A wounded world champion roared back on Friday, Francesco Bagnaia lowering his own lap record in practice at Jerez for this weekend's Spanish MotoGP. The factory Ducati rider, champion in 2022 and 2023, won the opener in Qatar yet has subsequently fallen to fifth in the championship standings coming into this fourth round of the season.But the Italian sent out a warning to the pretenders to his crown by dominating Friday practice with a sizzling late lap of 1min 36.025 to better his own previous
The deal to play the tournament at the Sheffield venue expires in 2027.
The Antrim cueman faces John Higgins in a high-profile second-round clash at the Crucible.