Luca Marini tops FP2 as India makes its historic debut in MotoGP as a new venue

New Delhi, 22 Sept. 2023: India became a new venue for the World Motorcycle Racing Championship. As BIC hosted the MotoGP practice sessions on this historic Friday, India joined a select club of Nations that have hosted MotoGP.

History made! Just 0.008 splits Marini and Martin as MotoGP™ debuts in India. The duo are split by almost nothing as Aleix Espargaro sits just 0.051 off the top in third and Marc Marquez slots into P4.

The conditions were sweltering but the riders made the most of it and tried to put up their best performance on the practice day of the IndianOil Grand Prix of India at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida on Friday.  

In the premier MotoGP category, it was a bit of a surprise as Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing team) topped the second practice session with a time of 1:44:782, while rising star Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) recorded 1:44:790. Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia Racing clocked 1:44:833.  

Eight-times champion Marc Marquez of Repsol Honda was fourth in the standings of the second free practice, while Marco Bezzecchi was fifth. Francesco Bagnaia of the Ducati Lenovo Team was sixth, while Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo was in eighth position.

Marc Marquez said: “When we arrive at a new track it’s true that I am able to quickly find the limit of the track. From FP1 I was there and in FP2 we were able to stay there even if we lost a little bit of margin as the overall grip came up. But finally, we were able to get a spot in Q2, which is the target, but I think many riders will make a step tomorrow. The front three rows of the grid and the objective for tomorrow and then let’s see what happens in the Sprint. The heat here is different to at other tracks but I don’t think it will be a big issue for tomorrow, for the long race on Sunday we will have to see.”

Fabio Quartararo said: The day didn‘t start super good. I only completed about nine laps in the morning, so to learn this difficult track in the afternoon was not easy. Physically the track is not very tough, it‘s just the heat. I had to get straight into the game, and we achieved our goal of getting straight into Q2, so it was a pretty good day. Hopefully we can fight for a spot on the front three rows tomorrow and fight for a great result in the Sprint.

In the Moto2 class, Tony Abrolino of Elf Marc VDS Racing Team set a time of 1:52:105, while Pedro Acosta was second with 1:52:170, with Ai Ogura coming in third with a time of 1:52:188. 

India’s Kadai Yashin Ahmed suffered a crash during the second free practice session.  

In the second Moto3 free practice, Collin Veijer of the Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP scored the fastest time of 01:59:566, while Jaume Masia of Leopard Racing was second in 01:59:752, while Stefano Nepa of Angeluss MTS Team was third with 02:00:122.  

In the first MotoGP practice, Marco Bezzecchi of Mooney VR46 Racing Team topped the charts with a time of 01:45:990, Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez second behind him at 01:36:129 and Brad Binder, from Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, was third with 01:46:3100. 

In Moto2, Somkiat Chandra of the Idemitsu Honda Team Asia was first with 01:52:596, while Pedro Acosta of Red Bull KTM Ajowa was second behind him at 01:52:878 Ai Ogura of Idemitsu Honda Team Asia was third at 01:53:495.  

Earlier, in the first free practice session for Moto3, Jaume Masia of Leopard Racing, with a timing of 02:00:324 was the fastest. He was followed by Diogo Moreira of MT Helmets with a time of 02:00:465, while Stefano Nepa of Angeluss MTA Team was third with 02:00:615 minutes.  

Meanwhile, spiritual guru Sadhguru took a few laps of the Buddh International Circuit before the start of the day’s action.  

Saturday will have the free practice three, qualifying and the Tissot Sprint race for the MotoGP class. 

SHOWTIME
The stage is set for Qualifying and then the Tissot Sprint. Make sure you tune in:

MotoGP™ FP2: 10:40
MotoGP™ Q1: 11:20
MotoGP™ Q2: 11:45
Tissot Sprint: 15:30