The Czech GP’s opening day of MotoGP action turned into a wet-weather thriller, with Marc Marquez emerging fastest in chaotic conditions – while his Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia was left facing a trip through Q1.
Heavy rain delayed the start of the session by twenty minutes, with Moto2’s preceding session red-flagged due to the weather conditions.
When the MotoGP field finally rolled out at 15:20 local time, it was clear conditions would very much dictate the results.
Marco Bezzecchi set the first benchmark, only to crash soon after at Turn 4 – his second fall of the day.
Pol Espargaro’s Tech3 KTM suffered a technical issue in parallel, leaving the Spaniard stranded on the side of the track.
Down goes Bez as @JoanMirOfficial clocks the fastest lap 😱💥#CzechGP 🇨🇿 pic.twitter.com/BdPVbFeabR
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) July 18, 2025
As the session unfolded, the track began to slowly dry, with a visible line forming and lap times tumbling accordingly.
Quartararo briefly led the way with a 2:04.465 before Marc Marquez dropped a 2:03.935 to take top spot by nearly half a second.
Johann Zarco slotted into second late on, while Bezzecchi recovered from his earlier crash to grab fourth.
Surprise of the session and rider-of-the-day-worthy, however, was Jorge Martin’s performance.
Back on the bike for the first time in 96 days, the reigning World Champion ends the day fifth-fastest and moves directly into Q2.
Wet weather specialist Jack Miller led the chartge for Pramac Yamaha in 6th ahead of an impressing Joan Mir and Tech3 returnee Enea Bastianini.
The session was anything but straightforward for Alex Marquez, who crashed at Turn 7 with ten minutes remaining.
But a frantic dash through the Gresini garage and a switch to his spare bike saw him salvage a ninth-place finish on his final attempt – good enough for a direct Q2 ticket.
Make way! @alexmarquez73's on a mission! 🎯#CzechGP 🇨🇿 pic.twitter.com/B9jZ3m1PHb
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) July 18, 2025
The Spaniard was the last of only two Ducatis to make it directly into the shootout for pole as Aldeguer, di Giannantonio but especially Francesco Bagnaia struggled to match the pace in the wet.
An early off at Turn 13 set the tone for the latter, and although Bagnaia briefly climbed as high as sixth with a 2:05.808, the times around him continued to improve while his stalled.
Multiple late laps failed to deliver, and confirmation came with seconds to go and his final attempt aborted: The Italian will have to fight his way through Q1 on Saturday morning.
