Marc Marquez made the strongest possible return from MotoGP’s summer break, topping FP1 at the Red Bull Ring by three-tenths over Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia.
Marco Bezzecchi completed the top three for Aprilia Racing. The 45-minute session started under sunny skies, with a flurry of new tech updates being rolled out after the three-week summer break.
KTM debuted a new Ducati-style aero package alongside a revised exhaust, while Honda rolled out its first of two permitted aero upgrades of the season.
Alex Marquez, who will have to serve a long-lap penalty in this weekend’s main race, led the opening laps ahead of Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Quartararo, before Bagnaia took over top spot with a 1’29.686 on his eighth lap.
The Italian did not improve further throughout the remaining fifteen minutes.
The final minutes saw a factory Ducati lockout as Marc Marquez first moved into third, then produced a 1m29.376 to go clear by 0.310s.
Bezzecchi recovered from an earlier trip through the gravel at Turn 4 to take third, just 0.076s behind Bagnaia.
The classic Turn 4 run off by Bez ❌#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/ysNBGZJx5k
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) August 15, 2025
Injury-returnee Franco Morbidelli secured fifth for VR46, ahead of a strong Joan Mir in sixth on the Honda.
Quartararo was the best Yamaha in seventh, with Jorge Martin eighth for Aprilia. KTM’s Pedro Acosta and Tech3’s Enea Bastianini rounded out the top 10, separated by just 0.001s.
Bastianini’s Tech3 teammate Maverick Vinales is also back from injury. Having been allowed to ride but told to return to the medical centre for a second evaluation after FP1, the Spaniard finished his first MotoGP outing in five weeks in 20th place.
Being only five weeks into an expected 12-week recovery period, Vinales couldn’t be further away from full fitness and will have to admit that taking part in the Austrian GP might have been a return made too early.
