MotoGP riders reflect on opening day of practice at Valencia – Moto2/3 Reports/Results

MotoGP 2025

Round 22 – Valencia – Friday
MotoGP Rider Quotes

Pedro Acosta – P1

“First day in the lead. Keep working.”

Marco Bezzecchi – P2

“It was a great day because we improved significantly between the morning and the afternoon. The team did an outstanding job. I was able to do the second time attack with the bike I had crashed on and I’d like to thank them for that. I made a small mistake on turn 4 and crashed because I released the brake too soon.”

Franco Morbidelli – P3

“I’m happy with how the day went. We worked well right from the start. The team adapted very well to the conditions, which were quite tricky. We’re very satisfied with what we did today, especially coming from Portimao, where the feeling wasn’t great. We had a good performance and finished the day in the Top 3. We’re close to the top, and we want to keep going this way and continue improving. We secured direct Q2 access, and if we keep working in the direction we followed today, we have a good chance of fighting at the front.”

Alex Marquez – P4

“It was a Friday in which we started already some work in preparation for Tuesday’s test. It’s clear that this activity took some time away from the weekend’s work, but we still achieved our goal. This year, we secured 21 direct seeds to Q2 and this surely is something I’m proud of. For tomorrow, it’s true that Pedro and Bezzecchi are fast, but even those behind have gotten closer compared to Portugal.”

Ai Ogura – P5

“I’m really, really happy about this first day. I think a top 5 is my best result in the Practice. We are quite close to the top, we are riding OK and we already have a few ideas of what we can improve for tomorrow. I think we are in a good shape. The crash was unnecessary – I just went off the track and tried to come back on the track where I lost the front and went down. I’m sorry for my mechanics because it was really unnecessary. But I’m OK and even after that crash I could improve my lap time.”

Jack Miller – P6

“I felt great from the start. I love this place and the bike is working very well. This isn‘t a crazy-fast circuit — it‘s actually quite tight for MotoGP bikes, almost like a go-kart track — and I feel we can do a good job this weekend. We can manage the pace and use the tyres well. I feel competitive, definitely more competitive than I‘ve been in recent weeks in terms of staying with the other bikes and following them.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P7

“I’m happy because the main goal on Friday is to get into Q2, and we achieved it. I was fast throughout the whole day, also simulating race pace. We did a good job in the time attack too. I’m not fully satisfied with my lap because I didn’t manage to put together a perfect one, but we were able to get into Q2 quite comfortably. Anyway, we’ve started the weekend well. For tomorrow, we need to focus on qualifying, which has been a bit of our kryptonite this year. It’ll be important to start at the front, getting onto the first row would be great and we could have some fun.”

Fermin Aldeguer – P8

“It wasn’t an easy track today, especially in the afternoon. The morning crash took away a bit of feeling and we didn’t manage to return to the track in FP1. We still worked well and in the end we secured our spot in Q2, which was the goal. There’s surely plenty of margin to do better tomorrow, even though there’s a lot of difference in terms of performance between compounds, and we’ll need to be accurate.”

Joan Mir – P9

“A happy day but one that was more difficult than I was expecting. The conditions didn’t help, here in Valencia the grip has reduced a lot compared to what I remember. Even without things going their best we are in Q2 which is a really positive sign. I was using the hard front which shows the confidence I have in the bike, it’s very good for braking but we need to find something more in the longer corners. This is where we need to find those three tenths we are missing and make another step!”

Fabio Quartararo – P10

“I had an issue with leaking fuel in the Practice. Other than that, I was struggling to find a good feeling with the front. Hopefully tomorrow we can make a step, also on one-lap speed, so I’ll feel a bit more comfortable. It looks like our base at the last two races doesn’t translate well here, but we are trying to figure out what we can do.”

Raul Fernandez – P12

“I feel good on the bike and fit to ride but I feel a bit of pain, so I’m not at 100% – I’d say I’m at 90%, which is good and a lot better than last week. But the first target of the weekend is not completed as we are not in Q2. Still, overall, I think it was a very positive day for us. We worked a lot with the medium and the soft tires, especially the medium. We still need to find something for tomorrow as, in terms of pace, we are ready but for the time attack, we can’t make the best benefit from the soft tire. I feel no grip, which is strange because I feel more grip with the medium than with the soft. We need to find something for tomorrow because we are ready to fight.”

Aleix Espargaro – P13

“We’ve had a really good start today, the bike I am riding has improved a lot since the start of the year and I have also been riding a lot more, so everything is coming together. There is more potential there from the bike, I was pushing but that final bit – I have margin, and we can go faster. There’s more stability, speed, everything has improved over the course of the year. We need to make the most of Qualifying because overtaking here is very hard.”

Francesco Bagnaia – P14

“Today we unfortunately didn’t work in the right direction. There was a slight improvement between the two sessions and I hope that – as the grip increases – we’ll be able to make a more significant step forward. We need to improve the bike behaviour under braking and in the turning phase. Looking at the data, it’s clear that we’re missing speed on corner entry and when opening the throttle, which costs me quite a bit of time. The lack of feeling, in this sense, doesn’t help me give clear indications, and I knew this was a track where we could struggle. In any case, we keep working to find a solution.”

Johann Zarco – P15

“I’m disappointed to be in this position and to miss Q2 today. The field is incredibly tight, and I felt I couldn’t ride exactly the way I wanted. We still haven’t found a solution to give me a better feeling on the braking points. I tried to push, but I couldn’t make it work. However, it’s still possible to secure Q2 tomorrow, so let’s see what we can do.”

Luca Marini – P16

“The grip has changed a lot compared to two years ago, so how our bike is behaving here is really different. In the past it was a circuit where Honda was really strong and now we are struggling a little more. I was really expecting more, and we need to work to improve it overnight, there’s still the possibility to do something but it’s not like we thought it would be. It was warmer than we were expecting which is always nice because sometimes here in Valencia it can get really, really cold.”

Alex Rins – P17

“Our weekend started in the Practice – let’s say it like that – because in FP1 I really struggled with the setting of the bike. We were using a ‘normal’ set-up in the morning, but I couldn’t turn well and was going wide. So, we did a drastic set-up change for the Practice, and I noticed a big positive change. We have given it everything we have since the first session, but we still need to polish some small things to be a bit more towards the front.”

Maverick Viñales – P18

“I had not been on that bike for a few weeks, so of course it was tough today, but the goal at the moment is to feel comfortable again on the bike, before being able to push. I am still missing some flexibility, so we just need to make a few twists on my position, and then it will be good! It has been positive to see that my shoulder has improved a lot, we are no longer feeling pain, which is good. The bike is good otherwise, it is super fast, and we just have work to catch up on my side, since I have not been able to push since my injury! Good feeling heading to Saturday!”

Enea Bastianini – P19

“Similar story to usual of course, but the start of the day was not so bad to be honest. We struggled again as soon as we switched tyres, which is an ongoing issue we are trying to solve from our end. Also, the feeling when I put the soft rear changed, I could not, once again, turn the bike like I wanted, the rear was pushing the front a lot, and I am really waiting for Tuesday’s test, because it is a very important issue we need to address. Let’s continue working, and see if we can make some improvements for tomorrow.”

Augusto Fernandez – P20

“Today was good, there weren’t any negatives. I noticed a slight improvement. I had a small crash in the Practice, but overall we worked well today. FP1 was okay, and I was riding on the pace from the start, so I could feel everything better than in Sepang. We are noticing consistency in our findings, which is positive as well. Valencia and Sepang are quite different, but the feelings are similar, which is good. Tomorrow, we want to see if we can make a step, especially with the front of the bike, and we’ll try to find a good base.”

Miguel Oliveira – P21

“It was a bad day, I have to admit. I wasn‘t expecting to have such low rear grip. I‘ve been complaining about this since Portimao: I don‘t have the edge grip to make the bike turn, and I feel like I‘m taking a lot of risks on the front end. I can‘t use the bike‘s full potential to exit the corners. I‘m spinning too much and I can‘t pick the bike up and drive out. So yes, it‘s a very frustrating day, because I feel comfortable when I‘m riding — but the bike just isn‘t performing.”

Jorge Martin – P22

“I feel much better than I thought I would. On one hand, that’s positive because it means that I have recovered – not one hundred per cent, obviously – but still good in such a short amount of time. On the other hand, however, I feel like I want to do more. I just focused on turning laps and finding my pace and the sensations.”

Somkiat Chantra – P23

“Today we tried several new things and they worked well. Our lap time improved, and we managed to reduce the gap from the morning to the afternoon. Overall, I’m fairly satisfied with the progress we made. Tomorrow in the Sprint, we’ll see what we can achieve. I want to finish the season with a strong result, and we’re ready to push hard in Q1 so I can give my absolute maximum.”

Nicolò Bulega – P24

“Riding at this track with a MotoGP bike is not simple and I’m still struggling in some areas of the circuit. This is a very technical track with very interconnected corners: if you don’t have full confidence with the front-end, it becomes challenging to make the bike turn. I can’t exploit the tyres as much as I’d like, especially the soft ones, as I end up with the same lap-times as with the other compounds. When that happens, it means you still haven’t found the limit. In any case, it was overall a positive day and we’ll try to make a step forward tomorrow.”

Team Managers

Paolo Bonora – Aprilia Racing

“We are extremely happy because, with Marco, we confirmed the good feeling on this track and with the RS-GP25, as the second place in Q2 demonstrates. We are also pleased with Jorge’s return. The goal with him is obviously to build back confidence with the bike in view of 2026. We already demonstrated that we have a good setup this morning, also with Ogura. We need to continue working in order to be ready for qualifying and the sprint race on Saturday.”

Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Aprilia Team Principal

“It was great to see Ai going straight to Q2, especially after the small crash he had in the session. We had to change the plan and he had only one time attack available, but he used it just very well. He did a great job; going back out after the crash, picking up the pace and then using the only chance he had for a time attack – so good job by him. It’s always important to be in Q2 for the rest of the weekend. We could have also had Raul in Q2; we just need to work a little bit more on something on his bike, but we are close. I think tomorrow, we can try to target to get both in Q2 and see what happens. Let’s keep going like this.”

Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha Team Director

“I‘d say it was a very good Friday, especially for Miller, who was already very strong this morning — even though he used a new tire to set his time — and then performed extremely well again in Practice. Well done to him and his team, they worked really well. I‘m sorry for Oliveira: once again we haven‘t been able to find a good balance between him and the bike. Everyone is working very hard, but we still haven‘t found the right setup. Hopefully we can discover something between today and tomorrow that allows him to improve.”

Massimo Meregalli – Monster Energy Yamaha Team Director

“We had a bit of a complicated start. Fabio made good progress between the morning session and the afternoon Practice. He was showing good pace, but a sudden technical error cost him time and spoiled his plans for the Practice. However, Fabio showed his adaptability and still got the job done. In the end, Álex was not fast enough in the time attacks. The team will help him prepare for tomorrow’s Q1 session, because we expect that it will be a tough battle for those top two spots. Overall, the times of the entire MotoGP field are close together: with 19 riders within 1s it promises to be an entertaining final showdown for the fans.”

MotoGP Practice Report

Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) set the benchmark on the opening day of the season finale in Valencia, clocking a 1:29.240 to finish Friday 0.053 seconds clear of Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing). Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) completed the top three at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, where half a second covered the top 14 riders.

Bezzecchi controlled the pace for most of the first half of the session before crashing at Turn 4 while following Acosta. Moments earlier, Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) also fell at Turn 3.

During that phase, VR46 Ducati pair Fabio Di Giannantonio and Morbidelli briefly held the top two positions before Acosta moved clear with back-to-back laps of 1:29.790.

Inside the final 30 minutes, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) suffered a problem with his M1 on the front straight, forcing the Frenchman to park the bike and switch to his second machine after being covered in fuel.

With 15 minutes remaining, Acosta extended his margin to over half a second, before Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) moved into P2. Morbidelli and Alex Márquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) then traded places inside the top five.

Bezzecchi later reduced Acosta’s advantage to 0.236s and ultimately to 0.053s with his best lap of the day. Ogura climbed from P15 to P3 in a strong late run before ending the session in P5.

Despite late attempts, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) remained outside the top 10 and will face Q1 on Saturday after suffering some machinery issues on Friday.

MotoGP Valencia Practice Times

The opening day of Moto2 action in Valencia produced an early twist in the title fight, with Championship leader Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) finishing 19th in Practice and heading for Q1 on Saturday. Title contender Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) ended Friday in 10th, securing direct passage to Q2.

At the top of the timesheets, Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) set the pace with a 1:32.408, despite a late crash.

Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) was second, while Daniel Muñoz (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completed the top three.

Senna Agius is off to a good start in sixth.

Moreira’s P19 marks the first time since the Czech Grand Prix that the Brazilian has been pushed into the opening part of qualifying. Gonzalez, nine points behind coming into the weekend, holds the early advantage after a consistent opening day.

Two of 2025’s race winners, Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) and David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team), also missed the top 14 and will contest Q1.

Behind Holgado, Dixon, and Muñoz, Izan Guevara (BLUCRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) finished fourth, with Alex Escrig (KLINT Forward Factory Team) rounding out the top five.

Valencia Moto2 Practice Times

Moto2 Championship Standings

Moto3

David Almansa (Leopard Racing) topped Moto3 Practice on Friday at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, setting a series of improving laps to finish the session with a comfortable margin at the head of the field. The Spaniard ended the day more than three tenths clear after lapping significantly under the previous circuit benchmark, securing direct entry to Q2.

Teammate Adrián Fernández completed a strong day for Leopard Racing in second, with Valentín Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) rounding out the top three ahead of Guido Pini.

Furusato arrives in Valencia off consecutive podiums in Malaysia and Portugal, maintaining that form with a top-five start to the weekend.

The battle for second in the Moto3 World Championship remains tight between Ángel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) and Máximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team). Both riders secured automatic Q2 progression, finishing P8 and P9 respectively on Friday while Joel Kelso rounded out the top ten.

Forced to withdraw from the Malaysian Grand Prix after fracturing his left hand and to sit out the Portuguese Grand Prix last week, Jacob Roulstone was excited to be back with the team in Valencia for his final race in KTM Tech3 colours. The Aussie had passed the medical check on Thursday and was to be re-evaluated after FP1 on Friday morning, a second evaluation he successfully passed. The first session was about regaining the feeling with the bike, as the number 12 had not ridden his KTM since Sepang, and the sensations were quite positive heading into Practice. Roulstone showed encouraging pace in the afternoon’s session, with the Aussie improving his lap time to 1’38.518, a time that saw him finish the session just outside the top 14, narrowly missing out on the direct Q2 tickets by 0.069 seconds. Still, it is encouraging for the Australian heading to the remainder of the weekend.

Jacob Roulstone – P15

“This morning was about getting back the feeling on the bike, and adjusting my riding with my hand condition. I felt good, though. It is nice to be back riding with the team. We narrowly missed Q2 today, but we’ll do our best to go through tomorrow. I am confident that we can pick things up quickly and get back to the level where I was before my injury.”

Valencia Moto3 Practice Times