MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez completed a clean sweep of Friday practice sessions at the Austrian Grand Prix, prevailing in a red-flagged second practice.
The session was suspended with 27 minutes left on the clock following crashes in quick succession for Fabio Quartararo and Miguel Oliveira and the track being checked for potential contamination.
Quartararo crashed at Turn 6, hurting his hip and groin as he fell off his Yamaha M1 - which stayed upright coming into the gravel trap before thumping the barriers.
Oliveira then crashed, in less dramatic fashion, at the same place just as Quartararo walked away from the gravel trap - prompting a stoppage for checks. Footage quickly confirmed that team-mate Jack Miller had ridden through that part of the track with a smoking engine, though the Pramac team said afterwards it did not believe the bike had put down any oil.
The qualifying portion of the session kicked off in earnest once it resumed after a wait of just under 20 minutes. And while Pedro Acosta initially broke the Ducati dominance at the front by tucking in behind Marquez and delivering a strong lap, Marquez returned to the track in the final minutes to reassert himself in first place.
One of Pecco Bagnaia's more competitive days this season ended with third place, 0.268s back from Marquez, while Alex Marquez was fourth on the Gresini-run 2024 Ducati.
Raul Fernandez was a spectacular fifth as the sole Aprilia representative in the top 10, as the Trackhouse team comprehensively outperformed the factory duo - with Marco Bezzecchi in particular labouring to get a clean lap together.
Jorge Martin was two places ahead of team-mate Bezzecchi, having had his first crash since his return - a Turn 9 off that sent his bike cartwheeling into the barriers - early on in the session.
Advancing to Q2: M Marquez, Acosta, Bagnaia, A Marquez, Fernandez, Mir, Morbidelli, Zarco, Aldeguer, Binder
Will contest Q1: Bastianini, Ogura, Marini, Quartararo, Di Giannantonio, Martin, Rins, Bezzecchi, Oliveira, Miller, Vinales*
*Vinales could withdraw
Joan Mir (Honda), Franco Morbidelli (V46 Ducati), Johann Zarco (LCR Honda), Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) and Brad Binder (KTM) took up the remaining available Q2 spots.
Enea Bastianini was the fastest rider to miss out on an automatic Q2 spot, despite having looked a potential frontrunner for much of the day.
Only one Ducati rider - Fabio Di Giannantonio - will be in Q1 on Saturday, while Yamaha was nowhere near getting any of its bikes into the top 10, with Quartararo quickest even despite his painful earlier crash.
Maverick Vinales' day ended after just six laps in the afternoon - he completed 16 in the morning - with a lack of strength in his injured left shoulder. A final call on his participation in the rest of the Austrian GP weekend will be made on Saturday.
