With a host of action awaiting the MotoGP™ riders on Saturday at the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas, the field took to the circuit to make the final adjustments ahead of qualifying and the Tissot Sprint. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) won the Saturday morning FP battle looking very comfortable onboard his factory Ducati. Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) enjoyed strong form in FP as well, sitting pretty in the middle of the top 3 in 2nd spot, with Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) bagging 3rd spot in Free Practice.
Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) suffered another crash on his weekend with 20 minutes remaining of the session. The Aussie was back out on the circuit however and finished the session down in 17th spot.
Alex Marquez was the early benchmark, sitting at the top of the timesheets for the majority of the session. In the final five minutes, Francesco Bagnaia showed the field exactly why he has the number one plate on his bike, and put down a hot pace to reshuffle the order and top the session. Pecco had consistency on his side as well, putting down a series of low 2:03 laps.
Few changes came in the closing stages of the session as Jorge Martin was set for a hot lap but a mistake halfway round saw the Spaniard settle for P4 with Luca Marini continuing his strong COTA form to finish the session in P3 ahead of qualifying. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) put in a strong run at the end and put his Yamaha YZF-M1 in P5 in FP.
Next up for MotoGP™ is qualifying, make sure not to miss out on any of the action as Q1 commences at 12:50 local time with the lights out on the Tissot Spring at 15:00 (GMT -5)
Top 10:
1. Francesco Bagnaia - (Ducati Lenovo Team) - 2:03.295
2. Alex Marquez - (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) + 0.085
3. Luca Marini - (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.239
4. Jorge Martín - (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.313
5. Fabio Quartararo - (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) + 0.367
6. Marco Bezzecchi - (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.384
7. Johann Zarco - (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.414
8. Aleix Espargaró - (Aprilia Racing) + 0.435
9. Fabio Di Giannantonio - (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) + 0.491
10. Brad Binder - (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) + 0.542