Alex Marquez rises from the gravel trap to smash Jerez lap record

Ultra-close FP2 session finishes with the younger Marquez on top as the championship heavyweights battle it out

In a thrilling and drama-filled Free Practice session, Alex Marquez emerged as the hometown hero, overcoming a heavy crash midway through the session to set a blistering lap record and finish fastest overall.

The Gresini Ducati rider went down hard at Turn 5, appearing shaken and sore, but he returned to the track on his second bike with just minutes remaining. Against the odds, Marquez dug deep to clock a 1:35.991 lap to sit on top of the timesheets heading into tomorrow’s qualifying sessions.

Joining him at the top was Ducati factory star Francesco Bagnaia in second, just 0.103 seconds off the pace, with Franco Morbidelli continuing his recent run of good form in third. Marc Marquez looked strong throughout and led the way for much of FP2, but a near front wash-out on his last flying lap meant he had to settle for 4th.

Fabio Quartararo was another headline-maker, suffering a late crash with just 12 minutes left on the clock. Thanks to some frantic work from his Yamaha crew in the pits, the Frenchman managed to rejoin the session and secure a commendable 5th position and cement his place in Q2.

Rookie Fermin Aldeguer continued to turn heads, finishing 6th overall and comfortably the top rookie of the day. Johann Zarco once again flew the flag for Honda, guiding his LCR machine to 7th on the timesheets.

Pedro Acosta led the KTM charge in 8th, while Aprilia struggled, with Marco Bezzecchi their top rider down in 12th.

Jack Miller will have to battle his way through Q1 tomorrow to try to improve his grid slot after setting the 13th fastest time.

SPANISH MOTOGP FP2