Johann Zarco set the pace in Friday Practice for MotoGP’s Brazilian Grand Prix, while a mid-session rain shower caught out Aprilia star Marco Bezzecchi.
The delayed hour-long practice session at Goiania got off to a frantic start, as the entire field headed out of the pitlane on slick tyres amid fears of incoming rain.
Riders were forced to take early risks and crashes quickly followed, with Brad Binder, Jack Miller and home favourite Diogo Moreira all going down in sector two within the opening 10 minutes.
The first rider to break into the 1m22s barrier was 2024 champion Jorge Martin, who posted a time of 1m21.556s on the factory Aprilia.
However, he was immediately dislodged from the top spot by LCR Honda rider Johann Zarco, who went over a quarter of a second quicker with a time of 1m21.257s.
Later on, reigning world champion Marc Marquez climbed to second place on the factory Ducati, with Pramac rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu likewise putting together an impressive lap to grab third place.
Further improvements followed over the next 15 minutes, with the likes of Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) and returning Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini) breaking inside the top 10.
However, with around 35 minutes remaining, the rain intensified, leaving the track too wet for any meaningful improvements.
As such, Zarco remained at the top of the timesheets ahead of Marquez and Razgatlioglu, with Martin holding onto fourth to secure a direct passage into Q2.
Riders leaving the pit lane
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images
Championship leader Pedro Acosta led KTM’s charge in fifth place ahead of Alex Marquez (Gresini), Quartararo and Aldeguer. The top 10 was rounded out by Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Ai Ogura (Trackhouse).
Several leading riders, however, will have to go through Q1 on Saturday, as conditions failed to improve despite the rain easing later in the session.
The biggest causality was Thailand GP winner Bezzecchi, who finished the session down in 20th place – over two seconds off Zarco’s pace. The Italian went back out on track with 12 minutes remaining in a valiant effort, but was unable to improve on his previous time.
Fellow Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez was 21st, while Tech3’s Enea Bastianini propped up the field after failing to set a lap within the 107% threshold.
Moreira ended up 15th on the timesheets following his early crash at Turn 4, while Miller (12th) and Binder (17th) were also compromised by incidents. Franco Morbidelli also stopped on track after missing a pitboard and running out of fuel.
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