MARQUEZ LEADS MOTEGI WARM-UP AS RIDERS TEST HARD REAR TYRE

Marc Marquez topped an extended warm-up for the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi, setting a 1m 42.957s as riders got their first meaningful chance to assess the hard rear tyre expected to feature in the race.

The session was lengthened from 10 to 20 minutes after Michelin withdrew the soft rear following blistering during Saturday’s Sprint. The medium remains an option, but Michelin has advised riders to manage it carefully over the Grand Prix distance and recommended the reinforced, heat-resistant hard. That specification, also available in Austria, had not been used on Friday or Saturday, leaving teams with little data before Sunday’s race. Most riders set their fastest laps on the hard, though a final tyre choice was still to be made after further analysis.

Most riders sampled both rear compounds. Marco Bezzecchi led early with a 1m 43.559s on the hard before switching to the medium. Marquez began on the medium, setting a 1m 43.946s, then cut about a second from that time after changing to the hard. His final advantage was 0.452 seconds over Bezzecchi, with title leader Jorge Martin third, 0.490 seconds off the pace. Marquez used a soft front tyre; most of the field chose the medium.

The result offered a notable contrast with the previous round in Austria, where Ducati had struggled against Aprilia and Pedro Acosta on the hard. Bezzecchi, who had been fastest in final practice on the medium, was slightly quicker on that compound than the hard in warm-up, but was less competitive on it in the Sprint, when only he and Jack Miller used it.

Fabio Quartararo was fourth, followed by home rider Ai Ogura in fifth and Luca Marini in sixth. Raul Fernandez, Enea Bastianini, rookie Diogo Moreira and Acosta completed the top 10. Francesco Bagnaia was 11th. Martin, who took pole by breaking the lap record on Motegi’s new asphalt, was just seven points ahead of Sprint winner Marquez in the championship after tyre trouble and a post-race penalty dropped him from second to third on Saturday.

There were two crashes in the session. Alex Marquez escaped a fast fall at Turn 12; he is due to serve a double long-lap penalty in the Grand Prix for the Sprint collision that took out Acosta and Fabio Di Giannantonio at Turn 3. Johann Zarco also crashed.

Honda’s factory riders appeared in the team’s special 60th-anniversary livery, with Marini sixth. The weekend has also brought changes to its line-up: Joan Mir remains absent while recovering and under observation after medical concerns, and wildcard Takaaki Nakagami fractured his collarbone in a highside during a damp FP1. Somkiat Chantra was called up to ride alongside Marini. Maverick Viñales, meanwhile, returned to Tech3 KTM after missing the previous four rounds with shoulder injuries.