Marquez 1-2 as Alex pips Marc, Bagnaia faces Q1 after late drama
A hectic end to a frantic Friday: Pecco in Q1, Honda shine, Ogura straight through as top rookie in P9... and all five manufacturers in Q2
Friday, 28 February 2025

Day 1 of roasting hot action from Thailand has concluded and an electric opening day gives us plenty of topics to get stuck into. The 25th different venue to host the season-opening Grand Prix, the nerves and anticipation of a new season quickly turned into storylines and chapters for the remainder of the PT Grand Prix of Thailand. Coming out on top and breezing into Q2, it was Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP™) ahead of brother Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) at the top, with sophoore Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) up in third.

STARTING STRONG: Marquez with company in Practice, Honda strong again
Swiftly underway, it was Marc Marquez and Acosta who exchanged places at the top of the standings in Practice. Having come into the session off the back of a rapid FP1 and Buriram Test, the six-time MotoGP Champion’s venture in red is off to a mighty start but he has close competition. Not only was Acosta strong but the Honda entourage were right in the mix, with Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) climbing to P1 with 20 minutes left. Elsewhere, Honda HRC Castrol riders Luca Marini and Joan Mir continued their FP1 form and were third and fifth respectively heading for the time attacks that awaited in the final quarter of an hour. With less than a second splitting the top 15, an epic crescendo was building to close of the first day of 2025’s season.

With all riders seeking to snatch a top ten placing and go directly into Q2, the pace dropped in the final 15 minutes as Acosta returned to the top before Marquez, like previously at the start of the session, wrestled it back. Brother Alex Marquez followed the #93 to P2 with ten minutes remaining on the clock, whereas Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) briefly popped ahead of Francesco Bagnaia, leaving the Italian out of the crucial top ten but the #63 struck back, moving into P9.

PECCO’S PROBLEMS: a Friday to forget in Thailand
The clocked ticked down and soon, the last five minutes were upon the field, all riders still with a point to prove and get their place locked in for Q2 on Saturday morning. However, yellow flags and riding slowly on the racing line would hamper Pecco – both on separate occasions. First, yellow flags halted a first charge to improve his lap time. With a couple of minutes to go, other riders improved, leaving the double MotoGP World Champion out of the top ten. Then, on his final flying lap, he encountered Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) on the exit of Turn 5 going slow on the racing line and that was that. The two gesticulated on track with a clear disagreement and the FIM MotoGP Stewards decided to investigate. The result? A 3-place grid penalty for Morbidelli. And Bagnaia’s 13th place in Practice leaves him angry in Q1 for the first time since Valencia in 2023.

DIRECTLY INTO Q2: a different Marquez takes hold
As the two Italians took the limelight, a myriad of improvements elsewhere: Alex Marquez beat brother Marc to top spot as both booked a place in Q2, ahead of a rapid and competitive Acosta who is the sole KTM representative directly into Q2, Bezzecchi – despite his fall – and Morbidelli.

Honda’s strength was clear once more as for the first time since 2023’s Indian Grand Prix, two go straight into Q2 from Practice: Mir in P6 and Zarco in P9. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) took eighth but suffered late drama with his bike being wheeled onto the service road after the chequered flag. Top rookie honours went to an impressive Ai Ogura, becoming the third Aprilia in Q2 directly in P9 after teammate Raul Fernandez’s last lap charge to P7. For the first time since Indonesia in 2023, all five manufacturers are into Q2 straight from Practice.

BIG NAMES OUT: Viñales, Binder and Miller join Bagnaia in Q1
As ever, Q1 will be hotly contested but with Pecco in contention, there’ll be plenty of names aiming to get their first big scalp of the season. Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) seems to have found pace but Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) struggled; either way, both are in Q2, along with Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP™) who suffered a Turn 12 fall early on.

In his comeback day after injury, Di Giannantonio was P15 ahead of Marini who didn’t feature in the final minutes in contention for a top ten. Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™, Miguel Oliveira (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP™), Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech 3), Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP™), home-hero Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU LCR Honda) and Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing) all feature in Q1. Chantra also has a grid penalty of three positions for also slowing Alex Marquez.

With 18 riders covered by less than a second, Sprint Saturday awaits: don't miss more MotoGP action!Second place Marc Márquez and the Ducati Lenovo Team in Buriram Practice. Francesco Bagnaia is thirteenth


Alex Márquez the quickest rider on Friday aboard Gresini Racing Team’s Ducati machine


The Ducati Lenovo Team has completed the opening day of action for the 2025 MotoGP World Championship at the Buriram International Circuit in Thailand. Marc Márquez was second in today’s Practice, while Francesco Bagnaia finished the afternoon session in thirteenth position and will therefore be forced to partake in Q1 tomorrow.

Márquez displayed an excellent feeling with his Desmosedici GP #93 machine from the get-go, as he topped the Free Practice timesheets. In the afternoon session, Marc was in first place until the final moments, when he was leapfrogged by his brother Alex by only 52 thousandths of a second.

Bagnaia worked thoroughly on the set-up of his Ducati #63 machine throughout the two sessions and opted for the harder compound tyre at the front-end also for the time attack. In the latter stages of Practice, one of Pecco’s quick lap-times – which was worth of a top ten finish – was cancelled due to the yellow flags being deployed and was held back by an opponent in his final attempt before the chequered flag.

The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action at 10:10 local time (GMT +7) for Free Practice 2, which will be followed by Q1 (10:50) and Q2 (11:15). The first sprint race of the season will get underway at 15:00 and will be contested over a 13-lap distance.

Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 2nd
“I’m happy with how today went; I wasn’t expecting my ‘first day at school’ to be like this. We had a good Friday; we stayed focused and we’re happy. We tried all the tyre combinations available as the feeling is different compared to the we had, so we need to have a clear picture of what we need for the sprint race as well as for the Sunday encounter. It’ll be crucial to qualify on the front row, with a podium-finish being the minimum target.”

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 13th
“It was a positive day, because we kept improving throughout the two sessions. This was clear in Practice, as we were very fast with used tyres and only one tenth away from the quickest rider – marc. Unfortunately, the last twelve minutes were quite unfortunate; we started the time attack a bit late and we were a bit tight. We got our lap-time cancelled in our second attempt, one that would have translated into a direct seed to Q2. Now we need to focus on doing well in Q1 and then aim at a front-row start.”
This is it, the MotoGP™ bell has rang the start of the 2025 World Championship on Friday at the Grand Prix of Thailand, host to the season opener for the first time! The chase for the crown officially started, and Friday set the stage for 22 exciting rounds around the world. Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini began their new adventure on the RC16, and respectively closed day 1 in 11th and 19th.

Eager to get things started for real on his new RC16 after leaving Buriram test on a positive note, Maverick Viñales launched his 10th season in the premier class this morning as he was one of the first on track when Free Practice 1 began. With the test not so far behind, the Spaniard settled back pretty quickly into a decent rhythm, to finish the opening session of the season in 9th with a best lap in 1’30.385. Track conditions became more and more difficult with extreme heat and a scorching sun awaiting the premier class for the first Practice of 2025. While the first half hour was about race pace preparation, the final 30 minutes were minitiously prepared, with a series of time attack-runs with different bike’s settings. Top Gun ended up with a late improvement to 1’29.681, but that was just 0.073 seconds too short of the top 10. As he finished in P11, Viñales will have to go through the pre-qualifying stage on Saturday morning, as he hopes to qualify to Q2.

Enea Bastianini’s start on the RC16 was somehow a little bit more timid than his teammate, but the Italian started his Thai GP campaign at his own rhythm. He continued his adaptation after six days of preseason, and the best of his 17 laps in Free Practice 1 was a 1’30.722, just behind KTM fellow Brad Binder, and 1.299 seconds from the top. In the afternoon’s Practice, his first with a different manufacturer since his arrival in MotoGP™, Enea Bastianini continued to look for improvements to prepare the race, as well as the time attack-sequence to come. He came in with a late 1’30.165, his fastest lap of the day, and finished in P19, a bit more than one second from today’s fastest, Alex Marquez. He will join teammate Viñales in Q1 at 10:50 local time (UTC+7). We’ll be back just before with Free Practice 2 kicking off at 10:10. After the qualifying sessions, lights will go out for the first time of 2025 at 15:00 with the Grand Prix of Thailand’s Tissot Sprint (13 laps).

Maverick Viñales: "Oh my god, I was so close! To be honest, I arrived this weekend with an open mind, to just enjoy and trust the process. I feel quite optimistic for the following days, because I saw more potential today. At the moment, I am not looking too much at the results, I am focusing on how I do things, if I do them well and in a positive way. The way I use the front brake is coming much better, more naturally now, so to me this is an improvement on the tests, and I feel like we are going to keep improving ourselves if we continue with this mentality."

Enea Bastianini: "Today has not been easy, in the continuity of the winter tests, to be honest. I made many mistakes during my laps, and you lose a bit of confidence when you try to go for the time attacks. At the moment, our mentality is to keep working, keep improving, as the feeling is not good. As long as we are not feeling confident, it will be difficult for me. Today, I found it difficult to close the corners while braking, especially the last one. Being able to improve this is really important, so we are working on it. Let's continue working, and we will see how today goes."Mir impresses with sixth overall and a Q2 ticket

Hot temperatures and even hotter laps were the order of the day as the 2025 MotoGP World Championship season got underway, Honda HRC Castrol starting with their best foot forward as Joan Mir and Luca Marini consistently challenged at the front.

The much-anticipated return of MotoGP action finally arrived at the Chang International Circuit as the Thai GP commenced. Still fresh from testing in Thailand just under two weeks ago, the Honda HRC Castrol team went straight to work to pick up where they left off on their Honda RC213V machines. A positive day for the pairing of Joan Mir and Luca Marini as the duo were able to fight for the top ten and continue improving their speed, demonstrating that testing was no one-off.

Having taken the most positives from the pre-season, 2020 MotoGP World Champion Joan Mir was eager to make the next steps and show his speed in racing conditions. A strong day, able to build and improve on each exit out on track, would see Mir finish sixth overall with a best time of 1’29.398 and earn himself a ticket directly into Q2. This is Mir’s first trip directly to Q2 since the 2023 Indian GP where he went on to finish fifth in Sunday’s race. With this, Mir is guaranteed a spot on the front four rows of the grid but has already shown the speed to battle for more. Having often struggled for one-lap pace in 2024, Friday’s result already demonstrates the improvements he and the team have made over winter.

0.2s from the combined top ten in the end, Luca Marini spent the majority of Friday in close contention to his Honda HRC Castrol teammate. Ultimately setting a best lap time of 1’29.787, the #10 would end the day in 16th with his true potential masked. Yellow flags on his final flying lap restricted Marini from maintaining the position inside the top ten he had held for most of the session. The Italian is unphased by the lower-than-expected position, aware that he and his team have margin to improve overnight to match the speed of Mir. Marini also remains confident of coming back stronger in both the Sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix.

He will certainly be one of the riders in contention during Q1 on Saturday, his objective to join teammate Joan Mir in Q2. Both will then have their first experience racing in Honda HRC Castrol colours when the 13-lap Sprint Race begins at 15:00 Local Time on Saturday.

Joan Mir
Sixth 1'29.398

“This result means a lot for me and for the whole team. We have to be happy about this result and how the day has gone. We have had a hard time these past two years and this is a result of never giving up, it’s only something small but it is a boost to everyone in the project. I am able to ride as I want, braking hard, carrying corner speed and this is the result. We still need to work on some areas to close the gap to the others, but I think that we can continue in this way during the weekend and keep making progress in the next races.”

Luca Marini
16th 1'29.787

“A really positive day overall. We lost a little bit in the last moment with the yellow flag in our final run, but it happened to many riders. Until that moment we were always in a good position, our pace looks good, and the objective is to move to Q2 tomorrow – but it will be a big fight! I think we have some advantages which will help us in the Sprint and especially on Sunday so I am optimistic for the rest of the weekend, excited to see what we can do and to show the progress we have made.”ALEX MARQUEZ #73
“To finish ahead of the field is a motivational boost for everyone, but it surely wasn’t our best day on the track. We struggled both in the morning and in the afternoon, as we tried to improve the bike compared to testing with some new set-up adjustments. In the end, we retraced our steps and got back to full speed. Marc looks like he’s from another planet here, and we’ll try to work to be as close as we can to him. The bike works well here, and we need to be solid already from tomorrow. It was a good Friday, but no points are awarded today.”

FERMIN ALDEGUER #54
“It was a very hot day and there was a bit of tension. I’m relaxed as the final result doesn’t really reflect our work. We were on track almost exclusively with used tyres, we worked well on our race pace, and we have a good base set-up for the race. Surely, we need to improve in the time attack, even though we have a mitigating circumstance: Bezzecchi crashed in front of us during our time attack and a yellow flag situation also made things complicated this afternoon. It won’t be easy tomorrow with Bagnaia in Q1, but we’ll give our 100%: it’s key to start close to the front.”RAUL FERNANDEZ

“I’m really happy. A nice bike is a fast bike! We should speak to Gulf and ask if we can do the whole season like this because it was really good for Ai and me. It was a really positive day. We need to improve more as I didn’t extract 100% of the potential of the bike - I still need to understand the bike better and we are still in the process. I lost three days of testing in the preseason, which made it harder, but I’m here and happy to be in Q2. Tomorrow we have another opportunity to continue to understand the bike and there are two or three corners in which I still want to work to get closer to Ai and Marco (Bezzecchi). But we are in Q2, this is important for the team and important for me personally. It wasn’t an easy month, but I was lucky to be back at the test and here now.”



AI OGURA

“That was a good surprise to be straight into Q2 today. Overall, the feeling on the bike was great. It’s my first MotoGP weekend, my first Friday in this class and I think we can be super happy about today. Surely, the two days of testing here helped me as a rookie, maybe it’s going to be more difficult at another circuit. But the result is the result and I’m really happy about it. There are many more places to improve, even when my lap time was ok today, I was not riding consistently, so we will work on that. For tomorrow, I don’t have any expectations, just racing.”



DAVIDE BRIVIO - TEAM PRINCIPAL

“Today has been an exciting day, starting this morning with our new partnership with Gulf and this iconic color. We are so proud to represent them. We had an exciting morning and then I have to say, we had an exciting afternoon as well. It’s only Friday, it’s only practice, but to see both of our guys in the top 10 and three Aprilia’s in the top 10, we take it as a positive sign – a good start. Congratulations to both of our riders - Raul was in difficulties until the end and then he managed to do a great lap to secure a top 10. Ai did a great job and I think he surprised many people. We can be very happy today so, let’s try to keep going and hopefully have a good weekend and a good race tomorrow.”The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team started the 2025 MotoGP season today with two Friday sessions. Fabio Quartararo showed good pace at the Chang International Circuit and secured 8th place and a direct Q2 spot in the Grand Prix of Thailand Practice session. Álex Rins struggled to challenge for a top-10 result. He was unlucky to encounter some yellow flags during his time attack and ended the Practice in 17th place, which puts him on tomorrow's Q1 entry list.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo had a productive start to the 2025 MotoGP championship challenge. He began the Grand Prix of Thailand showing good pace in the two sunny Friday sessions. He finished the Practice in 8th position, earning a place in tomorrow's Q2. Álex Rins noticed progress but still ended the afternoon session in 17th, which means he will take part in tomorrow's Q1.

Quartararo had a good FP1, which he wrapped up in third position. It left him feeling confident that he could also compete for a top-10 placement in the sweltering afternoon session. The Frenchman started his time attack in the final 15 minutes and briefly secured third place before the competition upped the ante. The Yamaha man found himself in eighth place as he made a quick stop. He then dug deep and went on to clock a 1'29.485s on lap 23/27, which again temporarily placed him third. Though some rivals managed to put in hot laps between yellow flags, the number-20 rider's efforts proved to be good enough. He finished in 8th place, 0.465s from first.

Rins had finished FP1 in 15th place and was determined to find an improvement during the afternoon session. In hot conditions, the Spaniard prepared for the all-important time attack at the end of the Practice session. The number-42 rider hit some yellow flags when he was pushing, causing his 1'29.798s lap to get cancelled. But he rallied and dipped under the 1'30s mark once more with a 1'29.982s, posted on lap 24/24. It saw him in 17th position in the Practice classifications, 0.962s from today's best time.

The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action tomorrow for the Saturday MotoGP sessions: FP2 will be held from 10:10-10:40 GMT +7, followed by the qualifying sessions from 10:50-11:30, and the 13-lap Sprint that starts at 15:00.
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MASSIMO MEREGALLI
Team Director, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
We have officially started the 2025 season, which is something Yamaha, our team, and Pramac have worked towards for a long time. We had hoped for more consistent results within our team today, but the extreme heat created some variables. Fabio made a good start this morning, and that helped him enter the afternoon time attack with a fighter's mentality. He did a good job, and it earned him a place in tomorrow's Q2, achieving his target. Álex was a bit unlucky encountering some yellow flags when he was on his second time attack. He was in a good rhythm and a good spot at the time but was forced to briefly stop pushing. In the end, his best lap and also a better lap that was cancelled due to yellow flags were both under the 1'30s mark today, showing he too is making progress. However, he is still searching for something that helps him shave off the 0.4s he's missing. The team will gather all of today's data and compare it to the testing data to find something for tomorrow. We are very curious to see what the Saturday Sprint and especially Sunday's Race will teach us. Those two sessions will reveal our current level, and we will determine how to proceed accordingly.

FABIO QUARTARARO
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
I think that we achieved our goal. We expected to be more or less in this position. We know that getting into the top 10 on the Friday and securing a place for Q2 is quite difficult, but we got it done. We can be quite happy about today's Practice. Last year I qualified in P6 here, but that was coming from Q1. Now I'm already in Q2, so I think that will be a big help for tomorrow. We want to improve step by step. The goal for tomorrow is to fight for the second row and then fighting for the top 9 would be nice.

ÁLEX RINS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
Today we did some good work, especially considering where we were before. It doesn't show in my position though. I did a 1'29.7s but then there was a yellow flag, and then on the last lap I ran wide in Turn 10-11, and I lost a lot. Even like this, a 1'29.9s was acceptable. The day started in a difficult way. I struggled to find rear grip and traction, but when we switched to the medium, it was 0.7s faster. So, we are now analysing it. I'm looking forward to tomorrow, when we will continue our work.GINO BORSOI
Team Director, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
“It was a rollercoaster Friday in our debut as the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team. In the morning, I was very pleased to see how both Jack and Miguel immediately showed great potential, consistently setting fast lap times. However, in the afternoon, they both struggled more than expected. We know that as temperatures rise, our bike suffers more with rear grip, and we are working closely with Yamaha‘s engineers to address this issue. It‘s unfortunate that Jack had that small crash during the Practice session, as I am convinced he could have made it into the top 10 and secured a spot in Q2. As for Miguel, he faced grip issues in the afternoon that significantly affected his performance. I am looking forward to tomorrow‘s Q1 because I believe we have the potential to get at least one rider into Q2. We are aware that while our race rhythm is quite good, time attack is an area where we need to improve. But the positive takeaway is that, session after session, we continue to make progress in enhancing the bike‘s competitiveness.”

JACK MILLER
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider
"The first Friday of the year is done. It wasn‘t bad, but it could have been a little smoother. The feeling was pretty good in the morning, and the balance felt slightly different compared to when we were here for testing. The right-hand side of the tire seems to be working better this week, which was a pleasant surprise. The small crash during the Practice session didn‘t help. The bike was working well, but we seem to struggle a bit more as the temperatures rise. When you try to stop the bike, you lose some front-end support. I locked it up a little too much, and down I went. Apart from that, I did my time attack alone, but then I encountered some yellow flags a couple of laps in a row, which didn‘t help my cause. I was close today, and hopefully, things will go the right way tomorrow.”


MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider
“I felt better in the morning than in the afternoon. We started the Practice session with the tyres we had finished the FP1, but for some reason nothing was working. We checked if it was because of the tyre – we were using the medium rear -, because the grip balance of the bike was a bit off, then we had two time attacks. Anyway, not the best day, even if the feeling on the bike was better than in the test, but we need to look at everything to see what we have to adjust for tomorrow and try to be faster. We know it‘s going to be tricky, especially if we want to use the soft rear not only for the Sprint, where I am not expecting any problems, but also for the race. In a heat like this it‘s going to be a challenge, here we have a lot of long braking points, and when you start to get a bit tired it‘s easier to miss those braking points. So, the key for the race is going to be consistency, trying to save some energy for the second part of the race.”