Maverick Vinales did well to set the fastest time in practice with the Aprilia, but the focus during Friday’s sessions was very much on the battle between Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin. The outcome after day one? The Spaniard is straight through to Q2, the Italian is not. The riders’ respective weekends have got off to a very different start - and not for the first time.
Bagnaia Vs Martin: 0 - 2 at Valencia
He followed him like a shadow, as if he were already competing in a race worth points, or a world title. Jorge Martin repeatedly attacked Pecco Bagnaia, even passing him on the outside at one point. An avoidable move?
No, because everything is building to a crescendo right now, whether it be the nerves, pressure or technical management. The factory Lenovo team and the satellite Prima Pramac team are fighting for the rider’s title after all, so no one is about to gift anybody anything. Far from it.
Who fell short of Q2?
Let’s look at who failed to gain direct access to Q2 – only for now, as tomorrow they’ll have a second chance – because the feeling is that one of the names will serve to tip the balance. Enea Bastianini will compete in Q1, as will Luca Marini and Takaaki Nakagami.
The Japanese is further down the timesheets, nothing new there. But so are Franco Morbidelli and Alex Rins. Marco Bezzecchi suffered a big crash during the session but was able to return to action. Pol Espargaró also went down, the yellow flag resulting from his crash killing the hopes of Pecco Bagnaia.