MotoGP Buriram Test: Marquez Tops Day 1, Marini Leads Honda Pack at P6

Marc Marquez led the opening day of MotoGP testing at Buriram, setting the fastest time ahead of his brother Alex Marquez. The factory Ducati rider clocked a best lap of 1m29.184s, beating Alex Marquez’s morning benchmark by nearly half a second. However, his time was still slower than Francesco Bagnaia’s 1m28.700s lap record from last year’s Thailand Grand Prix. Franco Morbidelli (VR46) made a late charge to secure third place, finishing just 0.034s behind Alex Marquez. Aprilia had a strong showing, with Marco Bezzecchi taking fourth. KTM’s Pedro Acosta, who recovered from an off-track moment, rounded out the top five.

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Honda showed promise at Buriram, with Luca Marini (HRC) and Johann Zarco finishing sixth and seventh, both inside the 1m29s range. Two-time champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) narrowly missed that mark in eighth, while KTM’s Brad Binder finished ninth, just 0.041s behind.

Yamaha, which impressed at Sepang, had a quiet start. Pramac’s Jack Miller was the fastest Yamaha rider in 10th, finishing 0.863s behind Alex Marquez. Factory Yamaha duo Alex Rins and Fabio Quartararo struggled, placing 12th and 13th, respectively, behind Honda’s Joan Mir.

Gresini rookie Fermin Aldeguer was the fastest newcomer, securing 14th despite crashing at Turn 8. Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura also suffered a fall at Turn 3 but still finished 15th. His teammate Miguel Oliveira placed 17th.

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Twenty full-time riders took part in the test, with Jorge Martin and Fabio di Giannantonio absent due to injuries. Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori stepped in for Martin, bringing the total number of riders on track to 21.