Opening practice for MotoGP’s 2025 Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi had a distinctly 2023\/24 feel to it as erstwhile title rivals Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin led the way.<\/p>\n
Bagnaia was on top for Ducati for most of the session, was briefly pipped by team-mate Marc Marquez – who has a good chance of wrapping up the championship<\/a> in Sunday’s main race – then went faster again to end the session on top with a 1m44.857s lap.<\/p>\n It’s the first time all year that Bagnaia has led a Friday morning session, but not the only time he has looked quick at some point during a Friday – only for things to go awry again almost every time as the weekend progressed.<\/p>\n But Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi insisted this time the breakthrough was real and the result of concerted efforts at the Misano post-race test, where Bagnaia reported he had worked mostly on weight distribution.<\/p>\n Reigning champion Martin’s focus in the Misano test had been single-lap pace – an area he has struggled since his Aprilia season finally began properly in July after his run of injuries. That Misano focus looked like it was paying off as Martin nipped between the factory Ducatis in the closing moments, 0.093 seconds slower than Bagnaia – though with the caveat that Martin was one of the few to run new tyres at the end, including a soft rear.<\/p>\n Turn 11, then Turn 5 \ud83d\ude31<\/p>\n Crash number two for Marco Bezzecchi \ud83d\udca5#JapaneseGP<\/a> \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5 pic.twitter.com\/J7DrJglfz3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MotoGP\u2122\ud83c\udfc1 (@MotoGP) September 26, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n Aprilia needed that from Martin after a morning in which his team-mate Marco Bezzecchi had crashed twice at different downhill right-handers, his first crash doing plenty of damage to his bike and happening almost simultaneously with a crash elsewhere on the track for Trackhouse Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez.<\/p>\n A rough start to the day for two Aprilias with @25RaulFernandez<\/a> and Bezzecchi crashing out early into FP1 \ud83d\udca5\ud83d\udca5#JapaneseGP<\/a> \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5 pic.twitter.com\/vX65Drzskg<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MotoGP\u2122\ud83c\udfc1 (@MotoGP) September 26, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n Two riders who really did crash simultaneously were VR46 Ducati’s Franco Morbidelli and Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller, who ended up very close together in the Turn 5 gravel after losing it seconds apart. Enea Bastianini crashed his Tech3 KTM elsewhere at the same time.<\/p>\n Separate crashes within SECONDS! \ud83d\udca5@Bestia23<\/a>, Franky and @jackmilleraus<\/a> have all gone down in quick succession \ud83e\udd2f#JapaneseGP<\/a> \ud83c\uddef\ud83c\uddf5 pic.twitter.com\/sgJkrvilas<\/a><\/p>\n