The MotoGP riders have already internalized how this new grand prix format works, which has been released in 2023. The combined classification of the two practices on Friday sieves between Q1 and Q2, so the last minutes of each session are turn into a mock qualifier where drivers put up to two sets of new tires.
A first test was already seen at the end of Practice 1, although not all the pilots used soft rubber. So, with the average set both the Spanish Jorge Martín and the Italian Pecco Bagnaia had already rolled among the six fastest. But the real simulation of ‘pole’ (or ‘Q0’, as it is already known in the networks) came in the last fifteen minutes of Practice 2. All the drivers went through the pits and put all the meat on the grill.
So much so that the best lap this Friday of Madrid’s Martín (2’02.178) was just a tenth short of the track’s absolute record. And it’s only a Friday! It is foreseeable that this Saturday in Q2 he will drop below the 2’02 barrier, something that has never been done on the Las Américas circuit.
italian powerhouse
The Ducatis once again dominated a day with four Italian bikes in the top five positions. And where Álex Márquez, fifth, once again demonstrated his great leap forward given in 2023. Already at the press conference on Thursday, no limits were set on this track. “Gain? Why not… », he answered when asked if he saw himself fighting for victory; and he argued for it, explaining that this year he has “very clear ideas.”
Ambushed among the Ducati finished Álex Rins, third. He could be considered the positive surprise of the day, since his career at Honda is costing him more than expected and he had not managed to stand out until now. However, the Catalan maintains an idyll with the Austin circuit, where in the past he has won in all three categories, including a historic victory in 2019 that ended the immaculate streak of the absent Marc Márquez.
The two Aprilias of Maverick Viñales (sixth) and Aleix Espargaró (ninth) also earned their automatic place in Q2 on Saturday; and the top 10 was completed by Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha and the two KTMs of Brad Binder and Jack Miller. The current MotoGP leader, Marco Bezzecchi, and Joan Mir, who went to the ground in the last seconds of the session after dodging Johann Zarco’s bike that had stayed in the middle of the track, were left out by a hair’s breadth. Both will have to earn their place in Q2 from the Q1 playoffs.
Pedro Acosta marks territory
Before defining the MotoGP classification on Friday, two sessions of the small categories had been held. In Moto3 the fastest on Friday was the Japanese Ayumu Sasaki, who beat the Spaniards Jaume Masià, Iván Ortolá and the leader Dani Holgado. The young Andalusian rider José Antonio Rueda gave the scare of the day with a tremendous ‘highside’ that sent him straight to the medical center, although after the first examination no fractures were found.
In Moto2 the fastest of the day was Pedro Acosta, in a difficult day because a downpour fell in the middle of the session. The track dried up and the ‘Tiburón de Mazarrón’ achieved the best time at the last moment, beating the leader of the category, the Italian Tony Arbolino, and Arón Canet, third.
This Saturday’s event starts at 3:40 p.m., peninsular time. The first great moment of the day will be lived with Q1 and Q2 of MotoGP that will be held from 5:50 p.m. and will decide the starting grid. Then the ‘qualys’ of the small categories will come at 7:50 p.m. and 8:45 p.m. And at 10:00 p.m. the highlight of the day will be held, the spectacular 10-lap sprint race.
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