Catch me if you can says World Championship leader Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) at the end of Friday’s running in Aragon. The #93’s 1:46.397 was plenty good enough to see him finish 0.204s clear of title rival Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), as Maverick Viñales sticks his Red Bull KTM Tech3 machine inside the top three to sit 0.556s adrift of Marc Marquez heading into Saturday.

How the race for a Friday top 10 played out
Heading into the pointy end of the session, Marc Marquez led the way by 0.4s over compatriot Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), with another KTM completing the provisional top three –Viñales. That four-tenth gap changed dramatically with just over 12 minutes to go as the #93 slammed home a 1:46.397 – a whopping 1.1s quicker than second place Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).

Acosta chopped the disadvantage down to 0.7s, with Alex Marquez the only other rider at this stage able to get within a second of the Championship leader. Simply sensational from Marc Marquez.

Viñales then joined the ‘within a second of Marc Marquez club’ with 10 minutes to go, before Alex Marquez climbed to P2 with a 1:46.907 – 0.5s away from his title rival and brother. And while a pair of Ducatis sat P1 and P2, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was P10 with eight minutes left on the clock – work to do for the double MotoGP title winner.

On his next run, Bagnaia clocked a 1:47.292 to briefly go P5, before Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) set his Friday best to go P4. Pecco did respond on his next lap though to climb back to P4, as Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) struggled - to put it politely - to find rear grip.

The back-to-back-to-back polesitter was P18 with just over a minute to go, and after losing time in sector three, there would be no improvement – Q1 beckons for El Diablo, a disaster of a day in Aragon for Yamaha in general.

Aragon’s automatic Q2 qualifiers
Behind the leading trio, Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) set a fantastic late lap to earn P4 and direct Q2 entry, that’s the 2020 World Champion’s best Friday result with HRC, as Acosta made it two KTMs inside the top five. Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) ended the day in a positive P6, and speaking of positive, Binder sails into Q2 in P7. That's three KTMs heading straight into Q2 for the first time since the 2024 Catalan GP.

Rookie Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) was another rider to leap into the top 10 towards the end of the session, the #54 was P8 ahead of Pecco and Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) – the latter the final Q2 qualifier on Friday.

A high-profile Q1
Aldeguer and Morbidelli’s final flying laps cost Silverstone winner Bezzecchi a top 10 place, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) also losing out late on. All five Yamahas, including Quartararo as mentioned, face the jungle that is Q1.The Yamaha Factory Racing Team had a productive first day of testing during the Grand Prix of Aragon Friday MotoGP sessions. Augusto Fernández set out to solely focus on analysing prototype parts in a premier class race weekend setting. He wrapped up the Practice in 17th place, putting him on the entry list for tomorrow's Q1.

After ending this morning's FP1 in a positive 15th position, the Spanish rider felt he had gotten into a good rhythm and would be able to gather more valuable data for the Yamaha Factory Racing Team in the 1-hour afternoon outing. Having completed 18 laps in the morning with a best time of 1'48.592s, Fernández went on to add another 20 laps in the afternoon. He clocked a 1'47.623s in the Practice, which put him in 17th place in the results, 1.226s from first.

The Yamaha Factory Racing Team will continue their testing programme during the Saturday MotoGP sessions: FP2 will be held from 10:10-10:40 local track time (GMT+2), followed by the qualifying sessions from 10:50-11:30, and the 11-lap Sprint, which starts at 15:00.

AUGUSTO FERNÁNDEZ
Yamaha Factory Racing Rider

"Today was not so bad in terms of pace and speed. I prepared myself well, thinking it was going to be difficult, but I am happy to be there in the mix. It's quite clear that Yamaha in general struggled with rear grip today. Here in particular we are missing the grip with new tyres because the track conditions are slippery. But I think that's why it's good to be riding and racing here as a test rider, because what we will discover this weekend will be good for the remainder of the season. I've tried a lot of things today, and there were a lot of different feelings on the bike because of that. It won't be an easy weekend, but it will be useful. For tomorrow we have more ideas, and hopefully we can find something for the Yamaha riders to be competitive."

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Pramac Yamaha

Complicated Opening Day in Motorland Aragon for Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team: Miller and Oliveira to Start Qualifying from Q1
The opening day at Motorland Aragon, host of the eighth round of the MotoGP World Championship, turned out to be more difficult than expected for the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP team. Both Jack Miller and Miguel Oliveira initially reported encouraging race pace, but once the soft tires were fitted for the time attack, they struggled significantly with electronic settings and the lack of grip offered by the Spanish circuit. By the end of the Practice session, Miller had to settle for 16th place, while Oliveira finished 20th. These results mean both riders will have to go through Q1 tomorrow at 10.50 a.m., in a bid to secure one of the two spots available for access to Q2 — and a shot at pole position. The Sprint Race is scheduled to begin at 3.00 p.m.


It wasn‘t the Friday the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP team had hoped for — a statement that could be extended to Yamaha as a whole. Unlike recent rounds where the YZR-M1 proved highly competitive both on single-lap pace (as evidenced by Fabio Quartararo‘s three consecutive poles) and over race distance, the layout of Motorland Aragon has proven challenging right from the start.

The track features a mix of medium-to-slow corners requiring strong acceleration from low speeds, and a long back straight where traction and a good grip are keys to harnessing all available horsepower. So far, these conditions have prevented the Prima Pramac Yamaha duo — and all Yamaha riders in general — from fighting at the front.

Jack Miller found a solid rhythm in race configuration during the morning session, consistently staying within the top 10. However, in the final moments of Practice, when switching to the soft rear tire to push for a flying lap, he struggled to extract performance. He ultimately posted a 1‘47”552, placing 16th. Miguel Oliveira, also battling grip issues, ended the session 20th with a time of 1‘48”290.

MotoGP – Aragon GP schedule:
Saturday: 10.10 Free Practice 2; 10.50 Qualifying; 15.00 Sprint Race (11 laps – 55,847 km)
Sunday: 9.40 Warm-up; 14.00 Race (23 laps – 116,77 km)

GINO BORSOI
Team Director, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP

“A tough day, I‘d say for pretty much everyone, and not the start we were expecting, especially considering the progress we‘ve made at recent tracks. We probably didn‘t manage to find the right balance in terms of bike setup, especially on the electronics side. We‘ll analyze all the data to understand what needs to be done to respond and recover. The soft tire definitely didn‘t help us, because if we look at the morning session, things were working much better. We‘ll make some changes ahead of tomorrow‘s qualifying and see where we end up.”

JACK MILLER
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider
"Not the best Friday, but also not the worst. Honestly, the bike felt really good until we put in the soft tires and lost the balance. I was only two tenths faster on the soft than on the medium — something just felt off. When I tried the medium-soft combo, I immediately had understeer. I thought it was the used front tire reacting to the extra grip from the new soft, but even in both time attacks, the problem was the same: the rear was pushing the front too much, especially in long corners, and I had a lot of understeer. On corner entry, the bike would snap and kick — I had a few big moments. It was hard to put together a clean lap, but I think we‘ve identified the issue and we will work to find a way to fix it.”

MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider
"The afternoon was very difficult. The bike behaved strangely during the time attack, especially on the electronics side, which seemed to be working in a different range. I kept highsiding in every left corner, with unusual sliding on entry. There‘s something big we need to change — particularly in the electronics — to get the bike working better in time attack mode. I never managed to put together a clean lap. We‘re suffering a lot with rear grip. This track has many long corners, and historically, the asphalt has always had low grip — which makes things even harder for us. It‘s not easy to work around this. I don‘t know how competitive we‘ll be, but for sure the bike will be better tomorrow.”


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Tech 3 KTM

The GoPro Grand Prix of Aragón kicked off under the heat of the desert on Friday at the spectacular and incredibly beautiful MotorLand track, with Maverick Viñales and Enea Bastianini both looking to bounce back from a tricky British Grand Prix. We saw Viñales stand out on the opening day of round 8/22, after the Spaniard took the third time of Friday’s practice to qualify for Q2. Clear steps forward were made on Bastianini’s side, after the Italian finished in 13th, just 0.258s from the top 10.

Maverick Viñales arrived at Aragón with a lot of optimism and eager to return to the rhythm he had in Le Mans. MotorLand has always been a track liked by ‘Top Gun’, and the positive past results of the KTM machine on the 17 turn-layout gave him an extra boost of confidence. Clear of his objectives, Maverick started this new campaign with a strong opening session on Friday morning, wrapping up FP1 in 5th with a 1'48.077 (+1.103). He maintained his consistency throughout the afternoon’s hot Practice under a boiling sun. If the first half hour was dedicated to working on the race pace and making adjustments on the bike, the second half was about trying to get those fast laps and the confidence in the tricky conditions, with very low grip. A 1'47.728 was the best of his first long run of 13 laps, which had him in the provisional top 10, until it was time to start pushing a little bit more. A 1’47.634 saw him move up to 3rd as just under 20 minutes remained on the clock, but he dropped down quickly with other riders also gearing up. Another improvement to 1’47.269 had him up again in 3rd, before he returned to the box for some final changes. While he was in the danger zone, Maverick pulled a brilliant 1’46.953, one that secured him the 3rd time of the timesheets behind Marquez brothers, and a direct Q2 ticket ahead of the qualifying. Encouraging day 1 for Viñales, who will look to continue keeping the consistency going on Super Saturday.

It was an encouraging day too for Enea Bastianini who completed his best Friday Practice of the season today, finishing in 13th of the Practice just 0.258 seconds off the qualifying spots. Arriving from a really tough weekend in Silverstone, Enea spent two important days in Austria at the factory earlier this week to work on aerodynamics and other key elements of the bike, with the clear goal to finally feel more comfortable on the RC16. Bastianini closed FP1 in 18th with a best in 1'49.163 (+2.189), in a similar scenario to the other Fridays. However, the crew decided to make some key changes on the front of the bike at lunch time, which somehow allowed Enea to gain stability on the bike. That allowed him to make some improvements, and most importantly finally start feeling a little bit better on his machine. As he took the 13th time of Practice with a 1'47.471, Bastianini has never been so close to the Q2 spots on a Friday, a noticeable improvement to highlight, and feed from as the squad is now heading to the preparations for a busy Saturday. The MotoGP™ class will be back on track on Saturday with FP2 at 10:10 (LT), followed immediately by the qualifying sessions, with Bastianini facing Q1, and Viñales already qualified in Q2. The Tissot Sprint will then start at 15:00 local time (UTC+2), for 11 laps.

Maverick Viñales: "The day has been very positive for us, because we’ve been consistent, with a good and promising rhythm all day, which is what we are looking for. We still have to find that little extra with my riding style, and to be more precise, which is going to be the aim of tomorrow for myself. We have 3 KTMs in Q2, which is a good sign for us looking at the weekend, so let’s just study the data, continue to work hard, and try to push a bit more on Saturday. I feel calm and focused on the objectives, so let’s continue!"

Enea Bastianini: "This morning felt a bit like every other session, so it was not the best start, but this afternoon we tried something new on the front of the bike, which I think worked well for us. From the first lap, I could improve, and today was the first time we had a real chance to go to Q2, and we need to be happy with that. I have felt a bit more stable on the bike, and I am aligned more or less with my teammates, so it is an important step. In Aragón, the low grip is very challenging and requires special management, so we will be monitoring this carefully, and try to look at Maverick’s data since he managed it well. Nice job today, but let’s keep pushing, and do better on Saturday."

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Fourth fastest Mir makes his mark on Friday in Aragon

One of just four riders in the 1’46s, Joan Mir stood out from the crowd on Friday to deliver on his and Honda HRC’s potential in MotorLand Aragon. Clear targets established for Saturday and Sunday.

A smooth first day for Joan Mir on the Honda HRC Castrol RC213V at the Aragon GP, going from strength to strength across Friday’s two sessions. Improving from a 1’48.293 in the morning to a 1’46.953 in the afternoon, almost a full second faster than his best time from Friday here in 2024, Mir put the hard work of Honda HRC and the Honda HRC Castrol team on display. Fourth fastest overall, this marks Mir’s best Friday result on the Honda RC213V to date as the #36 showed the speed and potential he and the team have been threatening all year. Consistent steps forward since the middle of 2024 have helped Mir to collect all the pieces of the proverbial puzzle.

With times so close, Honda HRC Castrol will have to continue their efforts overnight to be primed for Q2 on Saturday afternoon. A strong grid position will be crucial for the Sprint and the Grand Prix with MotorLand Aragon’s technical first sector. Mir is adamant of fighting for the top five.

Joan Mir
Fourth 1’46.953

“On TV you always see a final result, in the last three races we have been very close to this result and today we could put it together. What you also don’t see on the TV is all the work that happens. We improved the rear grip and the general feeling with the rear; it’s not a coincidence or a surprise – we knew that this result has been coming. I feel now that I have all the pieces of the puzzle and it’s our job to put them together, today we put a good section of the puzzle together. Now it’s time to maximise this start and deliver the best result we can when it counts - the top five is realistic, we will try.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>ALEX MARQUEZ #73
“The track today had less grip compared to last year. The feeling with this asphalt is even weirder than in 2024, which says it all. But we need to adapt and tomorrow, a positive qualifying result will be key. We had difficult race starts here last year, so being able to avoid them would already a first step towards a good result.”

FERMIN ALDEGUER #54
“Today was a challenging day, but we knew it was going to be a difficult one. Despite that, we made it into Q2, which was the goal. We’re getting closer to Marc step by step and we’re positive. We need to manage the front tyre well here and I believe we are all struggling with regards to this, but it’s clear that this is the area where to have to work on and gather experience from.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>CASTROL Honda LCR rider Johann Zarco finishes 6th on Friday at MotorLand Aragon, securing direct access to Q2.

From the opening session, Frenchman Johann Zarco demonstrated strong pace and consistency, quickly adapting to the demands of the Aragon circuit.
In the afternoon, changing track conditions made it more challenging to set a fast lap. Nevertheless, Zarco’s experience and focus allowed him to stay competitive despite not having the best feeling on the bike.
During the closing stages of the session, Zarco produced a strong lap that earned him direct access to Q2, a key advantage heading into tomorrow’s qualifying, as he looks to secure a strong grid position for the Sprint.


Johann Zarco 6th
(1’47.058)

"It was an interesting day. This afternoon, the track conditions changed, and I didn’t feel great on the bike. However, it’s good to have had that margin even in tricky conditions, that’s encouraging! The other bikes were struggling too, so that gives us a direction for tomorrow. I think our bike has some strong points, and we managed to do a good job. We’ll try to repeat it tomorrow, secure a good grid position, and be ready for the Sprint."

>>>>>>>>>>Aprilia Racing misses Q2 by just nine thousandths of a second at MotorLand Aragón

MARCO BEZZECCHI, ELEVENTH, AND LORENZO SAVADORI, NINETEENTH, TO GO THROUGH Q1

The first day of practice at the MotorLand Aragón Circuit proved to be a demanding one for Aprilia Racing. Both Marco Bezzecchi and Lorenzo Savadori will have to tackle Q1 in the hopes of going through to Q2.

Bezzecchi had started the day off in a promising way, finishing FP1 in third place and demonstrating a good feeling with the RS-GP25. In the afternoon session, which is the one that decides who will go straight through to Q2, the Italian rider maintained a competitive pace but missed the goal by a hair. Nine thousandths of a second kept him out of the top ten, so he’ll have to go through Q1 on Saturday.

Lorenzo Savadori took on a track where he had never before ridden a MotoGP bike. The Italian rider continued his development work on the RS-GP25, finishing the session in nineteenth place, so he’ll also have to go through Q1.
bezzecchi


I’d say that the day went well. My pace isn’t bad, and I felt good straight away with the medium tyre. However, it is true that I struggled a bit more in the final moments with the soft tyre, and that is something that has already happened on other circuits, including Silverstone. Here in Aragón, I struggled a bit more. It was harder to do a time-attack, I made a few mistakes, and I was unable to get in a clean ride. The positive part of being in Q1 is that we’ll have fifteen minutes more to work and that could be valuable for us. We’ll try to stay positive because there are still aspects which went extremely well.

savadori


We are continuing with the testing and, in fact, performance is improving because the solutions we’re trying are beginning to return concrete results. Hopefully, we’ll be able to let Marco test them soon too. I had only ever ridden in Aragón in 2018 with Superbike, so this morning I needed a bit of time to get my bearings. The bike is not doing badly, although we haven’t made a huge step forward with the soft tyres, so we still have work to do there. At the moment, the grip on the track is low.

bonora


We really got close to Q2 with Marco and that confirms that the feeling is there and that the pace is extremely good. It’s a shame about those nine thousandths of a second, but the base is solid and we can work well ahead of Saturday. The focus for Lorenzo remains development. Every session is a precious opportunity to gather information and continue growing the RS-GP25.


>>>>>>>>>The Ducati Lenovo Team wrapped up the opening day of action at MotorLand Aragón — the venue for the eighth Grand Prix of the season — with both riders inside the top ten. Marc Márquez topped both sessions, while Francesco Bagnaia ended Practice in ninth place.

Marc, who had already broken the 1’47secs barrier in Free Practice 1, continued to improve his lap times in the afternoon, with only his brother Alex able to close the gap in the final minutes. Bagnaia made progress in the latter stages of Practice to also secure a direct seed to Q2.

The Ducati Lenovo Team will resume action tomorrow at 10:10 local time (GMT +2) with Free Practice 2, followed by Q2 (11:15) and the 11-lap, eighth Sprint of the 2025 season, which will get underway at 15:00.

Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st
“The goal was to get a good start to this GP. This is a track where I normally feel comfortable and it looks like things haven’t changed this year. In any case, we had a good rhythm and did a great job in the time attack, so let’s see if we can keep the same level. Across the two sessions, the gaps have narrowed down, and I expect more of the same tomorrow. The goal is to qualify in the top two also because the inside part of the straight is quite dirty, which could represent an issue at the start.”

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 9th
“We managed to finish in the top ten, which was our goal. Race pace wise, we can battle for the podium and I felt good. In the time attack, after putting the fresh soft tyre at the rear, which was working well, I experienced a lack of confidence at the front, which was tucking a lot and cost me some speed. Thanks to the direct seed to Q2, we’ll have time to tackle this matter: the bike is moving a lot at the moment, and I cannot be as effective as I’d like and end up losing a lot of time in the second sector.”