05:30
But Jorge Martin is on a charge, fastest in every sector he pulls 0.138s clear of Bezzecchi on his 7th lap.
Jorge
2023 MotoGP Thailand: Sprint Race - LIVE UPDATES
Reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia holds a 27-point lead over Jorge Martin heading into today's Sprint race at the Thai MotoGP, after the Pramac Ducati rider’s costly soft tyre gamble backfired on the final lap at Phillip Island last weekend.
Martin was back on top of the timesheets during Friday practice at Buriram, but only after 2022 pole qualifier Marco Bezzecchi had a faster lap cancelled due to yellow flags brought out by Martin's late fall.
Miguel Oliveira took his final victory for KTM in last year’s wet Buriram race, ahead of Ducati team-mates Jack Miller and Bagnaia, with Martin just ninth.
Wet weather is again a threat for all three days of this year’s grand prix weekend, but Friday was dry throughout and Saturday also dawned hot and sunny.
Alex Rins, who withdrew from Phillip Island due to ongoing pain from his Mugello leg fractures, will miss Thailand after undergoing further surgery.
05:29
Brad Binder grabs a front row back from Bagnaia.
05:29
Bagnaia goes 3rd and tows Marquez to 6th.
05:28
Bezzecchi goes it alone and snatches pole with 2mins to go.
05:28
And Marc Marquez is behind Bagnaia!
05:26
Bagnaia leaves the pits and then literally pulls over and stops his Ducati to avoid others following. But, as we've seen, riders can then do a slow out-lap to drop behind again...
05:25
Dorna's Jack Appleyard says Marc Marquez has a spotter on pit wall looking at when other riders leave to time a tow...
05:22
Mid-session tyre change, qualifying order so far: Martin, Bezzecchi, Binder, A.Espargaro, Quartararo, Bagnaia, Zarco, Vinales, Marini, A.Fernandez.
The Marquez brothers have sat out the early minutes of Qualifying 2 having already used one more new tyre in Qualifying 1.
05:21
Fabio Quartararo is confident of his race pace but desperately needs to qualify well given Yamaha's overtaking issues.
The Frenchman gets close to Bezzecchi's time, but Jorge Martin then blasts to a new all-time lap record with Brad Binder slotting into second.
05:19
2022 pole qualifier Marco Bezzecchi holds an early provisional pole but his 1m 30.1s is a few tenths off the 1m 29.7s by Alex Marquez in Qualifying 1.
05:16
Qualifying 2 is underway, will we see more towing games?
05:13
Qualifying 2 rider line-up:
Jorge MARTIN
Maverick VIÑALES
Aleix ESPARGARO
Johann ZARCO
Luca MARINI
Marco BEZZECCHI
Francesco BAGNAIA
Fabio QUARTARARO
Brad BINDER
Augusto FERNANDEZ
Alex MARQUEZ
Marc MARQUEZ
05:07
Alex Marquez jumps from 3rd to 1st on his last lap, riding alone, pushing team-mate di Giannantonio out of Qualifying 2.
Marc Marquez takes second and joins Alex in the upcoming pole position shootout.
05:05
Marc Marquez is still clinging to the back of Miller and it pays off. The #93 goes fastest in the tow, with di Giannantonio into 2nd.
05:03
Meanwhile, Raul Fernandez isn;t playing games and jumps to second place on his own, pushing Marc Marquez to 3rd.
Miller runs wide and backs off, Marc Marquez does likewise.
05:01
Miller pulls to the side and brings his KTM almost to a standstill. Almost every rider on track is now looking over their shoulder and riding slowly!
05:00
The final Qualifying 1 runs begin, Marc Marquez, Takaaki Nakagami and Pol Espargaro leave behind Jack Miller.
04:56
It's a Marquez one-two at the midway stage with Alex fastest from Marc (+0.166s).
04:54
With lap times so close this weekend, towing could play a pivotal role in qualifying.
04:50
The 15-minute Qualifying 1 session begins.
04:48
Qualifying 1 line-up:
Marc MARQUEZ
Franco MORBIDELLI
Jack MILLER
Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO
Pol ESPARGARO
Joan MIR
Raul FERNANDEZ
Alex MARQUEZ
Enea BASTIANINI
Takaaki NAKAGAMI
Miguel OLIVEIRA
04:41
Meanwhile, it's now an Aprilia one-two at the top with Aleix Espargaro now just 0.041s behind team-mate Maverick Vinales.
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