Marc Marquez led MotoGP World Championship practice on Friday afternoon at the Circuit of the Americas in Texas. Riding his Lenovo Ducati Desmosedici GP26 on special Michelin tires, the seven-time world champion clocked a lap time of 2:00.927 to lead the 21-rider field.
Ai Ogura was the best of the rest with a 2:00.980 on his Trackhouse Aprilia RS-GP26.
Fabio Di Giantantonio was third in the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Team Ducati Desmosedici GP26 in 2:01.114.
Marco Bezecchi finished fourth in the Aprilia Racing RS-GP26 session with a time of 2:01.127.
Alex Marquez, riding the BK8 Gresini Ducati Desmosedici GP26, finished fifth with a lap time of 2:01.213.
More from the MotoGP press release:
Marc Marquez will drop back to go faster on Friday, with Ogura in hot pursuit. The #93 would finish the day fastest at the signature track despite an FP1 setback – 0.053 up on the Aprilia charge led by Texas’ Ogura.
Mark Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) Red Bull GP in the United States suffered quickly in FP1, but the game was back at the end of Friday in a place the seven-time MotoGP champion calls more his own than any other rider. That said, it was a close day on the time sheets, with No. Ogura – for home team Trackhouse MotoGP Team – just 0.053 off the top. Fabio D’Giantantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) takes P3 on Friday, 0.187 ahead of Marc Marquez.
After Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) stole the show in the morning and Marc Marquez grabbed the headlines with his crash – rider OK – a lot was at stake on Friday afternoon. There were nine crashes in total: Diggia, Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), two for Enya Bastiani (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), Ogura, Toprak Razgatlioglu (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini). Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) slipped late.
At the end of a classic finish to the top session charge, Marc Marquez was back on top – but Ogura’s lap got to him. Both settled late in the session, with the Aprilia just 0.053 off. Championship leader Marco Bezecchi (Aprilia Racing) was forced to settle for fourth place on Friday – although he was 0.013 ahead of Diggia, #93, in the session, in third place.
Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) is fifth, with Acosta sixth on Day 1. Despite his crash, Martin was ahead of Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) and Bastianini in seventh. It’s Bastiani’s first straight into Q2 since the 2025 Catalan GP – where he also takes the podium on Sunday.
Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) was the first to miss the cut in P11, with another top name on the order after Binder’s late crash – the #33 will take 19 on Friday.
There is another chance for two more riders to advance to Q2 in qualifying on Saturday morning so be sure to tune in for more MotoGP on Super Saturday at the Red Bull US GP!
MotoGP practice results from Austin!
Post MotoGP: M. Marquez fastest Friday afternoon at COTA It appeared at first Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle riding, racing and technology news.
