MotoGP News: Bagnaia over Martin in FP1 at Motegi

The MotoGP teams have arrived for Round 16 of the season at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan at Motegi, with Francesco Bagnaia landing the top spot in a cloudy start to proceedings.

There was rain in the air during FP1, and once it began to fall, nobody was able to improve on the reigning World Champion’s 1:45.209.

Bagnaia ended the morning with a 0.109s advantage over title rival Jorge Martin, who looked confident at the iconic stop-and-go Mobility Resort Motegi. The #89 leads the Championship heading into the weekend and ended the session in front of Fabio Di Giannantonio, with the Italian setting just eight times throughout the session.

Claiming fourth in FP1 was Marc Marquez, with the eight-time World Champion unveiling a special helmet for the Japanese GP. The #93 was just 0.572s adrift from Martin’s benchmark as the rain began to fall.

Meanwhile, Jack Miller rounded out the top five spots in a strong morning for the Aussie, who has experienced plenty of success at Motegi. It was a strong start to the GP for Marco Bezzecchi in sixth and Repsol Honda Team’s Joan Mir, who took seventh.