Gresini Ducati rider Alex Marquez led the MotoGP field on Practice Friday snatching top spot off his Marc Marquez at the last second.
The latter led the majority of Friday’s session until his brother fired in a 1:29.020 with his last attempt. The two led fellow Spaniard Pedro Acosta in 3rd ahead of Marco Bezzecchi and Franco Morbidelli.
Expectations that the factory Ducati team would dominate from the get-go have proven untrue on Practice Friday. While Marquez enjoyed a relatively comfortable day at or near the top of the timesheet, his teammate started the year off on the wrong foot.
Having been unable to put a decent-enough lap together throughout all of Practice, it was friendly fire from Franco Morbidelli that eventually ruined Bagnaia’s only real contender for a top lap time.
The VR46 had (once again) slowed down on the racing line and is currently under investigation. Bagnaia finished the day 11th-fastest and will have to fight his way through Q1 on Saturday.
❌ @PeccoBagnaia is OUT of the top 10!
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) February 28, 2025
And he's NOT HAPPY with Franky!#ThaiGP 🇹🇭 pic.twitter.com/foIYwCb1Kr
Joan Mir carried Honda’s strong winter form through to the season opener in sixth, while Raul Fernandez ensured both Trackhouse Aprilias made it directly into Q2 when he topped teammate Ogura time by about two-tenths.
Fabio Quartararo in eighth, the Japanese and Johann Zarco rounded out the Top 10, with the latter barely beating Maverick Vinales. The Tech3 rider missed out on a Q2 spot by just 0.073s, but beat factory rival Brad Binder.
