Recapping the MotoGP/2/3 action from Misano II on Friday

2024 MotoGP World Championship
Round 14 – Misano
Gran Premio Pramac dell’Emilia-Romagna

MotoGP Rider Quotes

Francesco Bagnaia – P1

“We started the day with the same set up, as in the previous event the limit was imposed by my fitness condition. After all the rain that came down, the feeling with the track was quite strange but that’s quite normal. This is why I must add that the lap-times set today, especially by me and Martín, were incredible, especially with regards to the race pace. The conditions tomorrow will be different: there’ll be a lot more rubber down but it should also be cooler, so I believe the medium option will be the tyre choice and if that’s so, we’ll need to pay attention in the left-hand corners.”

Marc Marquez – P3

“It was a positive day: we worked well and we are fast, but there are two riders who are faster than us. The track is colder and has more grip, which implies that everything is a little bit more aggressive. We normally struggle a bit more in this type of conditions and we’ll need to at least get a second-row start in order to have a good race.”

Enea Bastianini – P4

“Overall the day went well, and we improved lap after lap. I still struggle a little with the medium rear tyre, as it happened last time out, as I can’t get it into temperature on the left side in the early laps. We still need to work on the fourth sector as I keep losing ground there, but the time attack went well, despite a small mistake right there in the T4. Despite that, I’m confident ahead of tomorrow.”

Fabio Quartararo – P5

“I think fifth was the best position we could fight for today. We did our best, and I did a great lap. I think we can still improve a little bit more, but we did secure a spot in Q2. I was looking to drop into the 1’30s, and it was great to reach that goal today. I think that tomorrow we can make another small step, but after so many days that we’ve been riding here, the margin is very small. I will give my maximum like I did during the San Marino GP Sprint and Race. I think that we have the pace. The goal for tomorrow is to finish somewhere between P6-P9. Hopefully, we can achieve it.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P7

“I hit the target of the Q2 and I’m happy. This morning I struggled a bit, the sensations while riding weren’t bad, but the time was very far from my expectations. I was slow on the straight and we’re still checking the data to understand exactly what happened. In the afternoon I immediately felt better, I tried both compounds on the rear and we made a good step forward. In terms of lap times, I have to say that the crono of the Top riders impressed me a lot. For tomorrow the goal is the first two rows to best face the race.”

Maverick Vinales – P8

“During the test, we figured out what we were missing in order to improve. The feeling is better than the first race in Misano. We have made a huge step forward, despite the track not having much grip. With the medium tyre, the bike is much more predictable and easier to ride. The goal is to start from the second row and, from there, build two good races. We need to strive to give one hundred percent and to continue on this growth trend.”

Pedro Acota – P9

“I am happy with our day. Although having only one dry session was tricky, our target was to go to Q2, and we achieved it. That will allow us tomorrow morning to focus a bit more on the set-up of the bike to be a little bit more competitive. The pace was good and consistent today, so let’s see where we can arrive on the grid tomorrow.”

Aleix Espargaro – P10

“Compared with Misano 1, we have made steps forward and in the battle for the top six, we are not far off. We are doing a lot of hard work. We tested a radically different bike, and we have other ideas for the sprint race as well. We know that Misano is a difficult track for Aprilia, but we’ll try our best. The goal for qualifying is to start from the second row. I am rather confident in my flying lap, and I’ll be giving one hundred per cent.”

Johann Zarco – P12

“What we tested on Monday during the test was positive, in terms of feeling, and today we’ve worked around improving the time attack. The plan is to confirm those changes on the bike. Overall, with this fairing and the changes on the chassis, I’ve noticed that I can do a better lap time, using less effort, which is very positive for us”.

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P13

“It was tough today, the high-speed crash was unnecessary. I’m fine, but I took a big hit on my collarbone and on my injured shoulder. I’ve been struggling since this morning, especially on the right-hand turns, where I’m sore and also on the straight. I was hoping for a step forward in the last run of the afternoon, but in the out lap, with the brakes not yet up to temperature, I made a mistake and lost the front. A pity, now we recover, analyse the data and give our best tomorrow.”

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Alex Marquez – P14

“The afternoon crash was quite a strange one and turned the whole second part of the session upside down. Then the yellow flags… it really wasn’t an easy afternoon. Generally speaking, it was still a positive day so we can look forward to tomorrow with confidence. We only have to put together a good lap and make it to Q2. It won’t be easy, but the feeling is good.”

Miguel Oliveria – P16

“It was a very difficult day for us. My first bike had a mechanical issue and I wanted to bring the bike back to the garage just to understand if we could make it work, while I tried the other bike. But there was no chance and the other bike seemed to have some kind of issue with the front, something related to the steering. I wasn’t feeling comfortable riding and when I went out for the last run, it was even worse, so for sure something was wrong. The boys are dissembling everything now to check and find out what stopped us. We have to put it all together and then hopefully tomorrow, we’ll be able to manage to go through to Q2.”

Raul Fernandez – P17

“We got a lot of information from the test but the track today was a little bit different which meant we had to adapt to new conditions and had a lot of work to do in the Practice but we could not do enough. The pace was good, better than in the test, as I was closer to the top ten and in terms of lap times, we tried a number of different options – first with the soft front and then we had a series of three laps where I had yellow flags which made it difficult to improve but, anyway, I can tell you that I am happy. It is true and you can see that we look far off compared with the leaders but, from what I feel, we are better than when we were at the last round, here at Misano. With all the work we did today, I am really happy – you cannot solve all the problems all in one go but really happy. We reverted back to the older aero but I cannot say it was better and as I said yesterday, we are working for the future. When you are not fighting in the top five, I think this is the best way – to focus on the future and prepare the next year’s bike as it is really important to start well next season. We have to work well this year still and we want good results but we also have to be very focused on the future of the project and ensure we can start next year well. Our target is very clear; we want to fight, one day, for the MotoGP World Championship.”

Luca Marini – P18

“Already we were able to improve our lap time, the condition of the circuit is very good despite all of the rain. When you compare the distance from us to the top riders from last weekend to this one, I think our new package has given us a few tenths. Today was about confirming everything from the test because I am feeling back to my best and able to really push, unlike in the test. Everything we tried was positive and now we are focusing on making more laps to understand everything deeply.”

Joan Mir – P19

“There were some positive things today, I think some of the new package can help us be more competitive in the short term. Unfortunately, there are still problems with the vibrations that we need to address. We are quite far, it’s true but I think that once we overcome this vibration problem, we have some pieces that will help a lot. There’s work to do and we have to stay focused this weekend to solve the vibrations.”

Augusto Fernandez – P20

“The morning was not so bad despite the tricky conditions, but I think that we could not really see the level we were at. In Practice, I was struggling and I felt uncomfortable on the bike, so we need to improve something for tomorrow, and hopefully we can make a step.”

Takaaki Nakagami – P21

“During the Monday test after the last race, I had a positive feeling while turning the bike, which gave us some hope to try and improve the current situation. However, today has been difficult, as I’ve struggled to find the feeling on the bike, and there was no grip. I’m looking forward to trying the new items again, to take a step”.

Alex Rins

“I was very disappointed that I couldn‘t ride this afternoon. Unfortunately, I haven‘t been feeling well since yesterday. I had a bit of a fever, but I was hoping it would get better. Instead, my condition worsened today, and I preferred not to take any unnecessary risks. Now I‘ll rest, and I hope to feel better tomorrow so I can go back onto the track.”

Friday MotoGP Report

Following a slower start to proceedings at the Gran Premio Pramac dell’Emilia-Romagna due to damp conditions in morning, the sun shone on MotoGP Practice in the afternoon, and it was some of 2024’s brightest stars that rose to the fore, with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) taking control.

Bagnaia set a new Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli all-time lap record – a 1:30.286 – to beat World Championship leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) by 0.198s, with Martin unable to search for an improvement in the closing stages after a small crash at Turn 8. Completing the top three was Round 13 winner Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) as the eight-time Champion sits 0.299s off Pecco heading into Saturday.

Having suffered from a fever during the morning, Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) unfortunately sat out Emilia-Romagna Practice, which began with Martin and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) starting strong. The latter – pushing hard –then tucked the front at Turn 14 to hamper the rookie’s session slightly, before Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) slid down the road at Turn 1.

The thick of the action – as usual – started to surface in the final 20 minutes of the day. Martin was as rapid as ever on the soft Michelin rear but had his best time chalked off due to yellow flags being waved for an Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) crash – rider OK.

Then, Bagnaia started to build some scintillating momentum on familiar territory to climb to the top, before Martin’s session ended prematurely while shadowing team-mate Franco Morbidelli. Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) ensured they’d finish the 60-minute stint towards the summit, as the Italian became another rider to have a small off at the end of the day.

That didn’t trouble ‘The Beast’ though, as he keeps tabs on the top three by ending the day in P4. Performance of the day goes to the rider in fifth place though – Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team). The Frenchman earns successive automatic Q2 appearances for the first time this season after unravelling a properly impressive display to beat the likes of sixth-place Morbidelli and seventh-place Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team).

The Italians will sleep well knowing they don’t have to stress about Q1 on Saturday morning, and so too will Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), Acosta and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) – late laps from all three Spaniards earned them a Friday pass into the pole position shootout.

Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) missed out by 0.050s in P11, as CASTROL Honda LCR’s Johann Zarco ended Friday in a commendable P12. Fighting fit Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) suffered a big crash in the latter moments of Practice to halt his top 10 charge, the Italian will be sore but determined on Saturday, as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crashed at Turn 5 to also see his Q2 promotion hopes end.

MotoGP Practice Times

MotoGP Championship Standings

Moto2

Just shy of 0.4s is the healthy advantage Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) boasts on Friday at the Emilia-Romagna GP as the Italian fires in a 1:35.386 to lead second-place Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) and impressive rookie Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) in Moto2 Practice 1.

Fourth place went the way of Fermin Aldeguer (MB Conveyors SpeedUp) as the Spaniard and two of his fellow title contenders – Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing) and World Championship leader Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) – complete the top six, with all three riders four tenths down on Arbolino’s pace.

Having produced a classy comeback to P5 from a poor qualifying at the San Marino GP, Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) kicked off the Emilia-Romagna GP with a P10 finish, one place ahead of Italy’s Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Both riders will be searching for improvements to ensure they’re safely into the Q2 shootout on Saturday afternoon.

Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) squeezed into P14 on his final flying lap of the day to sit 0.7s away from top spot – but just three-tenths down on the top five. Similarly despite ranking 16th on Friday rookie Senna Agius was less than eight-tenths behind pacesetter Arbolino.

Moto2 Practice One Times

Moto2 Championship Standings

Moto3

For the second Friday in a row at Misano, Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) topped the timesheets on Friday afternoon thanks to a 1:41.071 – a lap good enough to beat second place Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) by just over a tenth. Third place went the way of San Marino GP race winner Angel Piqueras as Leopard Racing see both their bikes sit inside the top three at the early stage of the Emilia-Romagna GP.

Collin Veijer and the Dutch rider’s Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP teammate Tatsuki Suzuki complete the top five heading into Practice 2 on Saturday morning.

Championship-hunting Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) claimed P7, one place ahead of title race leader David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team). The Colombian had a relatively quiet Friday at the office, but there are only 0.2s splitting the front eight riders at the end of play. As ever, it’s tight between the lightweight class frontrunners.

Joel Kelso was a little further down the order on Friday than has been customary for the young Australian this year but is only six-tenths away from pacesetter Fernandez.

Rookie Jacob Roulstone did not quite have the ideal opening day in Misano, suffering two crashes, both in Free Practice and Practice 1. It was a slow start to the day with tricky track conditions, but the Aussie’s Free Practice came to an early end following a high side in T6. Luckily, Jacob was unhurt and able to return on track later on in the afternoon. Unfortunately, he then suffered a second crash in P1, this time in the final corner, forcing a red flag with the track needing cleaning. The Australian was not able to return on track as he headed to the medical centre, where he was cleared.

Jacob Roulstone

“Strange day! I felt quite good this morning with the mixed-wet conditions, but we crashed while trying something different. In the afternoon, I thought that I got up to speed quite well, but I was struggling a bit with the setup of the bike. We made a change to try fixing it, but it was not really better. Unfortunately, I crashed in the last corner, and it’s a shame to finish both sessions with crashes. The feeling overall was really good otherwise, so I want to say sorry to the team for today. A good rest tonight, and then we’ll be back at it and ready to improve tomorrow.”

Moto3 Practice One Times

Moto3 Championship Standings