Fourth place for Marc Márquez and the Ducati Lenovo Team in Montmeló Practice. Francesco Bagnaia is twenty-first

• Third position for Alex Márquez with the Ducati machine of the Gresini Racing Team
  

The Ducati Lenovo Team has completed the opening day of action at the Circuit de Barcelona–Catalunya, the venue hosting the Monster Energy Grand Prix of Catalonia. Marc Márquez wrapped up the Practice session in fourth position, with Francesco Bagnaia twenty-first at the flag.

Márquez, who was third in Free Practice, got off to a good start in the afternoon session and made his way back to the top with 14 minutes left, eventually finishing fourth, only 0.139secs shy of today’s fastest lap-time. In what was an especially competitive Practice, Bagnaia ended slightly more than one second behind and will therefore be forced to partake in tomorrow morning’s Q1.

The Ducati Lenovo Team will resume proceedings tomorrow morning at 10:10 local time (GMT +2) for Free Practice 2, which will be followed by Q1 (10:50) and Q2 (11:15). The fifteenth Sprint of the season will be contested over 12 laps from 15:00.
Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 4th
“At tracks like this one, which is not among my favourites, the goal is to stay with the front group. The race here will be very long, but today’s time attack went well and that’s important. I need to improve riding-style-wise in the fast right-handers – where I’ve always struggled a bit – as the bike itself is already good as it is. We used the base set-up today, while tomorrow the team will help me with some minor adjustments to find more stability in the faster sections and help me be more consistent.”

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 21st
“Unfortunately, today we were quite far from a direct seed to Q2. The problem is that I can’t feel the bike underneath me and we need to understand why. I’m pushing hard and I always feel at the limit, and the bike is moving a lot – especially on corner entry and under acceleration. We surely need a reset and to try other ways so that we can get out of this situation, which is surely not a simple one. Let’s see how it goes tomorrow.”