During the hectic first practice session at the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix, Jorge Martin from Pramac Racing led the rest home after beating his team-mate Franco Morbidelli to the line. The session was preceded by the intense battle seen in the first quarter of what looks to be a riveting weekend of racing, which was somewhat spoiled by a red flag incident brought about by Pedro Acosta’s crash.
All the drama happened towards the end of the session. Former Moto3 champion Pedro Acosta, in a Tech3 KTM Factory Racing colorway and using a GasGas-branded bike, took a spirited run towards Turn 4 before getting involved in a crash. This was not the first time for Acosta to experience a low-speed shunt at the chicane, although his second fall was much more alarming.
Nonetheless, while Acosta escaped the crash with minor scrapes and bruises, his bike was not lucky; it was seriously damaged. In the last lap, the KTM crashed into the barriers heavily, scattering parts across the track, a testimony that it was no longer safe for any rider. This led to race control putting into operation the red flag, which is an indication that the session is over.
Jorge Martin Tops Before Red Flag
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Before the red flag was waved, Jorge Martin started attempting to claim the session’s fastest lap, which was [1:29]. 654s. It got him two-tenths ahead of Morbidelli, who had been the leader for much of the session. There was a break of about 2 minutes before the session continued with just under 4 minutes on the clock. However, the leading riders, including Jorge Martin, could not better their times. Jorge Martin could secure pole position for the weekend after his lap time, which he had set only a few seconds before the red flag was displayed.
In the first practice session, the riders of the KTM took the lead. Pedro Acosta opened with the best mark at 1m30. 881s before factory KTM rider Brad Binder soon improved on that with a 1m30. 236s lap. The momentum continued for KTM as wildcard Pol Espargaro, testing an experimental version of the RC16, became the first rider to dip below the 1m30s mark, setting a time of 1m29.933s.
Morbidelli Disrupts KTM’s Early Lead
But within 15 minutes of the end of the session, Franco Morbidelli broke KTM’s domination on top of the timing sheets. The Italian rider gave a good lap performance on his Ducati GP24 and recorded at 1m29. It also produced somewhat parallel percentages, from 872s to take the lead. This proved to be the quickest way for Jorge Martin to go faster using soft tires before Acosta’s crash stopped his run.
Pol Espargaro set the third-fastest time in the early session, and with this, KTM demonstrated a good performance as the wildcard. Factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia was right behind him in fourth, and he has also been very steady. The man of the hour was Brad Binder, who was on the same pace early on and eventually finished fifth. Local hero Acosta finished sixth and even crashed late in the race.
Mixed Fortunes for Aprilla and Honda
The best of Aprilia looked tactical in the race as he fought his way to the seventh position; however, Espargaro had a worrisome time in the session as he crashed twice at the Turn 2 chicane in 15 minutes. Laying in eighth was Fabio di Giannantonio on the VR46 machine, and Joan Mir, the championship leader himself, finished an unexpected ninth on Honda, followed by the Gresini of Alex Marquez.
Marc Marquez, who had the best lap time of his 11th lap canceled for exceeding the track limits, did only the 17th best lap of the weekend, which does not reasonably represent his capabilities during such an interrupted session.
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