Marco Bezzecchi stunned the field by outpacing the Marquez brothers in Friday practice for the MotoGP round at Misano. The Aprilia rider set a fastest lap of 1m30.144s, edging out Marc Marquez by 0.103s and Alex Marquez by 0.185s.
Bezzecchi showed his speed early on, briefly trailing Marc Marquez in the first session before bouncing back in the hour-long second practice. With laptimes improving by over a second compared to FP1, the Italian took full advantage of the rapidly evolving track conditions.
Behind the top three, VR46 Ducati duo Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli secured fourth and fifth. Morbidelli had a scare when his initial top-10 lap was deleted for track limits, but he managed a last-second improvement to secure his Q2 spot.
Pedro Acosta finished sixth for KTM, and for once he won't be the sole representative of the Austrian brand in Q2. Injury stand-in Pol Espargaro also booked his place in ninth, using Acosta as a reference ahead of him. Two Hondas also made the cut: Luca Marini and Johann Zarco.
Championship leader Jorge Martin narrowly avoided a title blow. Despite trailing teammate Bezzecchi by half a second, he snuck into the top 10 by just 0.016s over Enea Bastianini, keeping his Q2 hopes alive and avoiding a significant points setback.
Meanwhile, several big names will have to fight through Q1 on Saturday. Enea Bastianini, Raul Fernandez, Fermin Aldeguer, and two-time champion Pecco Bagnaia will all need to dig deep. Bagnaia once again looked out of sorts, adding pressure on Ducati to help the reigning champion rediscover his form.
This practice result signals a fiercely competitive weekend at Misano. Bezzecchi and Aprilia seem to have found a strong setup, while their main rivals must push harder to close the gap. Qualifying on Saturday will be the true test, especially for Bagnaia and Bastianini, who must first navigate Q1.
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