MotoGP Aragon Practice: Bezzecchi stuns Ducati, heroic Zarco, Bagnaia disappoints

Very important pre-qualifying to prepare for the races and put themselves in the best possible condition ahead of Qualifying:

The fastest of all in MotoGP Practice at Aragon was Marco Bezzecchi, who in the final stages went to the top with a time that sets a new lap record: 1'45"455. The Aprilia rider is not in great physical shape, with his left collarbone still banged up and, above all, a left knee still far from fully healed.

Before the late-session time attacks, the riders carried out important comparative work focused on the rear tire. It’s not out of the question that the medium compound could be used in the sprint race instead of the soft. Much will depend on Saturday’s conditions: temperatures and wear will be key factors to consider.

Bezzecchi edged out brothers Alex and Marc Marquez, who were 10 and 38 thousandths back respectively. The Aprilia-Ducati duel heats up at MotorLand. Also in the top 5 are the Desmosedicis of Fabio Di Giannantonio and Fermin Aldeguer. The latter is returning and his positive performance absolutely deserves to be highlighted.

The Aprilias of Raul Fernandez and Jorge Martin are more than half a second off Bezzecchi’s, and the two Spanish riders will need to study carefully what their brandmate did today to improve for Saturday. The only KTM through to Q2 of MotoGP Qualifying at Aragon is Pedro Acosta’s. The last two to earn a spot were Franco Morbidelli and a fantastic Johann Zarco, returning after months out due to the bad crash in the race at Barcelona. The performance by the Frenchman of the Honda LCR team deserves applause, with teammate Diogo Moreira and HRC factory rider Luca Marini pipped by mere hundredths.

Pecco Bagnaia disappoints, not going beyond thirteenth in this practice session. Already in FP1 he had major difficulties, and in the afternoon he couldn’t string together a top-10 lap and will have to face Q1 on Saturday morning.