Martin fastest, Marquez crashes in Motegi Warm Up

Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin set the fastest lap in the Sunday morning MotoGP™ Warm Up at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan. Sunny skies greeted the field, making for the first dry session at the Mobility Resort Motegi since Friday, and Martin set back-to-back 1:45.200 and 1:45.085 laps to claim P1 for the session. Second went to World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) on a 1:45.370, ahead of his P9 start this afternoon, with Ducati Lenovo Team riders Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia taking third and fourth respectively. Bagnaia, too, faces a challenge this afternoon from Row 4, but it's a promising start to the day for the title aspirant.

All eyes were on Marc Marquez ahead of the eight-time World Champion’s first start from pole position in 1071 days. He finished the session in seventh with a time of 1:45.583, but the bigger story was his crash at Turn 9 having gone out on a hard front and hard rear combination right at the end. The Repsol Honda Team rider was okay, but will he be nervous ahead of this afternoon’s 24-lap race? There was a drama also for Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), who had a technical problem as soon as he tried to exit his box at the start of the session, before setting a 1:45.584 to take eighth. With little dry running so far, the field collectively sampled the soft, medium, and hard Michelin rear as they try to make a tricky choice for the GP itself.

Next time the MotoGP™ riders are on-track, Marc Marquez lines up on P1! Race start is due at 15:00 (GMT +9).

MotoGP™ WUP Top 10:

1. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) – 1:45.085
2. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) + 0.285
3. Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.306
4. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.347
5. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) + 0.424
6. Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) + 0.441
7. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.498
8. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) + 0.499
9. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.551
10. Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 0.558

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