Japanese MotoGP, Motegi - Free Practice (2) Results

Free Practice (2) results from the Japanese MotoGP at Motegi, round 16 of 20 in the 2022 world championship.
Marc Marquez, MotoGP, Japanese MotoGP, 24 September
Marc Marquez, MotoGP, Japanese MotoGP, 24 September
Japanese MotoGP, Motegi - Free Practice (2) Results
PosRiderNatTeamTime/DiffLapMax
1Marc MarquezSPARepsol Honda (RC213V)1'55.232s8/16302k
2Jorge MartinSPAPramac Ducati (GP22)+0.144s10/19304k
3Jack MillerAUSDucati Lenovo (GP22)+0.155s14/15303k
4Miguel OliveiraPORRed Bull KTM (RC16)+0.196s16/18295k
5Johann ZarcoFRAPramac Ducati (GP22)+0.398s9/18303k
6Franco MorbidelliITAMonster Yamaha (YZR-M1)+0.936s13/16295k
7Enea BastianiniITAGresini Ducati (GP21)+0.965s14/16299k
8Alex MarquezSPALCR Honda (RC213V)+1.117s17/18301k
9Luca MariniITAMooney VR46 Ducati (GP22)+1.316s15/16303k
10Fabio QuartararoFRAMonster Yamaha (YZR-M1)+1.329s11/19298k
11Aleix EspargaroSPAAprilia Racing (RS-GP)+1.345s12/13300k
12Fabio Di GiannantonioITAGresini Ducati (GP21)*+1.356s16/17302k
13Marco BezzecchiITAMooney VR46 Ducati (GP21)*+1.423s15/17297k
14Cal CrutchlowGBRWithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)+1.511s15/16292k
15Francesco BagnaiaITADucati Lenovo (GP22)+1.520s15/17303k
16Remy GardnerAUSKTM Tech3 (RC16)*+1.619s12/19287k
17Takaaki NakagamiJPNLCR Honda (RC213V)+1.642s16/18294k
18Maverick ViñalesSPAAprilia Racing (RS-GP)+1.693s14/15298k
19Pol EspargaroSPARepsol Honda (RC213V)+1.771s15/15289k
20Raul FernandezSPAKTM Tech3 (RC16)*+2.060s16/16291k
21Darryn BinderRSAWithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)*+2.374s15/18288k
22Tetsuta NagashimaJPNHRC Team (RC213V)+2.424s16/17298k
23Alex RinsSPASuzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)+2.439s16/17296k
24Brad BinderRSARed Bull KTM (RC16)+2.595s14/16293k
25Takuya TsudaJPNSuzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)+3.399s15/18294k

* Rookie

Official Motegi MotoGP records:
Best lap:
Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha 1m 43.790s (2015)
Fastest race lap:
Jorge Lorenzo SPA Yamaha 1m 45.350s (2014)

After a dry Friday, Marc Marquez leads a soaking wet Free Practice 2 for the Japanese MotoGP at Motegi on Saturday morning.

It was the first time Marquez has topped a MotoGP session since Portimao.

The special practice schedule, due to the tight travel time from Aragon, means FP2 was pushed over from Friday and became the new cut-off point for direct access to Qualifying 2.

But the (expected) bad weather meant the likes of Johann Zarco, Takaaki Nakagami, Alex Rins, Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin didn't get a chance to try and break into the combined top ten and will thus take part in this afternoon's Qualifying 1.

Title contenders Fabio Quartararo, Francesco Bagnaia and Aleix Espargaro (twice) all ran wide in separate incidents at Turn 3 in the opening minutes of FP2, as riders began seeking a wet set-up for qualifying.

Despite that early off, Quartararo soon looked comfortable on the drenched track, joining fellow wet Mandalika podium finishers Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) and Miguel Oliveira (KTM) in featuring at the top of the timesheets.

But it was Marc Marquez leading Jorge Martin and Bastianini at the midway stage, with Bagnaia outside the top 20 and the Aprilia and Suzuki riders filling the last four places.

The order at the front remained unchanged by the time red flags were waved to retrieve Pol Espargaro's fallen Repsol Honda at Turn 8, with 12mins to go.

After the restart, team-mate Marquez - sixth on Friday, when he suffered some arm and shoulder pain from Motegi's hard braking zones - kept P1 to the chequered flag, the first session he has topped since returning from arm surgery.

Friday leader Jack Miller rose to third between Martin and Oliveira, with Zarco fifth, Franco Morbidelli the top Yamaha in sixth and Bastianini seventh.

Quartararo was shuffled back to tenth, suffering another run-off at the end of the 45mins, while Aleix Espargaro recovered to 11th with Bagnaia in 15th.

Prior to Espargaro's accident, KTM's Brad Binder had been the first faller of the day, running wide and falling under braking at Turn 3.

A 30-minute FP3 session will be held before Qualifying 1.

Dry weather is expected for Sunday.

Riders directly to Qualifying 2 - Top 10 Combined Practice Times:
PosRiderNatTeam
1Jack MillerAUSDucati Lenovo (GP22)
2Francesco BagnaiaITADucati Lenovo (GP22)
3Fabio QuartararoFRAMonster Yamaha (YZR-M1)
4Aleix EspargaroSPAAprilia Factory (RS-GP)
5Luca MariniITAMooney VR46 Ducati (GP22)
6Marc MarquezSPARepsol Honda (RC213V)
7Pol EspargaroSPARepsol Honda (RC213V)
8Brad BinderRSARed Bull KTM (RC16)
9Miguel OliveiraPORRed Bull KTM (RC16)
10Maverick VinalesSPAAprilia Factory (RS-GP)

 

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Just 17 points cover Fabio Quartararo, Francesco Bagnaia and Aleix Espargaro at the top of the MotoGP World Championship standings as the series head into the unknown with its first Asian and Australian races since 2019.

Quartararo’s opening lap accident with Marc Marquez at Aragon, combined with Bagnaia’s second place behind Enea Bastianini, has put the factory Ducati star just 10 points from the Monster Yamaha rider, with Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro also back in the hunt in third.

Home star Takaaki Nakagami has been passed fit to ride despite requiring surgery for injuries to his fingers in last Sunday’s clash with Marquez at Aragon.

The tight travel window to transport freight from Aragon to Motegi means a revised practice schedule in Japan, with a delayed and extended opening practice session running from 15:05-16:20 on Friday. Free Practice 2 is pushed over to Saturday morning with FP3 will be reduced to 30-minutes (replacing the usual FP4), followed by Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2.

The absence of Motegi from the calendar in both 2020 and 2021, due to Covid restrictions, means ten of the full-time riders have never raced at the circuit in the premier class: Brad Binder, Alex Marquez, Jorge Martin, Enea Bastianini, Luca Marini, plus this year’s rookies Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio di Giannantonio, Darryn Binder, Remy Gardner and Raul Fernandez.

Also on track this weekend will be Suzuki test rider Takuya Tsuda and Honda test rider Tetsuta Nagashima. Both have been entered as wild-cards in front of their home fans this weekend, although Tsuda will now technically be replacing the injured Joan Mir.

Following Andrea Dovizioso’s retirement, Yamaha test rider Cal Crutchlow will be starting his second weekend at RNF, where he will complete the season alongside Darryn Binder. Unlike most of the grid, Crutchlow has some private testing experience at Motegi this year.

Japanese MotoGP - Full race weekend schedule (UK time)

Friday September 23rd 

05:15 - 05:55am Moto3 FP1

06:10 - 06:50am Moto2 FP1

07:05 - 08:20 MotoGP FP1

Saturday September 24th

01:00 - 01:40 Moto3 FP2

01:55 - 02:35 Moto2 FP2

02:50 - 03:35 MotoGP FP2

04:35 - 04:50 Moto3 Q1

05:00 - 05:15 Moto3 Q2

05:30 - 05:45 Moto2 Q1

05:55 - 06:10 Moto2 Q2

06:25 - 06:55 MotoGP FP3

07:05 - 07:20 MotoGP Q1

07:30 - 07:45 MotoGP Q2

Sunday September 25th 

02:00 - 02:10 Moto3 Warm Up

02:20 - 02:30 Moto2 Warm Up

02:40 - 03:00 MotoGP Warm Up

04:00 Moto3 Race

05:20 Moto2 Race

07:00 MotoGP Race

Aragon: MotoGP World Championship standings
Pos RiderNatTeamPointsDiff.
1=Fabio QuartararoFRAMonster Yamaha (YZR-M1)211 
2=Francesco BagnaiaITADucati Lenovo (GP22)201(-10)
3=Aleix EspargaroSPAAprilia Racing (RS-GP)194(-17)
4=Enea BastianiniITAGresini Ducati (GP21)163(-48)
5^1Jack MillerAUSDucati Lenovo (GP22)134(-77)
6˅1Johann ZarcoFRAPramac Ducati (GP22)133(-78)
7=Brad BinderRSARed Bull KTM (RC16)128(-83)
8^1Alex RinsSPASuzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)108(-103)
9^1Jorge MartinSPAPramac Ducati (GP22)104(-107)
10˅2Maverick ViñalesSPAAprilia Racing (RS-GP)104(-107)
11=Miguel OliveiraPORRed Bull KTM (RC16)95(-116)
12=Luca MariniITAMooney VR46 Ducati (GP22)91(-120)
13=Joan MirSPASuzuki Ecstar (GSX-RR)77(-134)
14=Marco BezzecchiITAMooney VR46 Ducati (GP21)*74(-137)
15=Marc MarquezSPARepsol Honda (RC213V)60(-151)
16=Takaaki NakagamiJPNLCR Honda (RC213V)46(-165)
17=Pol EspargaroSPARepsol Honda (RC213V)43(-168)
18=Alex MarquezSPALCR Honda (RC213V)39(-172)
19=Franco MorbidelliITAMonster Yamaha (YZR-M1)26(-185)
20=Fabio di GiannantonioITAGresini Ducati (GP21)*23(-188)
21=Andrea DoviziosoITAWithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)15(-196)
22=Darryn BinderRSAWithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)*10(-201)
23=Remy GardnerAUSKTM Tech3 (RC16)*9(-202)
24=Raul FernandezSPAKTM Tech3 (RC16)*8(-203)
25=Stefan BradlGERRepsol Honda (RC213V)2(-209)
26NACal CrutchlowGBRWithU Yamaha RNF (YZR-M1)2(-209)

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