BEZZECCHI TAKES POLE IN ARAGON AHEAD OF THE MARQUEZ BROTHERS, MARTIN ONLY 18TH IN FP1

MotoGP’s first practice at Aragon opened on Saturday at 10:45 local time with a reshuffled grid after Silverstone, and with several riders returning or standing in for others. Johann Zarco was back in MotoGP after a forced three-and-a-half-month break, riding a Honda, while Fermin Aldeguer also returned for Gresini. Ai Ogura missed the session after a Thursday motocross crash that required surgery, with Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori stepping in.

FP1 began with an early scare: Fabio Di Giannantonio crashed in Turn 3 after just over six minutes. His Ducati slid through the runoff for a long stretch before flipping into the gravel. Di Giannantonio was unhurt and was able to continue after a short interruption.

Marc Marquez set the early pace, going straight to the top and posting the first 1:47 lap around 12 minutes in, narrowly ahead of his brother Alex. Pedro Acosta was the first rider chasing him on the KTM, with the Aprilias arriving next in the order. Zarco’s comeback also looked encouraging: after a quarter of an hour he was already seventh and the fastest Honda rider on track. Speedweek noted that the gaps looked unusually large for a MotoGP session, with the top ten spread across just 1.6 seconds by the halfway point.

With about ten minutes left, only the Marquez brothers were able to get under 1:48. Marc Marquez led with a best of 1:47.532, Alex was 0.264 seconds behind, and Marco Bezzecchi moved into third but was already 0.657 off the pace. Rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu finished ninth as the leading Yamaha.

Acosta’s session ended with another yellow-flag moment. Five minutes from the end, he crashed in Turn 12 after the front washed out toward the exit. He tried to save it with his knee, but the fall was unavoidable. He stayed uninjured and sprinted back to the KTM garage.

In the final stages, several riders went for fresh-tyre runs. Jack Miller, Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins all entered the top ten, though they were about a second off the pace. The key fight remained between the front runners and the Aprilias. Marc Marquez’s 1:47.532 held until the final minute, when two Aprilias attacked and closed in. Bezzecchi surged to second late, while Raul Fernandez briefly led after three sectors but lost time in the last sector to finish just 0.035 seconds behind second.

The final top ten underlined how close the front was: Marc Marquez, Bezzecchi and Alex Marquez were all within 0.264 seconds. Acosta was fifth, 0.713 seconds back. Jack Miller, Franco Morbidelli, Di Giannantonio, Aldeguer and Quartararo completed the top ten. Zarco finished 11th, 1.117 seconds off, again the best Honda rider.

The biggest disappointment in FP1 came from the championship leader, Jorge Martin, who never found rhythm and finished 18th, 1.591 seconds behind the pace—last among the three Aprilia factory riders. Speedweek also reported Aprilia tested a new wing on the RS-GP’s hump during FP1.

Qualifying followed at 15:00. The usual Aragon format applied: 60 minutes, with only the fastest ten going straight into Q2 and the rest fighting for two remaining Q2 places in Q1.

In Q1, the first reference came from the Honda camp: Luca Marini set the first time under the lights at 1:46.2. Binder followed, then Bagnaia, Moreira and Mir. On the second timed lap, Bagnaia was the first to go under 1:46, with Diogo Moreira responding immediately to take second on 1:45.841. Pol Espargaro was also highlighted after an early attack that put him on P6.

With four minutes left, Bagnaia attacked again and improved to 1:45.820 to take best time. Moreira paid the price for an out-lap incident in Turn 2, going down, but still managed to secure second place and the remaining Q2 spot.

Q2 then began at 11:15 with 12 riders. Marc Marquez was the reference, but the Ducati couldn’t match his pace. Marquez broke the lap record on his first attempt, with the clock stopping at 1:45.136. Two minutes later, Bezzecchi produced the first 1:44 of the session, taking pole with 1:44.984. He then improved again to 1:44.962.

Marquez pushed hard in his second attempt, but was slower than Bezzecchi. Acosta used Marquez as a reference as well. In the closing phase, Acosta crashed in Turn 8, bringing out yellow flags. Marc Marquez still tried to salvage the lap with 18 seconds remaining, but in the third sector he went over the limit and ran wide; the front lost grip in Turn 14. He prevented a fall with his knee.

Bezzecchi’s pole was confirmed as the only sub-1:45 ride, with Marc Marquez 0.089 seconds behind and Alex Marquez third, 0.299 seconds back. Raul Fernandez led the second row as fourth, ahead of Jorge Martin and Pedro Acosta. The third row featured Fabio Di Giannantonio, Francesco Bagnaia and Johann Zarco, while Diogo Moreira, Fermin Aldeguer and Franco Morbidelli completed the fourth row.

Before the race weekend’s main action, FP2 also delivered a clear message about Aprilia pace. With sunshine and blue skies, the 30-minute FP2 session started at 10:10. Bezzecchi’s Friday best time (1:45.455) served as the benchmark. After ten minutes, Bezzecchi led on 1:46.761, with Diogo Moreira next and two KTM riders—Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder—close behind.

Ducati’s start was cautious: Marc Marquez was sixth as the best Ducati. Bagnaia struggled for much of the session, while Di Giannantonio only set his first time after halfway. In the final phase, fresh tyres shaped the order: Alex Marquez moved into second with a 0.030-second gap to Bezzecchi, and then Marc Marquez and Raul Fernandez posted sector bests with five minutes left. Marc took the lead on a medium rear, Fernandez went second on a soft rear, and Bezzecchi answered again on his final run to reclaim top spot with 1:46.216.

Speedweek reported that Bagnaia improved into the top five, signaling that some answers had been found. The FP2 result had Bezzecchi fastest, 0.232 seconds ahead of Marc Marquez, with Raul Fernandez, Pedro Acosta and Bagnaia completing the top five. Behind them were Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez, then Moreira, Binder and Morbidelli.

Jorge Martin’s day ended on a low note in FP2: the world championship leader was 12th. The fastest Yamaha was 16th, with Fabio Quartararo 1.273 seconds off the pace, followed by Jack Miller and Toprak Razgatlioglu.

The sprint is scheduled for Saturday at 15:00, with the Grand Prix on Sunday at 14:00.