Austrian MotoGP, Red Bull Ring - Free Practice (1) Results

* Rookie
Previous Red Bull Ring MotoGP records (no chicane):
Best lap:
Jorge Martin SPA Ducati 1m 22.643s (2021)
Fastest race lap:
Andrea Dovizioso ITA Ducati 1m 23.827s (2019)

Jack Miller leads opening practice for the 2022 Austrian MotoGP on a wet but drying track, as riders also got their first taste of the new Turn 2 chicane at the Red Bull Ring.

Wet tyres were used for most of the session, with Johann Zarco fastest from the Suzukis of Joan Mir and Alex Rins, before the ever-increasing dry line prompted the likes of Marco Bezzecchi and Miguel Oliveira to become the first riders out on slicks for the final 15 minutes.

Most others soon followed, with Jack Miller putting dry tyres on top with ten minutes remaining.

With further rain forecast this weekend, riders pushed hard for a top ten place. But Miller kept moving the goalposts and finished the session a 0.618s clear of Pramac's Zarco with a 1m 30.756s.

Mir and Jorge Martin were the only other riders within one-second of Miller, followed by world championship leader Fabio Quartararo, Rins and last year's winner Brad Binder (KTM).

Silverstone winner Francesco Bagnaia and Aprilia's title contender Aleix Espargaro began the weekend in a cautious 16th and 17th.

Pol Espargaro, expected to be confirmed as a 2023 GASGAS-backed Tech3 KTM rider during the lunch break, was 20th.

Current team-mate Marc Marquez, attending his first grand prix since undergoing a 4th round of surgery on his right arm, was seen watching trackside and then talking to replacement Stefan Bradl in the Repsol Honda pits.

Rookie Remy Gardner (was the only faller, caught out by the change to slicks on a damp track.

Fabio Quartararo takes a 22-point lead over Aleix Espargaro into this weekend’s Austrian MotoGP, but it is third in the standings Francesco Bagnaia who is very much the man of the moment.

The Ducati star had been 91 points behind Quartararo but victories at Assen and Silverstone, combined with problems for the title leaders, mean Bagnaia has slashed the gap to 49 points from the top with eight rounds to go.

That’s still a hefty margin, but from last year’s performances Bagnaia could be the man to beat not only at the Red Bull Ring this weekend, where he led for the opening 24 laps until a rain storm arrived last year, but also the following Misano (won the first race, fell while leading the second) and Aragon (winner) rounds.

The lack of long corners at the Red Bull Ring, combined with hard braking and acceleration, has certainly made the venue a Ducati favourite in the past. Andrea Iannone gave the factory its first race win since Casey Stoner at the 2016 round, followed by victories for Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Lorenzo in 2017 and 2018, then Dovizioso again in 2019.

The 2020 Covid calendar featured two Red Bull Ring races. Dovizioso claimed what looks set to be his final MotoGP victory in the first race, before Miguel Oliveira finally broke the Ducati dominance – and made history for Tech3 KTM – with a debut win in the second.

Austrian again made two appearances last season, with a debut win for Pramac Ducati and Jorge Martin in the first being followed by a brave slicks-in-the-rain triumph for KTM’s Brad Binder in the second.

Maverick Vinales missed the second event after being suspended by Yamaha for deliberately over-revving his engine, following technical issues, the previous weekend.

Vinales wouldn’t ride an M1 again, but returns in red hot form on the Aprilia RS-GP with podiums at the last two races, including finishing second by just 0.426s to Bagnaia last time at Silverstone.

KTM is expected to reveal more of its 2023 rider line-up this weekend by confirming the return of Pol Espargaro at Tech3, while Austria is also the last chance for Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martin to impress Ducati before a decision is made on who will replace Jack Miller, alongside Bagnaia, at the factory team in 2023.

Austrian MotoGP - Race weekend schedule (UK time)

Friday 19 August

7.25am - MotoE FP1

8am - Moto3 FP1

8.55am - MotoGP FP1

9.55am - Moto2 FP1

11.35am - MotoE FP2

12.15pm - Moto3 FP2

1.10pm - MotoGP FP2

2.10pm - Moto2 FP2

3.50pm - MotoE Qualifying 1

4.10pm - MotoE Qualifying 2

Saturday 20 August

8am - Moto3 FP3

8.55am - MotoGP FP3

9.55am - Moto2 FP3

11.35am - Moto3 Q1

12pm - Moto3 Q2

12.30pm - MotoGP FP4

1.10pm - MotoGP Q1

1.35pm - MotoGP Q2

2.10pm - Moto2 Q1

2.35pm - Moto2 Q2

3.15pm - MotoE race 1

Sunday 21 August

8am - Moto3 warm-up

8.20am - Moto2 warm-up

8.40am - MotoGP warm-up

10am - Moto3 race

11.20am - Moto2 race

1pm - MotoGP race

2.30pm - MotoE race