MotoGP News: Marquez tops Friday practice in Thailand
Phillip Island winner Marc Marquez finished Friday practice for the 2024 Thai MotoGP on top of the timesheets, setting a new all-time Buriram lap record of 1m 29.165s.
The Spaniard on his year-old Gresini GP23 was fastest for much of the hour, returning to P1 by 0.110s from title leader Jorge Martin at the end.
Friday afternoon’s Practice delivered a vital session for teams and riders at the PT Grand Prix of Thailand.
Martin crucially ended the session safely inside the top 10 and ahead of Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team). ‘The Beast’ improved on his final flying lap of the day, recovering after an earlier fall at Turn 3.
The 60-minute session served up further drama with a busy start to the session for Lorenzo Savadori (Trackhouse Racing) and Bastianini, who suffered small crashes in the opening stages – riders OK.
Meanwhile, Marc Marquez stole top honors early on as the premier class stars began to dip into the low 1:30 bracket. Times were extremely close in the opening 40 minutes, with just 0.445s separating the top 15 riders.
Friday Practice Results
| Pos | No. | Rider | Nat | Team | Time | Behind |
| 1 | 93 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Gresini Ducati (GP23) | 1m29.165s | +0.000s |
| 2 | 89 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP24) | 1m29.275s | +0.110s |
| 3 | 23 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP24) | 1m29.327s | +0.162s |
| 4 | 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP24) | 1m29.360s | +0.195s |
| 5 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP24) | 1m29.506s | +0.341s |
| 6 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Pramac Ducati (GP24) | 1m29.549s | +0.384s |
| 7 | 31 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 (RC16)* | 1m29.602s | +0.437s |
| 8 | 73 | Alex Marquez | SPA | Gresini Ducati (GP23) | 1m29.613s | +0.448s |
| 9 | 72 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | VR46 Ducati (GP23) | 1m29.620s | +0.455s |
| 10 | 5 | Johann Zarco | FRA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | 1m29.682s | +0.517s |
| 11 | 33 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | 1m29.683s | +0.518s |
| 12 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | 1m29.756s | +0.591s |
| 13 | 43 | Jack Miller | AUS | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | 1m29.837s | +0.672s |
| 14 | 25 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP24) | 1m29.857s | +0.692s |
| 15 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | 1m29.996s | +0.831s |
| 16 | 49 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | VR46 Ducati (GP23) | 1m29.999s | +0.834s |
| 17 | 10 | Luca Marini | ITA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | 1m30.138s | +0.973s |
| 18 | 42 | Alex Rins | SPA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | 1m30.198s | +1.033s |
| 19 | 36 | Joan Mir | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | 1m30.217s | +1.052s |
| 20 | 37 | Augusto Fernandez | SPA | Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 (RC16) | 1m30.429s | +1.264s |
| 21 | 32 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP24) | 1m31.012s | +1.847s |
| 22 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP24) | 1m31.383s | +2.218s |
* Rookie