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Hungarian MotoGP, free practice: Marquez leads, Marini fourth. Bagnaia struggles.

Hungarian MotoGP, free practice: Marquez leads, Marini fourth. Bagnaia struggles.

Marc Marquez flies straight to Hungary. The Spaniard led the first free practice session at Balaton Park, the track hosting a MotoGP World Championship round for the first time. The nine-time world champion, who set a time of 1:37.956, finished more than two tenths ahead of second-placed Pol Espargaro and more than half a second ahead of third-placed Pedro Acosta. Luca Marini finished fourth, leaving Alex Marquez behind. Marco Bezzecchi finished sixth, followed by Franco Morbidelli, who crashed twice during the session without injury. Enea Bastianini finished eighth, ahead of Fermin Aldeguer. World champion Jorge Martin rounded out the top 10. Francesco Bagnaia had a difficult session, finishing only fifteenth, more than a second behind Marquez.

The riders immediately took to the track to familiarize themselves with the Balaton Park curves. It's worth noting that the Ducati riders had already ridden on the circuit on road bikes. The times at the start of the session continued to improve. Di Giannantonio had a good approach, being the first to dip below 1.40.000. With 34 minutes to go, the engine on world champion Jorge Martin's Aprilia failed, forcing him to abandon his bike in the gravel and return to the pits. A few minutes later, Raul Fernandez's bike, another Aprilia but one from the Trackhouse team, also stopped due to a similar problem. The Spaniard's bike also leaked oil onto the track, prompting the red flag. The session resumed after a fairly long break. It wasn't easy for the riders to find a feel for the track: many were forced to abandon their attempts after over-braking.

With 24 minutes to go, Franco Morbidelli crashed at Turn 1: the Italian was unharmed. Shortly thereafter, Marc Marquez moved into first place, dipping below 1:39.000 and putting more than two tenths of a second ahead of Di Giannantonio. With 20 minutes to go, Acosta began dictating the pace, displacing Marquez from the lead. The nine-time world champion, however, immediately responded, closing more than half a second between himself and the KTM rider. Pol Espargaro and Marco Bezzecchi posted good times, moving up to second and third place respectively with 17 minutes to go. It's worth noting that the Spaniard is among the few riders to have raced at Balaton Park on a MotoGP bike, as a test rider. Marquez maintained an impressive pace, improving further, stopping the clock at 1:38.122. Morbidelli crashed again with 15 minutes to go: again, he was unharmed. It was a very difficult session for Bagnaia, only twentieth with less than 14 minutes to go. With five minutes to go, Luca Marini moved into second place, more than half a second behind Marquez. The Italian was soon displaced by Acosta. Meanwhile, Marquez improved further, stopping the clock at 1:37.956.

La Gazzetta dello Sport

La Gazzetta dello Sport

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