Marquez Party in Buriram as Title Contender Misses Out on Q2
It was Alex Marquez who topped the MotoGP field on Practice Friday at the Thai Grand Prix as a title contender missed out on Q2.
Aprilia will have to do without Jorge Martin for at least the first two races of the 2025 MotoGP season, but for now, Marco Bezzecchi isn’t making the Noale manufacturer feel the absence of the reigning world champion all that much.
On the opening day of the Thai Grand Prix, the Italian backed up his strong showing from the Buriram test, finishing Practice Friday fourth-fastest despite a late crash at Turn 3 that prevented him from improving even further.
“It was a good day. It was hot, but we expected that here in Thailand, though I have to say the temperature was a bit higher than in the test, both in the morning and the afternoon.”
“That changed the track conditions because there was also more rubber down during testing, but I have to say I felt good. We made some changes to try and adapt to the conditions, and I’m fairly satisfied because I think I can improve tomorrow,” Bezzecchi said, summing up his Friday in Thailand.
“I also had a small crash. But [I’m] quite happy about it because for the first time I could push a bit more, and it was the first time I found the limit.”
“Maybe it was a crash that could have been avoided because it was the first time the bike moved like that, and I didn’t know exactly how to react but it’s good we were able to find and go to (and beyond) the limit.”
DRAMA! Bez crashes out and @PeccoBagnaia's time gets deleted ❌#ThaiGP 🇹🇭 pic.twitter.com/sr7yW40Xzy
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) February 28, 2025
“I decided to commit to the corner anyway because I felt it was worth it in this session, so it’s all good,” he added.
“I like the bike, but there’s still work to do. [It has] a great front end, which immediately stood out to me – even back in Barcelona when I first tested it. The rear is more unstable compared to what I was used to, but we’ve made big improvements in terms of traction, and we’re still working on braking.”
“This track has a lot of heavy braking zones, and I think we’ve taken some steps forward. Let’s see how things develop over the weekend.”
As for the early pecking order, Bezzecchi feels like Marc Marquez might have a slight edge over the rest of the field at the moment, but the battle behind him remains wide open.
“Right now, Marc seems to be the quickest. Alex (Marquez) will also be really fast—he has been throughout testing. He set a strong lap time today as well, though I haven’t looked at his pace yet. But let’s say Marc seems to have a few extra tenths on everyone.”
One of the biggest challenges for the races will be Thailand’s brutal heat, especially in terms of tire management. “During testing, I was able to run pretty good sprint race distances, both here and in Malaysia. [However,] tire wear always depends a lot on the conditions.”
“Compared to the test, I was a bit slower today – I could do high 1’29s back then, while today I was more in the low 1’30s. But we’ll see. Tomorrow morning, I’d like to try the medium rear tire again and see how it goes.”
