IndianGP: Marini tops practice in MotoGP at BIC

A 45-minute delay at the start of the inaugural IndianOil Grand Prix of India due to what Dorna, promoters of the Championship, said were ‘logistical issues’ did not appear to have any bearing on the performance of Italy’s Luca Marini of Mooney VR46 in Friday’s practice at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida.

Marini clocked 1:44.7820 to register fastest timing and finish +0.008 seconds ahead of Spain’s Prima Pramac Racing rider Jorge Martin, who clocked 1:44.7900 and had dominated the first position all through the session.

Aleix Espargaro’s timing put him in third place, +0.043 seconds behind Martin, who is his compatriot. Defending champion Francesco Bagnaia recorded the seventh best time with 1:45.2800.

Aprilia Racing’s Espargaro had set the tone for the day in the second session with a time of 1:44.8330.

While both drivers of Repsol Honda Team were in the top 10, Red Bull KTM’s South African rider Brad Binder, who holds the high-speed record in MotoGP, failed to feature in the top 10 after a yellow flag cancelled his last lap timing that would have earned him the eighth spot and put him in Qualifying 2 on Saturday.

Arbolino tops in Moto2

Tony Arbolino (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) clocked 1:52.1050 seconds on his final lap to top Moto 2 practice. The competition for the top spot was contested between Somkiat Chantra (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia), his teammate Ai Ogura and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM). Throughout the practice sessions, they kept dethroning each other.

Viejer best in Moto3

Collin Veijer of Netherlands, on his Liqui Moly Husqvarna, topped the Moto3 standing in Practice 2 with a timing of 1:59.5660. He was the only rider fastest in the category with timing of under two minutes for most part of the second practice, until Spanish rider Jaume Masia astride Leopard Racing clocked sub-two-minute with 1:59.7520 in the last few minutes of the session to challenge Veijer.

The start of the practice day was delayed by 45 minutes due to water not reaching some workers on track as the vendor, who was supplying food and water, was denied access for a while, confirmed an official.