Ducati also take top four places in warm-up – Fabio Quartararo sixth – Marc Marquez conserving his strength – Uncertain weather situation
Ducati underlined their role as favourites for the Thai Grand Prix in warm-up practice. Italian motorbikes were to be found in the first four places. MotoGP World Championship runner-up Francesco Bagnaia set the fastest time of 1’30.360″.
The track was dry in the morning, but the sky over the Buriram International Circuit was cloudy. Rain is not ruled out for the rest of the day. In warm-up practice, the riders prepared themselves for the race. The tyre choice was still open for many.
Hard tyres were not used. Most of them used the medium front tyre, but some also used soft. At the rear, it was also 50:50 between the medium and soft tyres. Both are options for the race.
At the halfway point of the 20 minutes, all the riders who had started the warm-up with the soft front tyre switched to medium. All were running with it. Some riders also rehearsed the flag-to-flag change to the second bike in the pits.
Flag-to-flag bike swap practice
A clear indicator of the concern for the weather today ️ThaiGP pic.twitter.com/bEy2llNqEb
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) October 2, 2022
Most drivers completed twelve laps. Two tenths of a second behind Bagnaia was Luca Marini (VR46-Ducati). Johann Zarco (Pramac) and Enea Bastianini (Gresini) were the next two Ducati riders to follow.
The first Desmosedici chaser was Miguel Oliveira in fifth place. The KTM rider was already half a second behind. World Champion Fabio Quartararo was sixth on his Yamaha. Jorge Martin placed his Pramac Ducati seventh (result).
Where will @marcmarquez93 finish in the race today?
Predictions, please! ThaiGP pic.twitter.com/wrO37XRb1O
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) October 2, 2022
Aprilia made small strides in their quest for more grip, but Maverick Vinales continued to struggle to hold the lines. In the end, the Aprilia duo of Vinales and Aleix Espargaro finished eighth and ninth, six tenths of a second behind.
The top 10 was completed by Suzuki spearhead Alex Rins. In 14th place, Marc Marquez was the best Honda rider. He did only nine laps and conserved his energy. There were no incidents in the warm-up. Jack Miller (Ducati) ploughed through the gravel once in turn 3.
The 26-lap Grand Prix will start at 10:00 a.m. CEST (grid).
