Gresini Racing MotoGP rider Pedro Acosta set the pace in the first premier-class practice session at the Portuguese Grand Prix, as Ducati-rookie Nicolo Bulega beat his much more MotoGP-experienced teammate Pecco Bagnaia.
The order looked like it might be frozen with just over 12 minutes to go as rain flags were waved around the circuit, but, although cloud coverage seemed like it would support a more substantial shower, rain never affected the FP1 running in any form.
The first session of the weekend started off with a crash at turn two by Pol Espargaro, a spill the Spaniard will likely be quite keen to have ticked off, given the severity of the last (more or less career-ending) crash he suffered at Portimao.
Not the ideal start to Friday for @polespargaro at Turn 3 💥#PortugueseGP 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/d7Z5w5qNJR
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 7, 2025
From the get-go, it was a matter of catching last race weekend’s winner, Alex Marquez.
Taking back top spot after a quick back-and-forth with Honda’s FP1-best Johann Zarco, the Spaniard’s 1:39.145 should hold the line until the chequered flag, only Marco Bezzecchi in P2 and Jack Miller in P3 coming within a quarter of a second.
Johann Zarco ended the session fourth on the LCR Honda, just 0.116 seconds behind Miller.
Despite his (small) crash earlier in the session, Pol Espargaro claimed fifth ahead of Franco Morbidelli and Luca Marini. Joan Mir, Pedro Acosta, and Fermin Aldeguer completed the top ten.
Marc Marquez replacement Nicolo Bulega, making his MotoGP debut on the factory Ducati, looks to be adapting fairly well to his new challenge.
Sitting just +0.928 seconds off top spot in P14, the WorldSBK runner-up even outpaced his teammate Francesco Bagnaia.
The session featured a major incident as Raul Fernandez suffered a heavy crash at Turn 1.
Sending his Trackhouse Aprilia into the air fence, the Spaniard tumbled through the gravel trap.
A big one for @25RaulFernandez at Turn 1 😱💥
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 7, 2025
Glad to see the Spaniard is relatively OK!#PortugueseGP 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/u8mHudY9fh
Despite getting back up on his feet initially, Fernandez has been sent to the medical centre.
Given his windedness after the accident, we suspect an evaluation for a concussion is being performed on him at the time of writing.
UPDATE: Raul Fernandez has been transferred to the local hospital for a CT scan following his crash.
