Bagnaia fifth and Miller ninth at the end of Day 1 of the Aragon GP

2022-09-19 09:19
Jorge Martín (Pramac Racing) ends on top on the first day of the fifteenth Grand Prix of the 2022 season at the MotorLand Aragón

Francesco Bagnaia and Jack Miller closed respectively with the fifth and ninth fastest times overall on Friday's free practice for the Aragon GP, the fifteenth round of the 2022 MotoGP season, held this weekend at the MotorLand Aragón in Alcañiz (Spain).

Thanks to the favourable weather conditions and the mild temperatures, the Ducati Lenovo Team riders could take full advantage of today's two sessions as they constantly improved their benchmarks. After closing FP1 in 1:48.698, Bagnaia, who worked mainly on used tyres, was able to take over a second off his best time in the afternoon, closing FP2 in 1:47.639, in fifth place, 237 thousandths off the Desmosedici GP of Jorge Martín (Pramac Racing), the fastest rider today.

Jack Miller, thirteenth this morning, also made progress in FP2, moving up to ninth place, 161 thousandths behind his teammate. With the weather forecast to remain clear throughout Saturday, tomorrow morning's FP3 will be decisive in determining the top ten who will take part directly in the Q2 session in the afternoon.

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) - 5th (1:47.639)
"I'm satisfied with our work today. We didn't give too much importance to the times: we focused mainly on doing the most laps on used tyres, and our pace was good. I couldn't make an exceptional time attack, but today with the soft tyre, I didn't find the right conditions to push. Tomorrow morning in FP3, the grip will definitely be better than today so many riders will improve. It will be important to stay in the top ten and have a good qualifying session. Starting in front here at Aragon is crucial, as is managing the tyres well in the race. Anyway, I'm confident because we already know what steps to take tomorrow".

Jack Miller (#43 Ducati Lenovo Team) - 9th (1:47.800)
"It was a good first day here at Aragón: we worked well, focusing on finding the right setup for this track. Unfortunately, the grip level is lower than we expected. The track is very slippery in some areas, but already in the afternoon, the situation had improved compared to the morning, so I expect good conditions tomorrow morning in FP3. Overall, it was a positive day, and we have to keep working in this direction. We know we have a good pace. Now we need to improve a few details and understand in tomorrow's FP4 what pace we'll be able to keep in Sunday's race."

The Ducati Lenovo Team riders will be back on track tomorrow at 9:55am CEST for FP3, while qualifying for the Aragon GP will take place from 2:10pm local time at the end of FP4

Source: Ducati Motor Holding

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