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Marco Bezzecchi has topped the timesheets in the extended first session of free practice for the MotoGP class at the Buddh International Circuit, though that doesn't mean too much in a session which was much more about learning the track than chasing lap times. Most riders improved their times by 3 to 4 seconds from their first runs to their last.

The track is still lacking a bit of grip, though that improved as the MotoGP bikes started to lay rubber down. Finding braking markers proved to be the greater challenge, especially at Turn 1, as riders seemed to be running on, either into the gravel or over the paint, on about a quarter of their laps. There were a few crashers too, Pol Espargaro going down twice, Takaaki Nakagami having a fast crash at Turn 1, among others.

Fabio Quartararo had perhaps the worst start of the MotoGP grid. The Monster Energy Yamaha team suffered a technical problem on both his bikes, forcing him to pull off track. Quartararo managed a total of 10 laps, where others were doing 25. Teammate Franco Morbidelli did a little better, managing 17 laps.

The afternoon session will be a much more important affair, as riders settle in to attempt to qualify for Q2. By then, the track should have cleaned up further.

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Everyone bar Johann Zarco and Joan Mir improved their times in the afternoon.

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Luca Marini took over at the top of the timesheets from Jorge Martin at the end of the morning session at the Misano MotoGP test. The session ended at 12:45, and was followed by a session of practice starts, where the KTM once again looked to be the best off the line.

Marc Marquez has tried the latest iteration of the Honda RC213V, using a 2023 engine, and said there were some improvements, but the bike still lacked the rear grip which is their biggest problem.

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It's a busy day at the Misano test, with new parts and bikes filling factory garages. In the Repsol Honda garage, Marc Marquez and Joan Mir have one of the bikes they used this weekend and one of the new bikes Stefan Bradl ran at the Misano round. Takaaki Nakagami has a bike with a frame used by the Repsol Honda riders plus a bike with his own Kalex frame.

Brad Binder and Jack Miller have one bike with a carbon frame and one bike they ran this weekend, plus and additional bike. Fabio Quartararo has two bikes which look very similar, one from the weekend and one, presumably, with a new engine, though that may wait for the afternoon. None of the factory Ducatis are testing, Pecco Bagnaia still injured. The bikes in the factory Aprilia garage look the same as the ones raced on Sunday.

The first runs were all done on the bikes raced on Sunday, to provide a baseline for conditions and to remind the riders of exactly how the bike felt. Now, though, the riders are out on the new bikes.

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Fighter jets put on a show over Misano, perfectly previewing the 27-lap premier class race but more in noise from the crowds that the toughness of battle. Although it was more of a battle of the nerves than a paint-swapping bonanza, Ducati still besieged the podium with Jorge Martin doing the double and two gritty rides from Marco Bezzecchi and Pecco Bagnaia to join him in the celebrations. 

In a déjà vu from Saturday afternoon, Martin was perfect from start to finish, keeping the lead from pole position while Bagnaia immediately attacked Bezzecchi at turn three. The world champion looked keen to have a go at Martin as well, but the Spaniard held him back and the Sprint podium men were already starting to distance the rest of the challengers. Dani Pedrosa had made a quick start but a moment at turn two left him fourth, ahead of an even faster-starting Brad Binder. The South-African took over the pursuit from his temporary teammate on the second lap and pushed to close the eight-tenth gap to the leaders, while Pedrosa was managing a similar gap ahead of a sizeable group led by Maverick Viñales. A good opening lap for Miguel Oliveira promoted him to to seventh, with Marc Marquez, Alex Marquez and Luca Marini in the early top 10. A poor start for Aleix Espargaro saw him drop to 11th position, just ahead of Fabio Quartararo, who kept him company for the rest of the race. 

Martin continued to set the pace at the front over the next few laps, resisting Bagnaia and Bezzecchi, who briefly swapped places and the exchanges allowed Binder to get ever so slightly closer to the victory battle. However, before the KTM man could fully join the party, he became the first victim of turn 14 on lap eight, leaving Pedrosa as the main pursuant, 1.8 seconds behind the leading trio. Another two seconds back, Vinales was starting to ditch the rest of group, where Marc Marquez was taking advantage of the soft rear tyre and progressing up to sixth, getting ahead of Oliveira and brother Alex. 

If the leaders didn’t really keep us entertained, Pedrosa was making up for it by setting a rapid pace and getting within a second of them by lap 11. A couple more laps and the veteran was only half a second behind the Ducati trio, but a mistake allowed that gap to grow back to over a second by the halfway point of proceedings. Pedrosa kept up the pace but struggled to reel the leaders back in, with little threat from behind, where Viñales was fending off Marc Marquez four seconds behind the KTM wildcard. 
Martin pulled the pin with 10 laps remaining and almost instantly grew his advantage to two full seconds, Bagnaia and Bezzecchi unable to keep in touch with the Pramac man. With Bagnaia dropping the pace, Bezzecchi got past the world champion one lap later and Bagnaia found himself in a familiar position, with Pedrosa closing in on the final podium position once more. However, the Spaniard ran out of time and tyres and although he closed in to half a second in the final handful of laps, he never got close enough to make a confident move. 

Although Bezzecchi closed in a little in the last few laps, Martin was untouchable until the chequered flag and took victory by over a second ahead of Bezzecchi. Although Bagnaia started the final lap with only two tenths separating him from Pedrosa, the Italian gave it one last push to protect the final podium position, so Pedrosa settled for another fourth place. Viñales secured fifth place six seconds later, while some late pace from Oliveira demoted Marc Marquez to seventh position. The Honda man resisted late pressure from Raul Fernandez, who took his best finish in the premier class in eighth place. A mistake at turn four on the final lap lost Marini a couple of places down to ninth, while Johann Zarco completed the top 10, fending off Alex Marquez, Aleix Espargaro and Quartararo. Binder remounted to take a couple points in 14th place, the final point going to Franco Morbidelli. 

A sore and subdued Bagnaia settled for limiting the damage in the world championship, now holding an advantage of 36 points over victor Martin and 65 points over Bezzecchi. 

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