MotoGP Barcelona, Practice classification: KTM dreams with Acosta; Martin and Bagnaia in Q1

Pre-qualifying led by Acosta: KTM strong with the factory riders, but Honda and Yamaha also have two bikes in the top 10. Aprilia and Ducati a mix of highs and lows.

Low grip and high tire wear make the Barcelona track a constant challenge for MotoGP teams. Every year, Friday practice is crucial to try to find a base setup to carry through the rest of the weekend. The afternoon Practice is also the session where it’s essential to be effective over a single lap to grab one of the ten spots that grant direct access to Saturday morning’s Q2.

The best time was set by Pedro Acosta in 1'38"710. The KTM rider edged the Gresini Ducati of Alex Marquez by 0.018, the RC16 of Brad Binder by 0.070, the Trackhouse Aprilia of Raul Fernandez by 0.078, and the LCR Honda of Johann Zarco by 0.079.

Incredibly tight times in the top 5, with the rest not far behind: Fabio Di Giannantonio, Marco Bezzecchi, Joan Mir (who crashed at the end), Jack Miller, and Fabio Quartararo complete the top 10 of riders advancing to Q2. It’s certainly surprising to see two Yamahas in the first ten positions of MotoGP pre-qualifying in Barcelona.

Enea Bastianini was pipped right at the end. Also missing out were Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin, who will have to start from Q1 on Saturday. The Ducati rider struggled a lot between morning and afternoon, while the Aprilia rider fell at Turn 2 and was unable to improve his time. The Spaniard had already crashed in FP1; together with the team he’ll need to understand what didn’t work today in Catalunya.

If you like Corsedimoto’s content, you can select our site as a preferred source by clicking HERE