Marc Marquez asserted his dominance at the Misano circuit, setting the fastest time in the first free practice session (FP1) for the San Marino MotoGP 2026. The Spanish rider outpaced Marco Bezzecchi, who had initially led the session.
The 45-minute FP1 session was immediately marred by incidents. Jack Miller crashed early on, seemingly confused by the fall, though it was likely due to cold tires. Shortly after, Pedro Acosta also went down, but neither rider suffered serious consequences.
Marco Bezzecchi set the early benchmark with a 1:32.644, later improving to 1:32.025, leading Luca Marini, Alex Marquez, and Jorge Martin. Meanwhile, Marc Marquez was far from the front positions, taking his time to find his rhythm.
Midway through the session, Marc began his charge. He moved up to fourth, then briefly challenged for the lead. Johann Zarco, back on his Honda, surprised with a fourth-place effort, but Marc responded with a 1:31.680 to take first, nearly two tenths ahead of Bezzecchi.
In the final ten minutes, Bezzecchi fought back, setting a 1:31.647 and then a 1:31.528. However, Marc Marquez remained untouchable and finished the session on top. Luca Marini impressed with third on the factory Honda, followed by Jorge Martin and Alex Marquez.
This FP1 result sends a strong signal from Marc Marquez for the rest of the weekend. The battle with Bezzecchi is expected to continue in the next sessions as riders search for the optimal setup for the Misano race.
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