Alex Marquez set the pace in Friday MotoGP practice at Motegi, edging out Pedro Acosta and his brother Marc Marquez in the late-session time attacks. The Gresini Ducati rider posted a 1m42.811s, just 0.076s ahead of Acosta and 0.100s clear of Marc. That time also broke the 2025 pole record set by Pecco Bagnaia on the resurfaced Japanese track.
For the championship contenders, Friday at Motegi went according to plan. Alex Marquez, Acosta, Marc Marquez, and points leader Jorge Martin all secured automatic Q2 berths. Martin, who had to use Acosta as a reference to ensure passage, ended up eighth. Meanwhile, defending Japanese GP winner Pecco Bagnaia could only manage 16th, the worst of the Ducati riders.
Behind Alex, Marco Bezzecchi was the lead Aprilia in fourth, followed by Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio, who navigated late yellow flags to vault into the top ten. Fabio Quartararo impressed as the top Yamaha in seventh, 0.419s off the pace but half a second clear of the next Yamaha.
The LCR Honda duo of Diogo Moreira and Johann Zarco completed the top ten. However, both crashed in the final minutes. Moreira tipped over in the Turn 5 gravel when effectively stationary, while Zarco took a hard knock after falling at Turn 14 while trying to keep up with Alex Marquez. Zarco narrowly made Q2, just 0.004s ahead of Fermin Aldeguer's last-second attempt.
The session was red-flagged early due to an apparent engine failure for Ai Ogura, which put oil on the track. Before the red flag, Alex Rins and Luca Marini had already crashed. Honda lost wildcard Taka Nakagami, who broke his collarbone in a highside on his first outlap in the morning, reducing Honda's roster to four riders.
Maverick Vinales, returning to action, was uncompetitive and ended up last, 2.025s off the pace. Stand-in rider Somkiat Chantra impressed in 19th, nearly a second faster than Vinales. The practice session offered a glimpse of the intense competition at Motegi, with the top riders already showing their speed ahead of qualifying and the race.
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