Binder edges Miller in MotoGP Practice, Bagnaia into Q1

Brad Binder has beaten Jack Miller in a Red Bull KTM one-two in Practice for the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix while Francesco Bagnaia will be going into Qualifying 1 again.

Binder set the pace with a 1:27.943s around the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit while KTM team-mate Miller clocked a 1:29.091s on his final lap before the chequered flag in the 60-minute session.

MotoGP title contender Jorge Martin is also directly through to Qualifying 2 having been classified in fourth on his Prima Pramac Ducati but the factory Ducati Team’s Bagnaia will again be in action in the first stanza of qualifying for the second weekend in a row having only managed to earn 11th on the timesheet.

Marc Marquez, who crashed his Repsol Honda again at MG, is also heading for Q1, as is Monster Energy Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo after he was baulked late at the same corner.

Martin had topped Free Practice 1 by more than seventh tenths of a second when he set a 1:29.039s, although he was the only rider to fit a soft Michelin rear tyre in that morning hit-out.

Only three riders reached the 1:29s in FP1 but Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Ducati) was setting the pace with a 1:29.828s on his second flyer in Practice.

Binder moved the marker to a 1:29.744s next time through and immediately bettered that with a 1:29.365s, which was still the fastest lap of the session once the first runs were done.

With just over 20 minutes elapsed, Marc Marquez crashed at MG for the second session in a row, despite his very best efforts to try and hold the #93 Honda up on his right knee and elbow.

As he rode his RC213V back through the paddock, Maverick Viñales took over second place with a 1:29.419s on a factory Aprilia running a new soft rear tyre.

Two laps later, ‘Top Gun’ improved on that effort by literally the slimmest of margins, clocking a 1:29.418s, before former team-mate Quartararo took up third with a 1:29.602s.

As cloud cover started to form over Phillip Island, Di Giannantonio went third on a 1:29.461s then to the very top with a 1:29.359s on consecutive laps despite running a medium compound Michelin on the rear.

His time in first place lasted only a moment before Johann Zarco clocked a 1:29.266s on a soft-shod Prima Pramac Ducati.

Aleix Espargaro usurped all 11 in front of him with a 1:28.841s on an Aprilia RS-GP running a new medium front and new soft rear with 16 minutes to go.

He bettered that with a 1:28.707s on his next lap but was quickly knocked off his perch when Aprilia Racing team-mate Viñales set a 2:28.649s.

That was in fact the start of a flurry of fast times, with Martin going first on a 1:28.299s, Zarco second on a 1:28.456s, and Binder third on a 1:28.552s, with just over 11 minutes to go.

Ahead of the final runs, they remained the top three, from Viñales, Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati), Aleix Espargaro, Di Giannantonio, Miller, Marc Marquez – who had gone back out after his spill – Raul Fernandez (RNF Aprilia), Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Ducati) in 11th, Quartararo in 12th, and Bagnaia (Ducati Team) in 14th.

Viñales moved the benchmark to a 1:28.212s before Binder fired in his 1:27.943s.

Meanwhile, Bagnaia, who had Martin and others running in his tow, could only better his time but not his 16th position when he set a 1:29.220s.

Miller went fourth on a 1:28.303s then second on a 1:28.091s just before the chequers came out, while Bagnaia could only manage a 1:28.642s before calling off his time attack.

Quartararo was still trying to get into Q2 when he happened on a slow-moving Augusto Fernandez (GasGas Tech3) on the race line at MG.

The top 10 ended up being Binder, Miller, Viñales, Martin, Pol Espargaro (GasGas Tech3), Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Ducati), Di Giannantonio, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Team), Aleix Espargaro, and Zarco.

Marc Marquez ended up 16th and Quartararo 17th.

Free Practice 2 starts tomorrow at 10:10 local time/AEDT, followed immediately by Qualifying 1 and Qualifying 2.

Results: Practice