The riders of Ducati Lenovo Team secure the direct seed to Q2 at Motegi. Bastianini is fifth quickest in Practice, Bagnaia seventh
• Marc Márquez is second with the Ducati machine of Team Gresini Racing MotoGP, followed by Jorge Martín aboard Pramac Racing Team’s Desmosedici GP
The Ducati Lenovo Team has completed the opening day of action at Japan’s Twin Ring Motegi, with both standard bearers able to secure the direct access to Q2 for the sixteenth Grand Prix of the season. Enea Bastianini finished fifth in today’s Practice, with Francesco Bagnaia in seventh place at the end of the afternoon session.
Following a tenth-place finish in a Free Practice that was characterised by unpredictable weather conditions, Bastianini was off to a good start in Practice as he stayed in the top six in the first part of the session. The Ducati rider #23 then had a crash near halfway point at turn 14, but he was able to return to action shortly after. In the final stages, Enea bounced back from seventeenth all the way up to second place courtesy of a 1:43.605 lap-time and was ultimately fifth at the chequered flag.
After topping the FP timesheets, Bagnaia led the first half of the afternoon session. He then broke the 1:44secs barrier with eight minutes to go with two quick lap-times in a succession and made his way back to first position. During his last time attack, Pecco was very competitive in the first three sectors, before losing a few tenths in the last split.
The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action tomorrow at 10:10 local time (GMT +9) for Free Practice 2, which will be followed by Q2 at 11:15 and by the 12-lap, Japanese Grand Prix sprint race, which will get underway at 15:00.
Enea Bastianini (#23 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 5th
“It was a quite complicated day. I struggled a bit at the beginning: I couldn’t get up to speed in the morning and then the afternoon things seemed to be going the same way. We made a set up change that was helping, but then I crashed as my foot got stuck while shifting to second gear, ending up in fourth gear and losing the front-end. Following the crash, I turned my attention to the time attack. I used the first tyre to get the right feeling and then I pushed in the final minutes, setting a strong lap-time. It was important to be in Q2, but my pace right now is not among the best.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#1 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 7th
“It was a very positive day. We got off to a good start and I felt much better with the bike straight away. This is a track that suits my riding style well; we did an excellent job and we improved throughout the day especially in sector three, where I had always struggled a little. Too bad for ending up wide at turn 11 during the final quick-lap attempt. It was key to find a good pace and to finish in the top ten, so I’m happy. We’ll need to make another step forward tomorrow, but we’re in the right direction.”
