Alex Márquez sets a new circuit record at Motegi – a red flag following a mechanical issue for Ai Ogura brings the session to a halt
Alex Márquez (Gresini-Ducati) has set the fastest time in practice for the Japanese Grand Prix. The Spaniard not only clocked the fastest lap time at Motegi in 1:42.811 minutes but also set a new circuit record, relegating Pedro Acosta (KTM) and his brother Marc Marquez (Ducati) to second and third places.
Friday afternoon’s practice session took place in sunny weather and at higher temperatures than during the first free practice session. The air temperature was 23 degrees Celsius, whilst the track surface warmed to 34 degrees.
Ogura causes red flag due to technical fault
The session was interrupted after just eight minutes. A technical problem arose with Ai Ogura’s (Trackhouse-Aprilia) Aprilia: smoke began to rise from the bike. The Japanese rider immediately veered off the racing line and parked his bike in the grass. As oil and other fluids were left on the track, the session was halted with a red flag.
There had already been two crashes earlier. Alex Rins (Yamaha) went down in Turn 3 after around three minutes had elapsed, but emerged uninjured. Shortly afterwards, Luca Marini (Honda) crashed in Turn 1; the Italian also remained uninjured in the gravel trap.
After the session resumed, the practice session initially continued without any further major incidents. Johann Zarco (LCR-Honda) crashed in Turn 14 towards the end of the session. The same was true of his team-mate Diogo Moreira, who went off at Turn 5 with two minutes remaining in the session.
Alex Márquez sets new circuit record
Alex Márquez came out on top in the battle for the fastest lap. With a time of 1:42.811 minutes, he improved on the previous circuit record set by Francesco Bagnaia in 2025 by exactly one tenth of a second. This made the Gresini rider the fastest rider in the session.
Pedro Acosta took second place, just 0.076 seconds behind. Marc Márquez, in third, was 0.100 seconds off the fastest time. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) finished fourth, 0.218 seconds behind, followed by Enea Bastianini (Tech3-KTM), who was 0.349 seconds adrift.
Martin just outside the top 10
Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati) took sixth place ahead of Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) and Jorge Martin (Aprilia). Moreira finished ninth despite his late crash, whilst Johann Zarco (LCR-Honda) rounded off the top 10.
This meant that riders from all five manufacturers made it into the top ten, thereby qualifying directly for the second qualifying session on Saturday.
Bagnaia and Viñales must go through Q1
Francesco Bagnaia, in 16th place, missed out on direct entry into Q2. Maverick Viñales (Tech3-KTM), who is making his comeback after missing four Grands Prix, also finished 22nd, well outside the top ten.
Alongside Bagnaia and Viñales, the Trackhouse duo of Raúl Fernández and Ogura must also take the detour via Q1.
The first qualifying session begins on Saturday at 03:50 CEST, with the decisive Q2 session following at 04:15 CEST. The 12-lap sprint race starts at 08:00 CEST.
