Francesco Bagnaia showcased a strong return to form after topping the timesheets in opening Japanese MotoGP practice, as several riders including Marco Bezzechi suffered crashes at Motegi.
The Italian rider marked his first time leading an FP1 session in 2025, highlighting renewed confidence and competitiveness as he seeks to close the gap in the championship standings.
This performance was particularly significant as Bagnaia had struggled in the previous rounds at Barcelona and Misano but came into Motegi with renewed confidence and a clear grip on pace, proving his competitiveness on the 2025 Ducati GP25 machine.
The session began with riders immediately hitting the track for the 45-minute practice slot, eager to adapt to the technical circuits’ demands and prepare for the critical stages of the weekend.
Early in the session, lap times ranged between 1:46 and 1:48, with riders like Raul Fernandez, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Fabio Quartararo, Pedro Acosta, and Bagnaia establishing strong early benchmarks.
However, the session quickly became chaotic as two crashes within minutes set a turbulent tone for the day.
Raul Fernandez was the first to fall at Turn 8, followed almost immediately by Marco Bezzecchi’s crash in sector three at Turn 11 – a challenging braking zone, triggering the first yellow flag of the session and underscored the challenging conditions and tight margins at Motegi.
Bezzechi would later suffer a second crash at Turn 5 – a downhill right-hander known for catching riders off guard – damaging his second Aprilia bike and forcing him to miss most of the remaining FP1.
Despite these setbacks, Bezzecchi displayed remarkable resilience and ultimately posted a competitive pace albeit was only good enough for 11th.
Other crashes at Motegi further emphasized the challenging nature of the track, including VR46 Racing’s Franco Morbidelli who fell at Turn 5 late in the session, just moments before Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller also succumbed to the gravel after making a similar mistake.
Enea Bastianini from Red Bull KTM Tech 3 also crashed at Turn 10. Fortunately, all riders involved walked away without serious injuries, underlining the safety standards of modern MotoGP despite the high stakes and relentless pace.
Despite the early setbacks, Francesco Bagnaia’s session was marked by strategic pace-setting as he proceeded to become the first rider to dip into the 1:44-second range with a 1:44.857s – a benchmark that would remain unbeaten for the rest of the session.
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Bagnaia’s triumph in opening Japanese MotoGP practice was largely credited to his crew’s technical adjustments, including the deployment of a 2024 fork and swingarm on his bike, along with unconventional solutions to his previous corner entry struggles.
His relentless effort saw him fend off Aprilia’s Jorge Martin as well as his Ducati teammate and championship leader Marc Marquez, both formidable contenders and illustrating the tight competition at the top of the timesheets.
Fabio Di Giannantonio finished fourth fastest ahead of Honda’s Luca Marini and Morbidelli, who rebounded from his earlier crash to post a competitive time.
Pedro Acosta was the leading KTM in seventh followed by Jack Miller who recovered to claim the eighth fastest time in FP1.
LCR’s Somkiat Chantra had his best session of the year, finishing ninth overall and demonstrating consistent improvement, while Pramac’s Miguel Oliveira rounded out the top ten.
Other notable performances came from Joan Mir and local favorite Ai Ogura who returned to action after missing recent Misano test sessions due to injuries.
Championship contender Alex Marquez endured a challenging session in 15th after struggling with pace and setup, while Fabio Quartararo led the factory Yamaha charge in 16th.
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