Marquez fastest in opening Motegi practice

Marc Marquez set the fastest time in the opening practice session for the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi on Friday, edging championship leader Jorge Martin as he began a weekend that could affect the shape of the title fight. Marquez’s reported lap of 1 minute, 44.073 seconds put him 0.099 seconds ahead of Martin. Marco Bezzecchi was third, about five hundredths behind Martin. The result gives Marquez an early sign of pace, but it came in a session affected by rain earlier in the day. Riders delayed setting their first laps because the track felt greasy, and the practice time does not establish how the field will perform in qualifying or the race. Takaaki Nakagami crashed on his first lap and did not record an official time. Marquez arrived at Motegi 12 points behind Martin, with seven races remaining, according to reports on the championship standings. The weekend is the first of those remaining rounds. Marquez said before practice that his immediate target was to reach Q2, the second qualifying session, and that he intended to attack at each remaining track while taking the championship one race at a time. The title contest has shifted quickly.