Friday brought a high level of performance from Aprilia at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. The manufacturer claimed the top two spots in the morning practice and repeated that feat in the afternoon session. Aleix Espargaró was once again the fastest, setting a new lap record.
The one-hour session determined the ten riders who would advance directly to the second qualifying. Therefore, the riders wasted no time in attacking the clock. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini/Ducati) led after the first flying laps, but it was Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team/Aprilia) who held the top spot for a longer period thanks to his second attempt.
The Portuguese rider led for nearly a quarter of an hour until Di Giannantonio returned to the front. However, halfway through the session, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) had the reference time, only to be overtaken by Maverick Viñales (Aprilia).
The Spaniard was one of the riders who stood out in the final quarter-hour but was ultimately beaten by his teammate, Aleix Espargaró. The #41 was the only rider to dip into the 1m38s, finishing 0.362s ahead of Viñales with a new lap record for the circuit (1m38.686s). Bagnaia ended up in third place, followed by Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac/Ducati), who had briefly led. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) rounded out the top five.
Also advancing to Q2 are Álex Márquez (Gresini/Ducati), Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team/Ducati), Di Giannantonio, Enea Bastianini (Ducati), and Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati). Pol Espargaró (GasGas Tech3/KTM) missed out a direct spot in the Q2 by just 28 thousandths of a second, posting the 11th fastest time.
The difficulties for Honda seen in FP1 were confirmed. The Japanese manufacturer occupied the last four positions with riders from Repsol Honda and LCR Honda. The Monster Energy Yamaha team was immediately ahead, with Fabio Quartararo in 17th and Franco Morbidelli in 18th. This session highlighted the struggles faced by Japanese manufacturers at this stage.
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