Francesco Bagnaia set the pace in MotoGP’s first practice at Motegi, leading Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez in a close session.
Bagnaia’s 1m44.857s lap came on his 14th attempt and was enough to secure top spot by 0.093s over Martin, with Marquez just 0.102s behind in third.
Coming off a five-round podium drought – a first for the Italian in three years – Bagnaia looked much more confident on his bike, having made the step back to the 2024-spec front and rear aero combined with his preferred older front forks.
Perhaps the strongest he's looked on a Friday in a few months 👍@PeccoBagnaia improves and goes top again 🔥#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/K3zm5w8yuJ
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 26, 2025
The two-time World Champion appeared stronger in a Friday morning session than at any point since Assen before the summer break.
Behind the front three, Fabio di Giannantonio was the best of the VR46 riders in fourth, edging Luca Marini’s factory Honda by 0.031s. Franco Morbidelli followed closely in sixth.
Pedro Acosta, after leading KTM’s charge through Misano and Catalunya, managed seventh as the only competitive RC16 in the field.
His colleagues struggled for pace in contrast; the best of the KTM rest being Brad Binder in 19th.
Jack Miller in eighth led the charge for Yamaha, but ended the first session of the weekend in the gravel trap after a late crash, having been spooked by Franco Morbidelli going down right in front of him.
Separate crashes within SECONDS! 💥@Bestia23, Franky and @jackmilleraus have all gone down in quick succession 🤯#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/sgJkrvilas
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 26, 2025
2025 rookie Somkiat Chantra had the first strong showing of the season, placing as high as fifth on the timesheet. The Thai rider, on one of his favorite tracks of the calendar, rounded out the Top 9 ahead of Miguel Oliveira
Marco Bezzecchi endured a disastrous morning in 11th. The Aprilia rider crashed twice within the first 20 minutes, joining fellow Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez in the gravel trap early on and losing the front AGAIN just minutes later.
Turn 11, then Turn 5 😱
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 26, 2025
Crash number two for Marco Bezzecchi 💥#JapaneseGP 🇯🇵 pic.twitter.com/J7DrJglfz3
Bezzecchi was left without a spare bike and unable to rejoin the session.
Joan Mir placed 12th on the second factory Honda, just ahead of Johann Zarco and Raul Fernandez, with Alex Marquez level on time with Fernandez but classified 15th.
Fabio Quartararo finished FP1 16th ahead of Honda wildcard Takaaki Nakagami, half a second down on Bagnaia.
Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura followed in 18th, ahead of Brad Binder and Fermin Aldeguer.
Maverick Viñales, Alex Rins, and Enea Bastianini completed the order – the latter crashing out and setting off a chaotic final minutes that included the Miller and Morbidelli crash.
