MotoGP Thailand GP: Jorge Martin Dominates Second Practice Despite Late Crash

Despite crashing late in the second practice session for the Thailand Grand Prix, MotoGP title contender Jorge Martin set the fastest lap times. In a competition where the top 18 riders were separated by less than half a second, Martin emerged as the fastest with a final flying lap of 1m29.826s. But then, on the right-hand hairpin of Turn 3, he crashed. Fortunately, Martin was unharmed in the mishap.

The top 10 riders were Maverick Vinales, Fabio di Giannantonio, Alex Marquez, Brad Binder, Aleix Espargaro, and Fabio Quartararo before the time attacks began in the last 15 minutes. The top ten riders were separated by only 0.382s, and the entire field was within 0.924s of each other. With brand new medium rear tires—the weekend's softest option—Binder and Vinales temporarily took the lead. On his 22nd lap, Martin posted the fastest time in the race, clocking in at 1 minute, 29 seconds.

After starting 14th on the timesheets and switching to a new rubber, championship leader Bagnaia climbed into the top ten on his penultimate run and automatically advanced to Q2.

During the session, Martin's bike snapped, and a piece of carbon fibre aero flew off and hit Marc Marquez in the shoulder. At about the halfway point of the session, the Pramac rider cut the curb while entering the pit lane.

Also Read: MotoGP Thailand GP: Jorge Martin Tops First Practice, Title Leader Bagnaia Finishes Tenth

MotoGP Thailand GP: Practice (2) Result

At the end of the session, Marquez was trailing Jorge Martin again, vying for a spot in the top 10. The Repsol Honda rider started out in 13th place, so he had to keep an eye on the rest of the field as he got ready for the last lap. This time around, Marquez followed Fabio di Giannantonio on the Gresini Ducati, who is widely expected to transfer teams and ride for Repsol Honda's #93 squad next year. Augusto Fernandez, a rookie rider for Tech3, was following both of them but was able to use the wind to his advantage to finish tenth, just ahead of Marquez. Notably, Honda was the only manufacturer with no riders in the top 10 positions after Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo finished eighth.

Also Read: MotoGP: Miguel Oliveira Dismisses Honda Speculations; Will Giannantonio Take Marc Marquez's Place?

Francesco Bagnaia is still 27 points ahead of Jorge Martin heading into the Thai MotoGP. The Pramac Ducati rider's high-risk tyre strategy on the final lap at Phillip Island backfired, allowing this gap to open up. Notably, Miguel Oliveira won the rainy Buriram race for KTM last year, with Jack Miller and Bagnaia of Ducati close behind. Martin came in tenth place at the race. In dry circumstances, however, rookie VR46 rider Marco Bezzecchi had beaten both Martin and Bagnaia for the pole position.

This year, all three days of the Grand Prix weekend are likely to be cloudy and damp. After withdrawing from the Phillip Island event owing to suffering from leg fractures sustained at Mugello, Alex Rins will also be unable to compete in Thailand.