With new lap record the VR46 rider takes the lead – KTM test rider Dani Pedrosa rides with new carbon chassis – Stefan Bradl with new Honda
Local hero Marco Bezzecchi (VR46-Ducati) ended the practice day for the MotoGP race in San Marino as fastest. The Italian set a new lap record of 1’30.846 at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. With Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) and Dani Pedrosa (KTM) three different brands were represented in the Top 3.
With sunshine and tarmac temperatures of around 44 degrees Celsius, the initial focus was on working with the tyres and race pace. The majority drove with the hard front tyre. In the rear, medium was the preferred choice, but some also tried the soft rear tyre.
The focus was also on the work of the three wildcard riders. Stefan Bradl’s Honda had a new chassis, a differently shaped exhaust and a mass damper under the seat to find more grip on the rear wheel.
KTM broke new technological ground. Both of Pedrosa’s RC16s had a carbon chassis. After promising test rides, KTM now wants to try out this new technology in racing. The lap times were competitive.
The Ducati of Michele Pirro did not show any great optical novelties. Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin (Pramac) rode again with the new air deflectors on the left and right of the front fork. Their brand colleagues did not.
In the Yamaha camp, Fabio Quartararo went back to the old fairing with smaller wings and no rear fins, as he did in Barcelona, while Franco Morbidelli rode the update version with larger elements.
Making headlines for a living! @26_DaniPedrosa gets a round of applause from @KTM_Racing SanMarinoGP pic. twitter.com/GcQI8Rld38
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) September 8, 2023
Before qualifying trials were run in the final 20 minutes, Martin led the timing with 1’31.416 ahead of Pedrosa, Bezzecchi and the Aprilia duo of Vinales and Raul Fernandez (RNF).
The race preparations did not go optimally for Barcelona winner Aleix Espargaro, who was only second to last with his Aprilia RS-GP. He was not happy with the balance and had chattering because Misano offers much more grip than Barcelona.
Twelve minutes before the end of the time, Jack Miller (KTM) crashed on his first qualifying lap in turn 3 because of chattering. Unlike all the other riders, the Australian had chosen the soft front tyre for the time attack, while the rest stayed with the hardest option.
Marquez gets pulled by Pedrosa
When everyone had completed their first qualifying attempt, Vinales led the timing with what was at the time a new lap record of 1:30.972 minutes. The decision came in the final minutes on the second attempts.
Bezzecchi burned a new lap record of 1:30.972 minutes into the asphalt on his last lap. Vinales could no longer counter and had to admit defeat by 0.126 seconds. Pedrosa finished his second Friday of the year in third place.
Headlines aplenty! @marcmarquez93 @26_DaniPedrosa are straight off to Q2! SanMarinoGP pic.twitter.com/Vr7zoN1B3B
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) September 8, 2023
With Martin and Luca Marini (VR46) there were two more Ducati riders in the top 5. Valentino Rossi watched the action from behind the crash barriers and was pleased to see both VR46 riders in the top 5.
Marc Marquez (Honda) let his former teammate Pedrosa pull him around the course in the second attempt and secured sixth place. Last year’s winner Bagnaia moved up to seventh at the end despite his pain.
The other Q2 places were secured by Alex Marquez (Gresini-Ducati), Brad Binder (KTM) and Raul Fernandez. In the final minutes, Raul Fernandez, Pol Espargaro (Tech3-GasGas) and Aleix Espargaro crashed, all in the final sector.
Yellow flags are out! ⚠️
A heavy crash for @AleixEspargaro at T15! But he’s back on his feet SanMarinoGP pic.twitter.com/LTiDvXQmNz
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) September 8, 2023
19 drivers were ultimately within one second of each other. Not making it into Q2 was Yamaha. Quartararo and Morbidelli finished 13th and 14th on Friday, both eight tenths of a second off Bezzecchi’s new lap record.
Bradl finished Friday in 15th place on the new RC213V. At the end of the field was Rins’ replacement Takumi Takahashi. The Japanese rider was five seconds behind. This means that the LCR Honda substitute rider would not be qualified at the moment.
Qualifying starts at 10:50 on Saturday. The 13-lap sprint is scheduled for tomorrow at 15:00
Directly qualified for Q2 are:
Marco Bezzecchi (VR46-Ducati)
Maverick Vinales (Aprilia)
Dani Pedrosa (KTM)
Jorge Martin (Pramac-Ducati)
Luca Marini (VR46-Ducati)
Marc Marquez (Honda)
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati)
Alex Marquez (Gresini-Ducati)
Brad Binder (KTM)
Raul Fernandez (RNF-Aprilia)
