2022 Catalunya MotoGP, Barcelona – Warm-up Results

Maverick Vinales kept Aprilia on top of the timesheets, from Gresini riders Enea Bastianini and Fabio di Giannantonio, during morning warm-up for the 2022 Catalunya MotoGP at Barcelona.

But it wasn’t such a perfect start to race day for team-mate and pole qualifier Aleix Espargaro, who ed in a lowside at Turn 5 in the closing stages.

The local star was unharmed but the incident forced him to abandon his RS-GP and miss out on a practice start.

While soft and medium rear tyres were used by most riders during warm-up, the climbing temperatures mean hard and medium rears are set to be the dominant choice for a scorching hot and ‘slippery’ race.

A possible exception is Vinales, who led much of the 20-minute warm-up on medium tyres but says he is planning to ‘gamble’ on the soft rear from eighth on the grid this afternoon.

Francesco Bagnaia and Fabio Quartararo, who will join Espargaro on the front row, were just 20th and 13th respectively in warm-up. However the Ducati rider was only 1.2s from the top and it is tyre preservation as much as raw speed that will be crucial in the race, with predictions of lap times dropping by up to one-second in the closing stages.

Ducati wild-card Michele Pirro was the only other faller in warm-up, a lowside at Turn 2.

Alex Marquez was back on track after missing qualifying due to a fast final practice fall. The LCR rider will need to start this afternoon’s race from 25th and last.

Marc Marquez is absent after electing to undergo a fourth operation on his right arm. The eight-time world champion is being replaced by HRC test rider Stefan Bradl.

According to Marquez’s team-mate Pol Espargaro, the new chassis and swingarm Marquez had been trying has now been handed to LCR’s Takaaki Nakagami.

Reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo returns to the scene of his 2021 ‘wardrobe malfunction’ with a new two-year Yamaha contract in his pocket and leading the MotoGP standings by eight points over Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro.

Enea Bastianini has slipped 28 points from the top after falling in Italy, with last Sunday’s home winner Francesco Bagnaia up to fourth but still 41 points behind Quartararo.

An official post-race test will be held at the Barcelona circuit on Monday.

Jorge Martin will miss the test and undergo surgery to treat nerve problems in his right hand.

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2022 Catalunya Grand Prix – MotoGP schedule (UK Time):

Friday June 3

08:55-09:40 Free Practice 1 

13:10-13:55 Free Practice 2 

Saturday June 4

08:55-09:40 Free Practice 3 

12:30-13:00 Free Practice 4 

13:10-13:25 Qualifying 1 

13:35-13:50 Qualifying 2 

Sunday June 5

08:40-09:00 Warm-up 

13:00 Race