Ducati

The Ducati Lenovo Team wraps up opening day at Motegi in the top ten with Marc Márquez and Francesco Bagnaia third and seventh, respectively

The Ducati Lenovo Team tackled the first day of action at the Mobility Resort Motegi, the venue hosting the Grand Prix of Japan. Marc Márquez wrapped up the Practice session in third position, with Francesco Bagnaia in seventh place.

Márquez, who was also third in the morning FP, worked hard on the setup of his Desmosedici GP machine in the first half of the afternoon session. In his final quick-lap attempt, with the soft rear tyre, Marc climbed back from seventeenth to third at the flag. Bagnaia, who topped the morning’s timesheets, showed good form in the time attack and finished seventh, securing a direct seed to Q2.

The Ducati Lenovo Team will resume proceedings tomorrow morning at 10:10 local time (GMT +9) for Free Practice 2, followed by Q2 at 11:15. The seventeenth Sprint of 2025 will be contested over 12 laps from 15:00.

Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 3rd
“The feeling was a bit strange and I wasn’t riding in the best way, which made life more difficult for the engineers as we tried different solutions and ultimately lost our way a little. Then, in the second half of Practice, my riding started to improve and I understood my limit better, which was our main goal. The conditions changed a lot from one session to the other, as much as the bike’s behaviour did with different rear tyre options.”

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 7th
“We started the day in a good way by making the most of what we had tried in Misano. The feeling was quite good. I’m confident, so let’s see how it goes tomorrow, as it’s in the race where I’ve been struggling the most this year. With the grip increase, I expect a performance improvement by everybody tomorrow. Still, I’m happy with how today went.”

*********Johann Zarco claims Q2 spot at Motegi


CASTROL Honda LCR rider Johann Zarco finishes 10th in Friday Practice at Mobility Resort Motegi.

The Frenchman and his crew enjoyed a positive Friday at Motegi, testing different options to maximize performance. In the afternoon, during the decisive moments, changes on the bike allowed Zarco to climb, at some points, as high as second in the standings, showing both confidence and speed on Japanese soil. Fighting until the very last second of the session, Zarco delivered and crossed the line in 10th place, earning direct access to Q2 tomorrow.

Johann Zarco 10th
(1’43.734)

“I’m happy to secure Q2 on the last lap. I managed to do a good lap behind Jorge Martin. This afternoon I received a new package that works really well, although it’s different. It’s not easy to find the best setup straight away, but we had a good session and we’ll have more information tomorrow. I’m pleased to be in Q2, and we’re ready for tomorrow.”


**********It was a day of highs and lows for Prima Pramac Yamaha as the team tackled the first sessions of the Japanese GP, the 17th round of the MotoGP World Championship Following a strong opening free practice — Miller eighth overall and Oliveira tenth — the afternoon Practice session, crucial for direct Q2 access, proved more difficult. Both riders struggled to make the most of the soft rear tire when chasing a fast lap. Miller, after an initial attempt, suffered a small crash on his second run. Fortunately, he was unhurt, but the incident prevented him from improving his time. The day ended with the Australian in 20th position and Oliveira in 22nd, leaving both riders set to fight through Q1 in tomorrow morning‘s qualifying session, before tackling the 12-lap Sprint at 15:00 local time (8:00 CET).


GINO BORSOI
Team Director, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP

“The Practice session didn‘t go as we expected. In the morning‘s Free Practice 1 we performed well, and even on medium tires Jack set a very strong lap. We were confident about making it directly into Q2, but then he crashed at the start of what should have been his final attempt. We need to understand what happened, as it seems something didn‘t work properly with the front tire. Miguel also struggled: after a solid start, he couldn‘t fully exploit the bike‘s potential over a flying lap.”

JACK MILLER
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider“Honestly, I feel very good pace-wise. The first time attack was okay—I didn‘t get the best out of the tire because there were some vibrations, but I was confident. Then, when I went out for the second time attack, on the out lap I had Bezzecchi and Márquez in front of me. I wasn‘t going slow but not fast either, and then suddenly at Turn 5 it all went upside down. I‘m disappointed—I left a lot on the table. The bike was working well, but then there was this stupid I don‘t even know why crash. Tire temperature was fine, pressure was fine, I even braked a little earlier than the lap before, but midway through the corner I shifted to second gear and down she went. I was left scratching my head trying to understand what happened. It‘s a pity, because I felt we had a chance to make the top ten.”


MIGUEL OLIVEIRA
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Rider
“It was a difficult day. I had a good feeling with the bike, especially at the start of the Practice session, but during the time attack we really struggled with the grip balance. On top of that, I got two yellow flags with both tires, which didn‘t help. So, overall, it was a bit of a disaster.”

************11th - FERMIN ALDEGUER #54
“Pity for missing the direct seed to Q2, but I must admit that the feeling was excellent from the morning, despite the final position. We worked well in the afternoon, but I couldn’t put together the perfect lap. I lost at least a tenth at turn 11, and surely that is where I lost the opportunity for Q2.”

15th - ALEX MARQUEZ #73
“A strange day, with a track difficult to understand. From the morning, I wanted to work with the medium tyre to try and solve some little issues – until the crash happened. Then, with a soft tyre, we did quite well and the Q2 wasn’t too far off. This is my first Q1 of the season and we’ll make the most of it to understand the track better.”

***********Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP's Fabio Quartararo's drive for success was rewarded in today's Grand Prix of Japan Practice session. Going all out in the time attack, he secured eighth place and a direct spot in Q2. Álex Rins booked progress on the Friday at the Mobility Resort Motegi but missed out on a top-10 result in the afternoon session. He ended the Practice in 19th place, which puts him on the entry list for Q1.

Quartararo ranked sixteenth in the FP1 timesheets this morning after using up less-preferred tyre options, which meant the Frenchman could make a big step in the one-hour afternoon outing. He hopped right to it and clocked a provisional fastest time that allowed him to hold the top spot from 28 minutes into the session until there were only 13 minutes left on the clock. He was pushing hard, but a big moment lost him a hot lap and valuable time. El Diablo pulled off a great save and navigated his way out of the gravel trap to continue his quest. After an extra pit stop and some yellow flags, he had one more opportunity and took it with both hands. He secured eighth place with a 1'43.594s set on lap 26/26, to finish the day 0.401s from first.

Rins had finished the morning session in twenty-second place and spent most of the afternoon Practice tweaking the bike's set-up. The Spaniard showed great improvement in the final stages and briefly held a spot in the top 10. He continued to push in the very competitive time attack. In between multiple yellow flags, he managed to better his time but not his placement. His 1'44.013s, set on lap 18/21, saw him finish in 19th place, 0.820s from today's fastest 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+9, followed by the qualifying sessions from 10:50-11:30, and the 12-lap Sprint that starts at 15:00.

MASSIMO MEREGALLI
Team Director, Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

"Today we made the first steps forward at the Motegi track. We didn‘t start off on the right foot, but we were able to turn it around, showing good pace on both the medium and the soft rear tyres. Fabio was leading the session for a significant period of time. Though he had a big moment on one of his flying laps, he responded well and, after an additional pit stop, he still got a hot lap in despite various yellow flags in the final minutes. Securing a direct spot in Q2 after challenging Fridays in the two previous GP weekends is a positive sign. On the other side of the garage, Álex made steady progress throughout the day, focusing on set-up refinement. His final position does not fully reflect the improvements he made because he encountered yellow flags on all his hot laps towards the end, but the data he gathered today will help us prepare for tomorrow's sessions. Overall, the team remains focused on optimizing performance and consistency for both riders as we prepare for qualifying and the Sprint."

FABIO QUARTARARO
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
"The conditions were normal, I would say. This morning, we didn't want to use the right tyre, the medium. Everybody was on the soft and the hard to save tyres. For me, this afternoon was quite okay. I'm happy to be inside the top 10. It's better to be directly in Q2 on the Friday, because we know how difficult it is to go through Q1 on the Saturday morning. We will continue to work on pace consistency for this weekend. We are working a lot, and hopefully we can make a step."

ÁLEX RINS
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Rider
"It wasn't bad. At certain points during the Practice, I thought it was possible to maybe go through to Q2 because we were doing great. I was so close to the top, but in the end it was difficult. I was also missing some tenths because there were yellow flags on the second flying lap on the last tyre. I gave it my best. I improved on my best lap time here last year, so let's keep working to improve a little bit more. Let's see what we can do tomorrow."


************MARCO BEZZECCHI LEADS PRACTICE – JORGE MARTÍN THIRTEENTH AND WILL HAVE TO TAKE PART IN Q1

The first practice day at the Mobility Resort Motegi Circuit saw a strong start for Aprilia Racing. Marco Bezzecchi faced a tough FP1: first, he crashed in the opening minutes at turn 1, then had a second fall at turn 5 about 15 minutes from the end while on his second bike. Despite only completing a few laps in the morning, Bezzecchi demonstrated great confidence with the RS-GP25 during practice, finishing the session in first place and earning direct access to Q2.

After a strong FP1, where he finished second, Jorge Martín suffered two crashes during practice – the first at turn 5, then another at turn 7 – which greatly limited the time he had to improve his lap times. Martín finished the session in thirteenth place and will have to participate in Q1 on Saturday.

Raúl Fernández from the Trackhouse MotoGP Team also delivered a notable performance, finishing practice in ninth place and qualifying directly for Q2 alongside Bezzecchi.

bezzecchi:


The day didn’t start off on the best note, but we managed to turn it around. Leaving aside the two mistakes in the morning, I was confident and kept pushing because I felt a great connection with the bike. I’m very happy and want to thank all the guys on my team who did a great job fixing the bikes, especially the first one, which was quite badly damaged.

martin:


In the morning, I felt good, but in the afternoon, I lacked confidence with the front and crashed twice. The two crashes cost me a lot of track time, and by the time I rejoined, the time-attack was already underway, so I had to go out on a bike and setup I’d never tried before. Even so, in the first time-attack, I placed fourth, but during the second attempt, there were a lot of yellow flags. The feeling was positive nonetheless, and on Saturday we’ll try to take another step forward.

bonora


It was definitely a good start for Marco: despite two crashes in the morning, he regained confidence in the afternoon. He posted the fastest time of the session, showing a great feeling with the bike. Unfortunately, with Jorge, we couldn’t get him fully comfortable on the brakes, and after two crashes in the afternoon, he just missed out on Q2. We still have one more session to improve the setup before the sprint and the race.