Francesco Bagnaia receives a welcome boost by leading opening practice for the 2025 Japanese MotoGP at Motegi.
The Ducati Lenovo rider finished 0.093s ahead of Aprilia’s Jorge Martin, who made a late switch to new rubber, and title leader Marc Marquez.
Marc Marquez gets his first chance to win this year’s world championship in Japan.
The Ducati Lenovo rider holds a 182-point lead over younger brother Alex and, while Marc can’t be crowned champion in the Sprint, he will wrap up his first title since 2019 if he holds an advantage of at least 185 points on Sunday afternoon.
Martin’s team-mate Marco Bezzecchi suffered two falls and had to sit out much of the session. Jack Miller, Franco Morbidelli, Enea Bastianini and Raul Fernandez also tested the gravel traps this morning.
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2025 Japanese MotoGP, Motegi – Free Practice (1) ResultsPosRiderNatTeamTime/DiffLapMax1Francesco BagnaiaITADucati Lenovo (GP25)1’44.857s14/17316k2Jorge MartinSPAAprilia Racing (RS-GP25)+0.093s16/18311k3Marc MarquezSPADucati Lenovo (GP25)+0.102s13/17317k4Fabio Di GiannantonioITAPertamina VR46 Ducati (GP25)+0.271s16/17316k5Luca MariniITAHonda HRC Castrol (RC213V)+0.302s13/18317k6Franco MorbidelliITAPertamina VR46 Ducati (GP24)+0.305s6/16313k7Pedro AcostaSPARed Bull KTM (RC16)+0.343s10/16317k8Jack MillerAUSPramac Yamaha (YZR-M1)+0.370s13/16313k9Somkiat ChantraTHAIdemitsu Honda LCR (RC213V)*+0.421s14/20311k10Miguel OliveiraPORPramac Yamaha (YZR-M1)+0.500s17/17313k11Marco BezzecchiITAAprilia Racing (RS-GP25)+0.515s3/7314k12Joan MirSPAHonda HRC Castrol (RC213V)+0.566s5/15316k13Johann ZarcoFRACastrol Honda LCR (RC213V)+0.642s15/17313k14Raul FernandezSPATrackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25)+0.643s3/13309k15Alex MarquezSPABK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24)+0.643s11/17316k16Fabio QuartararoFRAMonster Yamaha (YZR-M1)+0.660s11/16310k17Takaaki NakagamiJPNIdemitsu Honda LCR (RC213V)+0.831s11/16310k18Ai OguraJPNTrackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25)*+0.874s14/18311k19Brad BinderRSARed Bull KTM (RC16)+0.893s9/18315k20Fermin AldeguerSPABK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24)*+0.902s14/17314k21Maverick ViñalesSPARed Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16)+0.960s5/18316k22Alex RinsSPAMonster Yamaha (YZR-M1)+1.008s14/18315k23Enea BastianiniITARed Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16)+1.009s12/15313k
* Rookie
Official Motegi MotoGP Records:
Best lap: Pedro Acosta, KTM, 1m 43.018s (2024)
Fastest race lap: Jorge Martin, Ducati, 1m 44.461s (2024)
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Joan Mir and home rookie star Ai Ogura are back in action after missing the Misano test due to injuries in the San Marino race weekend.
HRC test rider Takaaki Nakagami, who injured knee ligaments when he was taken down at Brno, is the second home rider on track this weekend.
Ducati has won all five races held at Motegi since Marc Marquez’s 2019 victory for Repsol Honda, courtesy of Jack Miller (2022 GP), Jorge Martin (2023 Sprint & GP) and Francesco Bagnaia (2024 Sprint & GP).
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