BEZZECCHI LEADS APRILIA ONE-TWO IN MOTEGI FP2 AS BAGNAIA FACES Q1

Pedro Acosta’s second place at Motegi reinforced his strong start to the Japanese Grand Prix weekend, with the KTM rider continuing the progress that followed his maiden MotoGP victory in Austria. He was also chasing a second win, while Friday’s running suggested Ducati had an early edge over Aprilia.

Conditions were far from ideal in FP1, and Acosta finished 10th, almost a second off the pace, but as the fastest KTM rider. He improved substantially in the afternoon’s Practice session, briefly setting a lap record of 1m 42.887s before Alex Marquez went faster. Acosta finished between the Marquez brothers, 0.076 seconds behind Alex and 0.024 ahead of Marc.

Acosta was pleased with the bike’s base set-up. “I’m really satisfied, because it seems we’ve found a very good base,” he said. He added that the feeling was closer to what he had experienced at Motegi in 2024. Last year, high tyre wear cost him positions late in the race; this time, he said, “the bike is kinder to the tyres.”

Recent results include second in Aragon, third in Misano and victory at the Red Bull Ring, but Acosta played down title talk: “If possible, always finish in the top five and get as many podiums as possible. That’s the only plan.” His Austrian win lifted him to fourth in the championship.

Saturday’s final practice put Aprilia at the front: Marco Bezzecchi led teammate Jorge Martin by 0.080 seconds, with Acosta third, 0.180 off the pace. Bezzecchi was fastest using a fresh medium front and an older medium rear; most of the other top-ten riders used medium fronts and soft rears. The session was briefly stopped after Franco Morbidelli’s engine failure left fluid on track.

Marc Marquez was fourth, while Pecco Bagnaia improved to 12th but remained outside the top ten. Bagnaia, Ai Ogura and the other riders who missed Friday’s top ten must go through Q1. Alex Marquez’s Friday lap of 1m 42.811s remains the Motegi record.