The MotoGP riders had 70 minutes available in the first free practice session of the Indian Grand Prix to start getting the hang of it at the Buddh International Circuit, but there’s no denying that the ranking that emerged at the end of the session is particular compared to those we are used to seeing this season.
Not so much for the name we see at the top of the time list, however, because the fastest was Marco Bezzecchi. The representative of the Mooney VR46, who should no longer have major problems with the hand injured in Barcelona, which however did not prevent him from achieving two second places in Misano, and was also the only one capable of breaking the 1’46 barrier ” with his 1’45″990.
If anything, the surprise is behind him, because in second position we find Honda with Marc Marquez, although we must not forget the great ability that the eight-time world champion has always had in adapting to new tracks. The #93, which returned to the 2023 RC213V after the Misano tests, finished 139 thousandths behind. Among other things, his partner Joan Mir also fared better than usual, completing the top 10.
Despite a crash in the early stages at Turn 1, a point that led many riders to make mistakes and send them long, Brad Binder ended the session in third place with his KTM, with a gap of 320 thousandths, while completing the top 5 there are two Aprilias. The surprising thing, however, is that the best was that of Raul Fernandez, who set the fourth fastest time ahead of Maverick Vinales’ RS-GP. You have to go down to 13th place to find that of Aleix Espargaro.
Up until a few minutes from the end it was the Ducatis that were making the loudest noise, and actually following in the positions between sixth and ninth was a small group of Desmosedici GPs led by Johann Zarco. The Frenchman from Prima Pramac Racing then precedes Luca Marini, teammate Jorge Martin and Fabio Di Giannantonio who started the weekend on the right foot.
However, world leader Pecco Bagnaia is missing from the top positions, but even in a long session like this one he continued his traditional work, putting in 24 laps on a medium rear tyre. And the positive news for him is that his 1’47″050 came after 22 laps, so the one second gap that keeps him in 15th position is actually very interesting when compared to the new tires fitted by the best. Also the Piedmontese is still not 100% physically after the accident in Barcelona, but he is certainly in better condition than in Misano.
It went decidedly worse for Fabio Quartararo, because the Yamaha rider was able to complete just 10 laps, suffering technical problems on both his M1s. In both cases it seemed to be something related to the transmission or clutch, because you could clearly hear the engine accelerating, but the bike was no longer moving forward.
In any case, it was a complicated morning for the Iwata manufacturer, because Franco Morbidelli’s other M1 also found itself in 21st position, even behind “El Diablo”, which instead was 19th. Among them we find the second official Ducati, entrusted in this case to test rider Michele Pirro, who replaces the injured Enea Bastianini. The Apulian was the first to end up with wheels in the air, sliding on the out lap after a long run at turn 5.
Takaaki Nakagami (12th with the Honda LCR) also ended up on the ground, literally demolishing his RC213V at turn 1, and Pol Espargaro, who knocked out his GasGas Tech3 twice, first at turn 12 and then to turn 4.
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