The reigning world champion, Pecco Bagnaia, struck a big blow in the first free practice session of the Malaysian Grand Prix. The Ducati Lenovo rider set the best time in 1'58.795, once again demonstrating his mastery of the Desmosedici GP24.
Pecco Bagnaia hit hard during
the first free practice session of the Malaysian Grand Prixthe 19th round of the 2024 MotoGP championship. The team's rider Ducati Lenovo achieved a best time of 1'58.795, thus establishing himself as the undisputed leader of this session. His dynamic performance left behind theAprilia of Maverick Viñales and at Ducati since Marco Bezzecchifrom the team VR46which complete the virtual podium.
Behind them, Jack Millerat the wheel of his
Red Bull KTM Factory Racingtook fourth place, while the young Pedro Acostasur sa
KTM GAS GAShad to deal with a fall at the end of the session. Fortunately, the incident did not have serious consequences, and Acosta was able to complete the challenge without much hassle.
Jorge Martinthe star pilot of
Prima Pramac Racingfinished the session in an honorable sixth place, just ahead Alex
Marquezwhich has shown encouraging signs with the
Ducati of the team Gresini Racing. Fabio Quartararofinished a little further back in eighth position with his Yamahatrying to find the rhythm on this demanding circuit.
Notable fact, Andrea Iannonerecalled to replace Fabio Di Giannantonio who must undergo shoulder surgery, managed to improve at the end of the session thanks to a new tire, thus ranking ninth. On the other hand,
Marc Marquez had a slightly more difficult start to the weekend, finishing twelfth.
The battle promises to be thrilling as the drivers fine-tune their settings in the coming sessions, but
Bagnaia clearly set the tone with her dazzling performance. The pressure is now on his rivals to react! Will they do it during this Practice at the end of which we will know the list of drivers who will have acquired their ticket for Q2 on Saturday? Before knowing it, here is the table which summarizes the facts known so far.
| MotoGP™ Malaisie, Sepang | 2023 | 2024 |
| FP1 | 1’59.513 Jorge Martin (See here) | 1'58.795 Francesco Bagnaia (See here) |
| Practice | 1’57.823 Alex Marquez (See here) | (See here) |
| FP2 | 1'58.960 Fabio Quartararo (See here) | (See here) |
| Q1 | 1'57.823 Fabio Di Giannantonio (See here) | (See here) |
| Q2 | 1'57.491 Francesco Bagnaia (See here) | (See here) |
| Sprint | Alex Marquez, Martin, Bagnaia (See here) | (See here) |
| Warm Up | 1'59.218 Fabio Quartararo (See here) | (See here) |
| Course | Bastianini, A. Marquez, Bagnaia (See here) | (See here) |
| Record | 1'57.491 Francesco Bagnaia 2023 (See here) |
HAS
MotoGP Malaysia Practice: times
