Janice R. Andrews
Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati Team outpaced championship leader Jorge Martin (Pramac Racing) in a wet first practice session for the Japanese MotoGP at Motegi. Intermittent rain disrupted the session, cutting short riders’ time on track.
The practice began under overcast conditions, with local rider Takaaki Nakagami (LCR Honda) briefly leading. Ducati’s Marco Bezzecchi soon broke the 1m46s mark before Bagnaia claimed the top spot with a 1m45.209s lap time.
Rain halted the session after just 13 minutes, sending riders to the pits. A brief return to the track with 10 minutes left was again interrupted by rain. Bagnaia’s time stood, putting him 0.109 seconds ahead of Martin. Fabio di Giannantonio (Team VR46) and Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing) completed the top four.
Jack Miller (KTM Factory Racing) was the fastest non-Ducati rider in fifth, followed by Bezzecchi. Honda’s Joan Mir, Johann Zarco (LCR Honda), Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing), and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Team) rounded out the top 10.
Nakagami, in his final full-time MotoGP season, finished 12th. Rookie Pedro Acosta (KTM Tech 3) placed 13th, while Alex Rins was the quickest Yamaha rider in 14th.
Lorenzo Savadori, substituting for the injured Miguel Oliveira, finished 22nd, and wildcard entry Remy Gardner (Yamaha) placed last.
With rain forecast for the weekend, Saturday’s sessions at Motegi may face similar challenging conditions.
