MotoGP riders reflect on opening day of practice at Jerez – Moto2/3 Reports/Results

MotoGP 2025

Round Five – Jerez – Friday

Alex Marquez – P1

“Today I was maybe overconfident and then crashed twice. The second one, in particular, was a heavy one, even though I was almost unscathed. The best thing about this Friday was the reaction: I chose to stay put for half hour and then get back on track just for the time attack. It went well, even though we’ll have a lot of work to do tomorrow, especially with regards to race pace.”

Francesco Bagnaia – P2

“We did a good lap, although a perfect one. We have to improve our performance with used tyres, we tried some things, but generally speaking I’m quite happy. The bike is very similar to last year’s but with some little changes, and I need to make a step forward in some areas of the track such as turns five, eleven and twelve. I’m happy with the result, but I’m always looking for more especially in sectors one and four, where Alex (Márquez) made the difference today.”

Franco Morbidelli – P3

“It was a very positive day, with no setbacks, and that was we hope for. Today we made a great job improving the bike from this morning to this afternoon, both in terms of race pace and of speed with new tyres. We are strong almost on all the track, but we still miss something in the first sector, so we must analize the data. I am happy and confident for tomorrow, putting together a good lap will be crucial, there will be a lot of traffic, the track is very tight. But the goal is the front row.”

Marc Márquez – P4

“It wasn’t an easy day: we lost the first half of FP1, which made things a little more complex than expected. In the afternoon, step by step I was able to find my rhythm even tough, at the beginning, we lost our way a little bit with the set-up. I felt better in the last run, but we need to find the right direction and understand what we need to be fast and consistent. The benchmark at the moment is Alex, but it’ll also be important to see what the temperatures will be tomorrow because this could play a big role in the Sprint Race. The goal is to qualify on the front row, which is key for the rest of the weekend.”

Fabio Quartararo – P5

“The pace was good. Unfortunately, I had the crash during my first real time attack, but it was still a positive day. I have confidence, especially on the front, the feeling is incredible. My goal is being inside the top 10 on the Friday. If we are higher, like today, even better, but the top 10 is the main goal. It’s difficult at this track, though, because here the times are super close. But we did it, so I’m happy.”

Fermin Aldeguer – P6

“The goal for today was clear: with the seed to Q2 secured, the weekend is much easier to tackle. To be able to do so on such a difficult track when it comes to overtakes is surely excellent news. We need to keep improving and we’ll try to be competitive tomorrow: my target isn’t the pole position, of course, but we’re ambitious and we want to start as close to the front of the grid as possible.”

Johann Zarco – P7

“The track is smaller, and the asphalt is more slippery than at other circuits. Most of the riders, including myself, are struggling, so finishing 7th in a tough situation is a positive result. I’m feeling good on the bike, and I believe we can take another step forward tomorrow. If we can confirm that, it’ll be something interesting to think about for the rest of the season.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P9

“Today we tried a quite different setting on the bike to try to do a step, but we need to work a lot on it and we didn’t have much time. So, we went back to a situation I’m more familiar with, but I didn’t work on the tyres and on the setup. The good thing is that we are very quick, on this track we’ve always been fast. If we fix some little things, there is a lot of margin and we can get closer to the top.”

Joan Mir – P10

“The feeling today was really good, and I think that tenth doesn’t reflect our potential. We were strong in both sessions, at the top with race pace, then when you put the new tyres with yellow flags – anything and everything can happen! It was hard to find the clear track and with the soft tyre you don’t get a lot of chances. But even like this, our lap was not bad, and we have to be happy with what we’ve done. Today being tenth and being first achieves the same, now we prepare for Q2 because if we qualify well then we can be with the group closer to the front.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P12

“We made some improvements over the course of the day, although I can never manage to be competitive enough in my time attacks. Unfortunately, there were yellow flags again in my second time attack, so I wasn’t even able to improve a bit more. I would have needed just one tenth of a second to go through to Q2. In any case, there was a bit of improvement, but we are still far off, so we’ll need to work hard this evening to find some technical solutions.”

Jack Miller – P13

“It didn‘t end as the perfect day, but the pace was there and the feeling on the bike was good right from the morning. On my first lap with the new tire, I was behind Marc, but we hit a yellow flag in the final corner, so we both ran wide to get a clean exit onto the straight. That ended up being my best lap, even though I missed the rear brake slightly into Turn 6, went a bit wide, and lost some time. On the second tire, I was following Pecco and tucked the front at Turn 1, but I managed to save it. Still, I lost some time behind him and had to push hard through the next two corners to close the gap. I was feeling strong, though. Then in Turn 7, I came in a bit too hot, didn‘t get much stopping from the rear, forced the front a little, and the bike just gave up—down I went. It‘s a shame, but the pace is there. We just need a bit more support from the engine braking, and I‘m confident we‘ll get that sorted for tomorrow.”

Maverick Viñales – P14

“We did a good preparation during Practice, we were progressively pushing more and more with strong laps, but unfortunately we got a technical problem in the last attack, so I could not put everything together. The bike stopped and I could not rejoin. The day has been really positive to be honest, the bike is feeling good, and I miss 0.2 seconds more or less to fight for top 4, which I hope to find during the weekend. The bike is at the level of Qatar for sure, but the Ducatis are a bit stronger in Jerez with the fast corners, so we are feeling a small gap with this regard, but otherwise, our package is strong. Good rhythm, we are happy, so let’s keep working.”

Alex Rins – P15

“It was a tough day today. There’s a margin for improvement in the hard braking areas for me. I decided to ride behind Fabio during my first time attack to set a fast lap, but as soon as we started the lap I went wide, and also in Turn 6. In the fast corners, Fabio and I are on the same level though. So, we need to find the same potential on the brakes for tomorrow.”

Raul Fernandez – P16

“My day was really positive overall. This morning, we tried three different setups on the bike and found one which meant this afternoon I felt comfortable with the bike. I felt we had really good pace, worked well with the new soft, the used and the medium tire. I was pretty competitive and constant. I felt that I can do almost all laps in the 1:37’s, which is positive. Now we need to understand how to improve the bike on time attack because we were not fast enough. On the entry, we have a lot of movement and I can’t put the bike where I want. One of the reasons the crash happened was that because I tried to push a little bit with the new tire, I had some movement and crashed. Anyway, I’m really happy with the day but we have a lot of work to do.”

Ai Ogura – P17

“It was a quite tough day for me. Since this morning, I was not really feeling good on the brakes and that didn’t give me any consistency to have good quality laps in the sessions. We have a lot of things to do for tomorrow. In some corners we are doing quite ok, so I think we have to focus on the tight corners tomorrow. If we can put everything together, I believe we are ok – we know where we have to improve but how we improve is another story. I’m sure we will find a solution.”

Luca Marini – P18

“Friday has been a bit of tricky day for us. In the morning, we didn’t have the best feeling and had to work on the setup and some electronics, but we were able to improve for the afternoon. Our feeling got better as the day went on, we just needed one more exit and I think we could have been there. In Qatar we showed that we are able to keep on improving, so now it’s time to work with the team overnight and attack on Saturday.”

Enea Bastianini – P19

“I feel like the scenario is similar every week. We feel happy after the race at the end of the weekend, but then we have to start it all over again because our first day is always hard, with everything to do all over again on the new bike. We have improved between the morning and the afternoon, but we are still very far from the level that I want, far from our expectations. The bike has been nervous and I have struggled to turn properly in the fast corners where I lost a lot of time, especially in sector 3 here on the left side. Today’s strong wind has not made it easy, but anyway, let’s work tonight and try arriving on Saturday with improvements.”

Augusto Fernandez – P20

“The morning was tough—I was struggling quite a bit, and we had to make some setup changes that eventually gave me a better feeling. But we’re still not getting much support from the rear, which is making things difficult. On the other hand, the bike feels great at the front, as you can see from Quartararo‘s times—he‘s a rider who really pushes the front end. Overall, the bike feels good. We just need to better understand the tire drop-off so we can maintain a consistent pace. As for me, I‘m still chasing, but I‘m getting closer to making up some positions. I‘m right on the edge of the top 15, and if we can improve the feeling from the rear, I think we can take a good step forward. Top 15 is our goal this weekend—to grab a few points. Let‘s see if we can make it happen.”

Aleix Espargaro – P21

“I had a lot of fun today, it is an incredible honour to ride this bike, in these colours at a race like the Spanish GP. I was hoping to be a little bit faster honestly, but you can’t ask more from yourself after being away from the bike for so long when the level in MotoGP is so high. We were able to try some things and for tomorrow I think we can make even more improvements – this is our target.”

Lorenzo Savadori – P22

“We tried a few upgrades today and we clearly still need to sort some things. Anyway, when you try new things, you have to fine tune all the elements – the electronics package, geometries, and setup. We saw some good signs, and we’ll continue to test these new elements throughout the weekend to try and improve the RS-GP25.”

Somkiat Chantra – P23

“This is the first European track of the season, and it’s a very demanding one, it’s narrow and quite physical for everyone. Overall, it wasn’t a bad day. We found a setup I like, and I felt more comfortable as the laps went on. I tried to push, but a few yellow flags on track kept me from doing better. Tomorrow, we’ll try to take a step forward”.

Team Managers

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

“It was an eventful day. We started the weekend off quite well in FP1, with both riders setting a decent time. Fabio is clearly strong this weekend, and it especially showed during the Practice session, which he led for a long time. He was on a really good lap when he crashed, which was a pity. But luckily he was able to set another good lap later, avoiding the numerous yellow flags in the final stages. He improved on his morning time by 1s, and he is in Q2, as was our target. The times are very close this weekend, though. At one point in the Practice session, the top 18 riders were covered by 1s. Álex also managed to find 0.6s in the afternoon, but unfortunately that was not enough to secure a place in Q2. We will go over the data now to try to find something to further boost our performance for tomorrow’s qualifying and the Sprint.”

Paolo Bonora – Aprilia Racing

“It was an intense day and certainly not a simple one in Jerez. Marco is continuing his progress adapting to the RS-GP25 and, although there have been some small steps forward, the yellow flags unfortunately did not help in the time attack. With Lorenzo, we are focusing on testing some upgrades, collecting useful data. However, we are aware that we’ll need more time to fine tune the parts we’ve tested. We’ll work hard this evening to try and be as ready as possible on Saturday.”

Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Team Director

“On one hand, we‘re obviously disappointed by Jack‘s crash at the end of Practice, which cost him a direct spot in Q2 that was well within reach. But on the other hand, it’s very encouraging to see how competitive he was from the first laps — both on a single lap and in race pace. That gives me a lot of confidence, not just for Q1 but also for the Sprint and, above all, Sunday‘s Grand Prix. This old-school circuit, narrower than the tracks we‘ve seen so far this season and less dependent on raw engine power, really seems to suit the Yamaha, as shown by Fabio Quartararo‘s performance as well. The Yamaha engineers are working incredibly hard, and the data and feedback exchange between the two garages is constant. You can see that in the steady progress we‘re making. Jack has a real shot at Q2 tomorrow, and Augusto is also showing consistent growth. The gap to the leaders is narrowing, even if the tight classification makes that harder to see.”

Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Aprilia Team Principal

“On the paper, it looks like it wasn’t a great day, but I think we can take positives from today. It looks like Raul has improved his feeling a lot with the bike but the crash on a time attack lap prevented him from a really good performance. Ai, as well – there were a lot of yellow flags at the end and a small crash, so he couldn’t really bring everything together on one time attack. Overall, I think we have better potential than what we were able to show today. We can only try again in Q1 tomorrow and see how the weekend develops, but I believe we are getting faster and faster.”

MotoGP Practice Report

A fast Turn 5 Practice crash for Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) didn’t stop the younger Marquez from ending Friday as the rider to beat in MotoGP at the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Spain – and with an all-time lap record too. Alex Marquez’s stunning 1:35.991 was enough to beat Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) by 0.103s. Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) claimed P3 as World Championship leader Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) settled for P4 to set us up nicely for the rest of the weekend.

There was early drama for FP1 pacesetter Alex Marquez after the Gresini star suffered a fast crash at Turn 5 while shadowing Marc Marquez. Alex was able to walk away from the incident but the red flags were shown because the air fence that his Ducati GP24 collected needed re-deploying.

Once we were back underway, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) led the way with a 1:37.071, with Bagnaia moving into P2 just north of the 30 minutes to go mark. With 28 minutes left, Johann Zarco (LCR Honda Castrol) went P1 before Brad Binder, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Pedro Acosta and then Quartararo again climbed to the summit, as we witnessed the first 1:36 lap times of the afternoon.

So heading into the business end of the session, how were we looking? Quartararo led Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) by 0.090s, with Marc Marquez, Acosta and Binder your top five – the latter though hit the deck at Turn 9 with just over 20 minutes to go. Zarco was P6, Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) had climbed into P7 ahead of Bagnaia, with Alex Marquez still inside the top 10 in P9 and after a bit of time in his office, the Spaniard was ready to head back out on track.

The final 15 minutes had arrived and Quartararo was on a flyer – but the Frenchman’s front end washed away at the Jorge Lorenzo corner. That cost a few riders their times with the yellow flags out, but not Bagnaia, Morbidelli and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing). The Italians went P1, P2 and P3 to shuffle Quartararo down to P4, with Morbidelli the rider now leading the way.

Not for long though. Marc Marquez set a 1:36.258 to go P1 with 11 minutes left, and Alex Marquez then shot to P3 from P14 on his first flying lap since the earlier fall. The goalposts were then moved by Bagnaia as the Italian set a 1:36.094 to go P1, 0.164s clear of teammate Marquez. Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) crashes, then one for Ogura too, brought out yellow flags before Alex Marquez delved into the 1:35s. Alex Marquez the first rider ever to lap in that bracket as Quartararo, back on his YZR-M1 that he crashed, pounced back to P5 after sitting outside the top 10.

A moment for Marc Marquez at Turn 6 cost the six-time MotoGP World Champion a chance at beating his brother to Friday honours, and with that, the all-important top 10 was set after no one else was able to improve enough to gain automatic Q2 entry.

Behind the fastest quartet was Quartararo, the 2021 World Champion recovered well after his final corner crash. Rookie star Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) sails into Q2 on home turf in P6, Zarco joins the Spaniard in P7 as Acosta ends Day 1 in P8 after a late PB time. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) are the final two Q2 qualifiers on Friday, as Binder misses out by 0.055s in P11.

So close, yet just out of reach. Jack Miller and the Prima Pramac Yamaha team were among the key players from the very first minutes of free practice at the Spanish GP. A crash at Turn 9 in the final minutes of Practice, however, denied the Australian what looked like a possible spot in Q2. At the time, Miller was on a flying lap with a second soft tyre and was on the way to improve his time. Miller ultimately finished 13th with a best time of 1‘36”854, just over two-tenths off the top ten cut-off for Q2. He‘ll now head into Q1 with a realistic shot at claiming one of the two available spots for Q2, before turning his focus to the Sprint Race.

MotoGP Jerez Practice Times

Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) got his home Grand Prix off to the perfect start after a 1:40.142 saw the Spaniard beat second place Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) by a healthy 0.338s margin. Third place on Friday went the way of Deniz Öncu (Red Bull KTM Ajo), the Turk was four tenths adrift of top spot. Just three tenths of a second adrift of the all-time lap record after just Friday’s sessions, Gonzalez looks good to add to his win tally in 2025, but there’s plenty of track time left for the chasers to close in.

Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) was P4, both having led at times throughout the session, with Albert Arenas (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) and Lusail winner Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) rounding out the top six, making it three Spaniards inside the top six on home soil on Friday.

David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) continued his strength found in Qatar and is through to Q2 once again with P7 and teammate Daniel Holgado was right behind him, just 0.026s away in P8. Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Celestino Vietti (Beta Tools SpeedRS Team) completed the top ten, with the latter making a miraculous save at Turn 1.

Next up, his teammate Alonso Lopez in 11th and safely through to Q2, along with Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team), Turn 1 crasher Filip Salac (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) and Brazilian star Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team). Moreira just denied rookie teammate Adrian Huertas by 0.030s, forcing the #99 to go through Q1.

Moto2 Practice Times

Moto2 Championship Standings

Moto3

It’s safe to say Moto3’s Friday action at the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Spain belonged to Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) after the former title chase leader ended the day over a second clear of second place Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Third place went the way of Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), who was +1.057s away from Rueda’s magnificent 1:43.770.

Having dominated FP1, there was no catching Rueda again in the afternoon heat as from the get-go, the Spaniard was P1. Once the out-and-out time attack laps landed towards the end of Practice, Rueda stretched his legs further to lap just under a second away from the all-time lap record.

Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) backed up his Qatar GP podium with a solid P4 to kickstart his weekend in Jerez, as Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) earned a fantastic top five – a top job from the Australian.

Jacob Roulstone – P5

“Very happy to finish the day in 5th. For sure it’s a bit nerve racking coming back here in Jerez which is where I got injured during the winter, but anyway, I have felt really good straight away this morning. We still have some points to improve on for tomorrow, but very happy to be back to the old Jacob.”

David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP), who suffered a bike issue for the majority of the session, was able to grab a late P6 to finish ahead of World Championship leader Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI). Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA) ended Friday in P8 ahead of impressive rookie Ruche Moodley (DENSSI Racing – BOE), the South African securing his first automatic Q2 entry.

Joel Kelso – P8

“Day one done here in Jerez. Overall, it wasn’t bad. We did a lot of work again with the hard tyre. I’m feeling pretty good – just trying to tweak the riding a bit to adapt better, since my style doesn’t quite match this track. But step by step, we’re getting there. It’s only Friday, but overall it was a positive day”

After a Turn 1 crash, Adrian Fernandez managed to set a late lap time good enough for P10 – and that knocked Leopard Racing team-mate, David Almansa, outside the top 14. The other riders heading straight for Q2 are Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Guido Pini (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP), Noah Dettwiler (CIP Green Power) and Joel Esteban (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team).

Moto3 Practice Times

Moto3 Championship Standings

2025 MotoGP Calendar