow flags. This circuit you have to be very precise, it’s very easy to run wide with the heavy braking and you find a lot of other riders and flags because of that. Our position doesn’t show our real potential.”

Team Managers

Paolo Bonora – Aprilia

“The weekend started off uphill on a track which is historically not easy for Aprilia. Nevertheless, we managed to improve in the practice session, achieving our goal of being in the top ten thanks to two outstanding laps by Aleix and Maverick. We definitely need to keep working to be ready for the sprint race. On the other side of the garage, Lorenzo continues to advance technical development positively in view of the 2025 season.”

Pablo Nieto – VR46 Team Manager

“A real shame and a big crash. Unfortunately the impact was at very high speed and Fabio couldn’t do anything to avoid the gravel. We were immediately informed that he had dislocated his left shoulder and, later, the medical staff decided to take him to the hospital for a second check. He is unfit for this event and will not be on the track tomorrow. He has to rest, recover energy and undergo all the necessary treatments to return at work as soon as possible.”

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director

“We have our original rider line-up again, and the team is putting in hard work. The Spielberg track is more technical than it looks, evident by the many crashes we’ve seen by various riders today. Fabio and Álex steered clear of any trouble, and both put their best foot forward. Fabio’s objective was to be inside the top 10, but we missed out by less than 0.1s. Álex showed today that his condition has improved compared to Silverstone. He used the Friday sessions to build up the pace and the confidence. We will work hard tonight and tomorrow morning to make a step for Qualifying and the Sprint.”

Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Team Principal

“Today was obviously a hard day for us. We need to understand what is happening and try to find some solutions. Both riders have some difficulties stopping the bike and on acceleration, so now we have to go through and see what we can improve for tomorrow. Let’s keep working! One point is that it looks like there are some common problems with all the Aprilia riders, so maybe we can find a good solution all together after checking all the data.”

Friday MotoGP Report

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) ended Friday on top of the premier class timesheets after the #1 set a sensational new lap record at the Red Bull Ring. Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) shadowed teammate Jorge Martin to take P2 as the Pramac duo completed the top three, but the deficit was 0.2s and 0.3s to Bagnaia’s 1:28.508 stunner. The reigning Champion has laid down an early gauntlet at the Motorrad Grand Prix von Österreich.

Plenty of talking points arose throughout the session including some drama for Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team’s Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio, as the Italians both crashed in the opening stages of the session. That crash at Turn 8 sadly saw Di Giannantonio dislocate his left shoulder, ruling him out of the weekend as he sits it out to focus on recovering for the next round.

Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) crashed three times on Friday, the final tumble coming after the rookie sensation lost the front at Turn 9. The young Spaniard was unhurt and was back out in no time, but the issues for the home factory heroes didn’t halt there as wildcard Pol Espargaro was forced to pull off the circuit with a bike problem just before the time attacks began. And unfortunately for Pol, that was session over.

Once the time attacks had come and gone, however, Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) – who led the session briefly – bagged P4 to safely earn a Q2 spot, as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) left it late to jump into the top 10 on KTM’s home turf, taking fifth. However, it was also a lap that shoved Acosta out and into Q1.

Binder finished Friday ahead of Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP), as Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) recovered to seventh at the end of play following a tough FP1 that saw the Aprilia man crash twice at the same place.

Espargaro’s team-mate Maverick Viñales secured eighth as both factory Aprilias grabbed Q2 places despite a tougher start, with Bezzecchi and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) – despite a late crash for the Silverstone double victor – pinching P9 and P10.

Q1 on Saturday now awaits with Acosta aiming for redemption after three crashes on Friday and missing out on a Q2 place by just 0.027s, with plenty of fast faces looking to beat him to it, including Jack Miller just behind him.

MotoGP Practice Times

MotoGP Championship Standings

Moto2

P1 in Free Practice and P1 in Practice 1. Friday’s don’t get better than that as Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) proved untouchable at a happy hunting ground for the Japanese star, with Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) providing the closest challenge – the Spaniard 0.152s behind Ogura heading into Saturday. Manuel Gonzalez (QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2) rounded out the top three, just over two and a half tenths away from Ogura’s pace.

World Championship leader Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) claimed P8 on Day 1, as we learned the Spaniard would continue with his current squad in Moto2 in 2025.

Title hopeful Fermin Aldeguer (Sync SpeedUp) squeezed into the provisional automatic Q2 spots in P14 on Day 1, with fellow Championship chaser Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing) enduring a tricky opening day at the Red Bull Ring – the American is P21 going into Saturday, just behind young Aussie Senna Agius.

Moto2 Practice One Times

Moto2 Championship Standings

Moto3

Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jose Antonio Rueda grabbed Moto3 P1 at the Red Bull Ring as the Spaniard’s 1:40.171 was good enough to edge out Championship leader David Alonso by 0.051s, with Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) a close P3 with the Dutch star only 0.069s adrift.

Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) backed up his Free Practice P3 finish with a fourth best time in the afternoon stint to signal a solid day at the office for the Australian.

British GP winner and the rider second in the title chase, Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI), ended Day 1 in P6 as we learned the Spaniard would be moving up to Moto2 in 2025 to partner Sergio Garcia at MT Helmets – MSI.

Jacob Roulstone made steady progress to finish the opening day in Australia 14th on the time-sheets.

Jacob Roulstone – P14

“We struggled a lot this morning, I felt quite uncomfortable on the bike, but we managed to turn things around. In Practice 1, we worked together with Dani and I was able to ride at a better pace. In the end, I struggled a bit to do better lap times with the medium-soft because of the heat, but anyway, good end  to our first day here, I am looking forward to qualifying day.”

Moto3 Practice One Times

Moto3 Championship Standings

MotoE

In a closely fought FIM Enel MotoE World Championship Q2 at the Red Bull Ring, Oscar Gutierrez (Axxis-MSI) grabbed his debut electric class pole position with a 1:37.970, as the #99 edged out title rival Hector Garzo (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE) by just 0.066s. For the second time in 2024, Kevin Zannoni (Openbank Aspar Team) pocketed a front row start, with the Italian 0.093s shy of pole in P3.

Garzo, the Championship leader, left it late to pounce up to the front row, but it wasn’t quite enough to beat Gutierrez. Less than two tenths split the top four on the grid after Lukas Tulovic (Dynavolt Intact GP MotoE) landed an impressive P4, with Jordi Torres (Openbank Aspar Team) and Miquel Pons (Axxis-MSI) rounding out the second row.

Garzo’s chief Championship chaser, Mattia Casadei (LCR E-Team), has work to do on Saturday after the Italian – who won both races at the Red Bull Ring in 2023 – had to settle for P9.

There was some drama after the session too, with Alessio Finello (Felo Gresini MotoE) given a Long Lap penalty for a slow sector and Massimo Roccoli (SIC58 Squadra Corse) given a thee-position grid penalty for being slow on the line.

Now it’s time for race day. It’s an outside shot, but Garzo could claim the MotoE title in Race 2 in Austria.

MotoE Combined Qualifying Times

MotoE Championship Standings