Marc Marquez topped a disrupted opening Free Practice 1 at Balaton Park, leading Pol Espargaro and Pedro Acosta as MotoGP returned to Hungary for the first time in more than three decades.
Early on, Jorge Martin’s Aprilia expired in a plume of smoke, followed minutes later by Raul Fernandez suffering an even bigger blow-up that left oil across Turn 5.
The red flag stayed out for more than ten minutes as marshals carried out a lengthy clean-up.
Another Aprilia engine blow up 😱
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 22, 2025
This time around it's @25RaulFernandez 💨#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/la73krzhK7
Once action resumed, Marc Marquez wasted little time moving clear. His 1m38.122 initially left him over six-tenths ahead of the field.
Pedro Acosta briefly countered, but couldn’t match the championship leader’s pace.
Hitting the 1:37s for the first time and being the only rider to do so throughout the session, Marquez quickly made it apparent that there was no way past him on the way to the top of the timesheet.
Being more than half a second clear of the rest of the field, only a late flurry by Pol Espargaro on a fresh set of tyres brought the field back within three-tenths of a second.
Standing in for the injured Maverick Viñales at KTM Tech3, Espargaro grabbed P2 at the end.
Acosta completed a strong morning for KTM in third, while Luca Marini impressed in fourth.
The Italian was the first Honda rider to try out the Japanese manufacturer’s new and radically modified chassis that Aleix Espargaro tested in Barcelona a few weeks ago.
Alex Marquez led the chase in fifth, just ahead of Marco Bezzecchi’s Aprilia.
Franco Morbidelli was seventh despite two crashes, while Enea Bastianini and Fermin Aldeguer posted identical times for eighth and ninth.
HUGE engine blow up for @88jorgemartin 💥💨#HungarianGP 🇭🇺 pic.twitter.com/sVpOaw31jL
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 22, 2025
Jorge Martin, after his early engine failure, still managed to salvage tenth. World champion Francesco Bagnaia had a subdued start.
Testing Ducati’s 2024 aero package and being one of only two riders to run the 355mm front brake discs, he ended the session 15th, over 1.3s off his teammate.
Jack Miller’s late crash added to a frustrating outing for the Pramac rider and certainly won’t help the Aussie in his latest push for a timely contract decision with Yamaha.
