It was an emotional opening day for the Motul Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona. Organizers raised money by flying banners for victims of the floods that forced MotoGP to move the race scheduled for Valencia to the Sector de Barcelona-Catalunya. It was emotional for three MotoGP riders – Augusto Fernandez, Takaki Nakagami and Aleix Espargaro – who were racing for the last time in their careers.
Francesco Bagna, undefeated and title holders, pushed hard and finished the final practice session on top. As the temperature dropped towards the end of the day, championship leader George Martin tried to respond as title rival Bagnaia pulled away quickly. Martin pushed his front end and almost fell, saving a front-end slide that left his feet on the pegs.
Takaki Nakagami (30) started his final weekend as a MotoGP racer by going fast in the first practice session. Photo by Michael Goggis.
Honda had a surprisingly good day in Barcelona. Not only did Takaki Nakagami lead the first practice session, Johannes Zarco (5) led most of the second session and eventually finished fourth. Photo by Michael Goggis.
Alex Espargaro (41) He was third at the track where he won in 2023 and finished 1-2 in MotoGP. Photo by Michael Goggis.
Jorge Navarro (9) of American Racing Team Calex finished Friday’s practice outside the top three in Barcelona after finishing second in the Moto2 race in Malaysia. Photo by Michael Goggis.
A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales for the Barcelona match will go towards flood relief efforts in the Valencia region. Photo by Michael Goggis.
Organizing a MotoGP event is a huge undertaking. With just days left to prepare for the race in Barcelona, ​​MotoGP staff on Friday were still putting in the promotional and information materials needed for the weekend. A big printer here at the MotoGP print shop in Mobile produced a poster for an auction to raise money for the Valencia flood victims. MotoGP will move a large-scale printing facility to all European races and a scaled version will be flown to overseas events. Photo by Michael Goggis.
