Ai Ogura sets new lap record to lead afternoon practice in Brno

The afternoon practice at Brno kicked off with immediate action. The measured times started in the 1:54s range and quickly improved into the 1:53s with each new lap.

The riders were quickly making changes at the front, setting fast sector times with each attempt. The tyre configuration varied, as some riders chose both medium tyres, while others opted for a combination of medium and soft compounds.

So far, it was Marco Bezzecchi who took the lead of the session with a time of 1:53.080s. As always, the fastest top 10 riders will earn direct entry into Q2.

After 10 minutes of the session, the top 10 looked as follows: Bezzecchi, Di Giannantonio, Marc Márquez, Viñales, Ogura, Aldeguer, Acosta, Bagnaia, Miller, and Razgatlioglu.

Marc Márquez was the first rider to crash in this session. He crashed at Turn 11, bringing out a yellow flag for a short moment. While the Pramac Yamaha riders were both inside the top 10, the factory Yamaha riders were down in 18th and 19th place.

Álex Márquez, who had been cleared to race, was in 17th place. As it was, the riders chose to push early in the session and again towards the end. With 20 minutes into the session, there were only six riders on track.

The first rider to break into the 1:52s was Raúl Fernández, who had been just outside the top 10, and he moved into the lead of the session. Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta was pushed down to second place.

Another rider who found improvement was Luca Marini, who managed to move up to 8th place. Shortly after, Ai Ogura put in an incredible lap, attacking his teammate's benchmark. In the end, Ogura moved into the lead of the session, pushing his teammate down to second place. Marco Bezzecchi, who had just returned to the track, reclaimed the lead with a time of 1:52.275s.

With 20 minutes remaining, the top 10 looked as follows: Bezzecchi, Viñales, Ogura, Aldeguer, Fernández, Acosta, Di Giannantonio, Bagnaia, M. Márquez, and Marini.

With 16 minutes left, Pedro Acosta improved his time, taking the lead and breaking the lap record that Bezzecchi had set not long before. After he had finished his lap, his bike developed a technical problem.

Fabio Di Giannantonio started a brilliant lap, but he made a small mistake on the exit of a corner, costing him valuable time, and he moved into 3rd place. Shortly after, Francesco Bagnaia came close to breaking the lap record but ended up in 5th place, while his teammate Marc Márquez delivered an incredible lap, taking the lead of the session. He became the first rider to break into the 1:51s and set a new lap record.

With 10 minutes remaining, the top 10 looked as follows: M. Márquez, Ogura, Bezzecchi, Acosta, Aldeguer, Bagnaia, Di Giannantonio, Viñales, Morbidelli, and Fernández.

Fabio Di Giannantonio then put in a brilliant lap, beating Marc Márquez and taking the lead of the session. With three minutes left, the positions were changing rapidly. Shortly after, Marco Bezzecchi improved the time even further and returned to the top of the timesheets.

Ai Ogura surprised everyone by taking the lead of the session and breaking the lap record. With just over a minute remaining, Joan Mir crashed at Turn 7.

With the chequered flag out, the riders completed their final attempts. The top 10 finished as follows: Ogura, Bezzecchi, Di Giannantonio, Bagnaia, M. Márquez, Acosta, Mir, Moreira, Aldeguer, and Fernández.