AUSTIN, Texas — Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) suffered a fast off in FP1 at the Red Bull GP of the United States, but come the end of play on Friday the seven-time MotoGP champion was back on top at a venue he’s called his own more than any other rider.
That said, it was a close-run day on the timesheets, with Ai Ogura – for home team Trackhouse MotoGP Team – just 0.053 seconds off the top.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) takes P3 on Friday, 0.187 off Marc Marquez at the top.
After Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) stole the show in the morning at the top and Marc Marquez the headlines with his crash, there was plenty at stake on Friday afternoon.
There were nine crashes overall: Diggia, Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), two for Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), Ogura, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) in the first half hour, before the clock ticked down and only Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) slid out late on.
By the end of the classic end of session charge for the top, Marquez was back on top – but Ogura’s lap did run him close. Both were set late in the session, with the Aprilia just 0.053 off. Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) was forced to settle for fourth on Friday – although just 0.013 off Diggia, who had breifly sat top of the session before the No. 93 turned up the wick, in third.
Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) slots into fifth, with Acosta taking sixth on Day 1.
