Barcelona – EL1: Honda and Nakagami take the lead

• Shortly after the pitlane opened to allow the riders to take to the track, the session was interrupted by an unusual incident. After an inconsequential crash by Michele Pirro, who returned with VR46 this weekend, Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez collided while doing their outlap. With both machines stopping between turns 5 and 6, in a place where the run-off zone is virtually non-existent, the stewards waved the red flag.

TEAMMATES COLLIDE! 💥@Afernandez37 and @37_pedroacosta hit the deck just a few minutes into the session 😱#SolidarityGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/al3cjOzHum

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 15, 2024

• The session resumed about ten minutes later, and Jorge Martin set the first reference mark in 1:41.820. He would not keep the lead for long, however, as Alex Marquez and Pedro Acosta moved ahead after a few laps.
• In the second part of the session, these tempos do not change, and the top-3 remains unchanged until the end of the session. Brad Binder and Takaaki Nakagami then put themselves in front of Martin, to fill the top-5 with as many different teams.
• The Japanese driver didn't stop there, and then took the lead in EL1 MotoGP in Barcelona. His surprising time of 1:40.501 would not be beaten by anyone. If this session had nothing at stake, the one who will leave Honda at the end of this weekend offered the LCR team a symbolic farewell gift. Pedro Acosta and Alex Marquez completed the top-3.
• Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia finished FP1 in 5th and 7th positions, a tenth apart. The French, fabio quartararo and Johann Zarco, finished 11th and 15th.
• The times of this session are however not to be taken with too much importance, given the work that the drivers had to do on the tires for this only free session on Friday. Michelin has indeed brought a different specification of tires to that of May, given the colder temperatures in force in November. An unknown to quickly raise for the drivers while this afternoon's tests already count towards Qualifying.

ALSO READ > The 2024 Barcelona GP schedule

MotoGP Barcelona – FP1 standings:

Ranking : MotoTiming