The final race weekend of the 2025 MotoGP season opened with exactly the kind of intensity you’d expect from Valencia: a packed grandstand, track temperatures building by the minute, and a field separated by mere tenths in the opening sessions. By the end of Friday, one name sat above the rest—Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).

The Spanish phenom lit up the Circuit Ricardo Tormo with a blistering 1:29.240, a lap that placed him just 0.053sahead of Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing). Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) completed the top three on a day where half a second covered the first fourteen riders. This is Valencia, after all—MotoGP rarely gets tighter than this.

Bezzecchi sets the tone early—then Turn 4 hits back

For much of the opening 30 minutes, Bezzecchi looked like the sharpest and most comfortable rider on track. His early pace had the Aprilia box buzzing—until the Italian pushed a fraction too hard while following Acosta and lost the front at Turn 4.

Turn 4 is notorious at Valencia for sudden loss-of-load crashes; the bike tips in quickly, the front tyre cools rapidly in shaded conditions, and riders often speak about how “it’s one of the corners that gives nothing back” unless the lap preparation is perfect. Bezzecchi’s low-side was textbook Valencia.

Almost simultaneously, fellow Aprilia rider Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) crashed at Turn 3, another punishing left-hander that catches riders while they’re still scrubbing heat into the tyres.

As Aprilia regrouped, the board shuffled dramatically: Fabio Di Giannantonio and Morbidelli vaulted into P1 and P2 respectively before Acosta delivered a pair of eerily identical laps—two straight 1:29.790s. The consistency was staggering.

Quartararo suffers late-session trouble

With around half an hour to go, Fabio Quartararo’s (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) day took an unwelcome turn when his YZR-M1 appeared to suffer a mechanical problem down the main straight. The Frenchman coasted the bike to safety, and with limited time remaining, that effectively ended his session with only one working machine left in the garage.

Yamaha have been vocal about reliability improvements through 2025, but Friday’s hiccup certainly didn’t help their late-season momentum.

Acosta raises the bar as Q2 fight ramps up

Inside the final 15 minutes, Acosta delivered the lap that ultimately secured him Friday honours: 1:29.240, a time more than half a second clear of the field at that moment.

Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) briefly climbed into P2, surprising many with Yamaha’s notable step forward in low-speed cornering at Valencia.

Morbidelli then closed the gap slightly, but even after moving into the top three, he remained over half a second off Acosta’s time.

A late surge from the pack

As riders switched to time-attack mode:

• Alex Márquez
• Di Giannantonio
• and Quartararo

all found improvements, slicing Acosta’s advantage down to just over three tenths.

Then Bezzecchi struck again—first trimming the gap to 0.236s, then launching a near-perfect lap that left him just 0.053s off Acosta.

With three minutes left, the order briefly stabilised, though the story of the session was still unfolding for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). The reigning champion found himself stuck outside the top ten, unable to find clean space or the missing tenths. His situation worsened when Ogura jumped from P15 to an astonishing P3, pushing Bagnaia even further down the order.

In the end, the laps dried up. Bagnaia remained 14th, missing automatic Q2 by just fractions.

Friday’s Top 10 in Valencia

1. Pedro Acosta – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
2. Marco Bezzecchi – Aprilia Racing
3. Franco Morbidelli – Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing
4. Alex Márquez – BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP
5. Ai Ogura – Trackhouse MotoGP Team
6. Jack Miller – Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
7. Fabio Di Giannantonio – Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing
8. Fermin Aldeguer – BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP
9. Joan Mir – Honda HRC Castrol
10. Fabio Quartararo – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

The bigger picture: Eight tenths between the top 19

Valencia lived up to its tradition of microscopic gaps.

• 0.5s split Acosta from Bagnaia in P14
• 0.9s separated the entire top 19

It is, simply put, one of the closest grid spreads of the season.

Up next: A high-stakes Sprint Saturday

Qualifying and the Tissot Sprint are shaping up to be a fireworks display:

• Acosta looks poised to fight for his first-ever Valencia weekend sweep
• Bezzecchi is laser-focused on securing P3 in the championship
• Martin, returning from injury, admitted he felt “almost too good”—always a sign that a rider might push the limit
• KTM, Aprilia, Yamaha, Ducati, and Honda all showed flashes of competitiveness
• And Bagnaia must claw through Q1 under maximum pressure

Moto2™: Holgado fastest as title contender Moreira faces Q1 battle

Valencia wasted no time adding tension to the Moto2 title fight.
Championship leader Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) ended Friday in P19, meaning he will have to navigate the always-chaotic Q1 session.

His rival Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) comfortably sealed a Q2 ticket with P10—softening the pressure slightly heading into Saturday.

At the top of the classification, Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) set a rapid 1:32.408, despite a late fall that ended his session prematurely. Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), who is making his final Moto2 appearance before moving categories, impressed with P2, while rising star Daniel Muñoz (Red Bull KTM Ajo) completed the top three.

Other key notes:

• Moreira enters Q1 for the first time since the Czech GP
• Aron Canet and David Alonso—both 2025 race winners—are also stuck in Q1
• Izan Guevara and Alex Escrig rounded out the Friday top five
• An extraordinary 0.7 seconds covered the top 21 riders

Moto2 qualifying is now primed for drama.

Moto3™: Almansa dominates Friday with record pace

Under warm, bright skies, David Almansa (Leopard Racing) stormed to the top of the Moto3 charts with an almost flawless session. The Spaniard dropped the lap record by nearly a full second, repeatedly finding time in the final sector where he carried outrageous corner speed.

His gap—over three tenths—makes him the early favourite for pole position.

Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) delivered an impressive P2 to secure a team 1–2, while Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) completed the top three after one of his strongest Friday outings of the year.

Additional highlights:

• Guido Pini and Taiyo Furusato—fresh from consecutive podiums—finished in the top five
• Maximo Quiles and Angel Piqueras, locked in a duel for second in the championship, safely advanced into Q2 with P8 and P9

Moto3 qualifying is shaping up to be as tight and unpredictable as ever.