It was an emotional opening day of the Motul Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona. Organizers flew banners and raised cash for the victims of the flooding that pressured MotoGP to maneuver the race scheduled for Valencia to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya. It additionally was emotional for 3 MotoGP riders – Augusto Fernandez, Takaaki Nakagami and Aleix Espargaro – who’re racing for the final time of their careers.
With nothing to lose and a title on the road, Francesco Bagnaia pushed laborious and topped the final apply session. With the temperature dropping precipitiously on the finish of the day, Championship chief Jorge Martin tried to reply when title rival Bagnaia went quickest. Martin pushed the entrance and almost crashed, saving a front-end slide that left his ft off the pegs.
Takaaki Nakagami (30) began his final weekend as a MotoGP racer by going quickest within the first apply session. Picture by Michael Gougis.
Honda had a remarkably good day in Barcelona. Not solely did Takkaki Nakagami lead the primary apply session, Johann Zarco (5) led a lot of the second session and finally completed fourth. Picture by Michael Gougis.
Aleix Espargaro (41) was third at a observe the place he gained in 2023 and led Aprilia to its first 1-2 end in MotoGP. Picture by Michael Gougis.
On the American Racing Staff Kalex, Jorge Navarro (9) adopted up on his second-place end within the Moto2 race in Malaysia by ending Friday apply simply exterior of the highest three in Barcelona. Picture by Michael Gougis.
A part of the proceeds from ticket gross sales for the Barcelona race will likely be donated to flood reduction efforts within the Valencia area. Picture by Michael Gougis.
Staging a MotoGP occasion is a large operation. With solely days to organize for the race in Barcelona, MotoGP workers on Friday had been nonetheless cranking out the promotional and informational supplies wanted for the weekend. Right here a large-format printer within the cell MotoGP print store spits out a poster for one of many auctions to lift cash for the Valencia flood victims. MotoGP rolls a large-scale printing facility to all of its European races and flies a scaled-down model to the abroad occasions. Picture by Michael Gougis.
