Marc Marquez hits the high notes in Termas, leading Day 1 ahead of Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez as all manufacturers secure Q2 spots.
Termas Tales: Marquez Rules as Title Contenders Battle for Supremacy
At the iconic Termas de Río Hondo, the story on Friday was as familiar as it was electric—another chapter in the saga of #93. It was a talisman track, and once again, Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) reigned supreme in Practice, setting a blistering pace that everyone else had to chase ahead of the Tissot Sprint on Saturday.
A late burst of brilliance from Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and a consistently strong performance from Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) helped establish the main early contenders. Meanwhile, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) narrowly avoided a Q1 trap following a late Turn 2 crash, leaving his fans holding their breath. Impressively, all five manufacturers managed to secure spots in Q2, and Friday was brimming with storylines.
How the Day Unfolded
Just like in the morning session, Marc Marquez quickly climbed to the top of the Practice leaderboard on Friday afternoon. He was joined by Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) as they fought for the best times with just 25 minutes remaining.
After a strong showing in Free Practice 1 and the first half of Practice, Zarco’s run was cut short by a crash at Turn 2—fortunately, he walked away unhurt. At that point, he was in P3 behind Marquez and Bezzecchi, with Alex Marquez in P4. With 20 minutes left, Bagnaia was sitting in P10, trailing his teammate by seven-tenths of a second.
Then came a turning moment: Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was one of the first to fit a fresh soft Michelin rear tire, climbing to P2, just 0.088 seconds shy of Marquez’s time. Soon after, the age-old MotoGP lap record was shattered by Bezzecchi’s 1:37.510, pushing Marquez’s 2014 benchmark out of the picture as the pace improved further. Bagnaia and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) then moved into P4 and P5, with Zarco dropping to P8.
Bezzecchi’s record wasn’t meant to last, as Marc Marquez reclaimed his spot at the top with a 1:37.438 lap, helped along by a late surge from Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) who pushed Marquez up to P4.
As the final five minutes ticked away, Bagnaia was still in P6—not a safe margin for a direct Q2 entry. Then disaster struck for the double MotoGP World Champion: a misstep at Turn 2 sent Bagnaia sliding into the gravel, leaving him with an anxious wait to see if he’d suffer a second consecutive Q1 fate.
After these early issues, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) managed to clock a P5, demoting Bagnaia to P7. With less than a minute remaining, Binder and Zarco nudged Bagnaia down further to P9. Even though Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) briefly claimed a late P10, a final burst from Rins shuffled Ogura out of the automatic Q2 spots, leaving Bagnaia to barely scrape through Q1.
Final Q2 Qualifiers
Marquez’s last flying lap set him over a tenth clear of a late surge by Di Giannantonio, cementing his position at the top of the leaderboard. Rounding out the top five were Alex Marquez, Bezzecchi, and Binder, with Rins, Zarco, and Quartararo securing spots for the Japanese manufacturers. Acosta and Bagnaia just managed to claw their way through, ensuring that all five factory teams tasted Friday’s success in Termas—exactly what the fans want to see.
What’s Next
Saturday promises even more action at the Argentina GP. Bagnaia will undoubtedly be aiming for a better performance, while Q1 is expected to be a jungle with rookie star Ogura leading the charge in the opening 15 minutes of qualifying. And the big question remains: can anyone stop Marc Marquez’s early weekend momentum?
Find out all the answers in the qualifying session at 10:50 local time (UTC -3), followed by the second Tissot Sprint of the season at 15:00.
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff | Lap |
| 1 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Ducati Lenovo (GP25) | 1’37.295s | 24/24 |
| 2 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Pertamina VR46 Ducati (GP25) | +0.135s | 22/22 |
| 3 | Alex Marquez | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24) | +0.201s | 22/23 |
| 4 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | +0.215s | 19/26 |
| 5 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.251s | 23/24 |
| 6 | Alex Rins | SPA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.296s | 20/24 |
| 7 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Castrol Honda LCR (RC213V) | +0.390s | 20/21 |
| 8 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.523s | 20/23 |
| 9 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.532s | 15/22 |
| 10 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP25) | +0.539s | 18/20 |
| 11 | Ai Ogura | JPN | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25)* | +0.560s | 24/25 |
| 12 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Pertamina VR46 Ducati (GP24) | +0.636s | 17/22 |
| 13 | Joan Mir | SPA | Honda HRC Castrol (RC213V) | +0.680s | 24/26 |
| 14 | Jack Miller | AUS | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.763s | 20/24 |
| 15 | Luca Marini | ITA | Honda HRC Castrol (RC213V) | +0.841s | 22/22 |
| 16 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.020s | 14/23 |
| 17 | Fermin Aldeguer | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24)* | +1.052s | 18/22 |
| 18 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +1.354s | 21/22 |
| 19 | Somkiat Chantra | THA | Idemitsu Honda LCR (RC213V)* | +1.356s | 18/24 |
| 20 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25) | +1.451s | 20/20 |
| 21 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +1.490s | 23/23 |
| 22 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Factory (RS-GP25) | +1.781s | 19/24 |
Moto 2 Gonzalez clinches top honors on Day 1 at Termas.
World Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) got off to a flying start at Termas de Río Hondo, topping the Moto2 Practice session on the Triumph-powered bikes. Gonzalez posted a 1:41.713 lap—0.160 seconds faster than Alonso Lopez (Team HDR Heidrun)’s best time—before a crash by the #21 rider at Turn 3 triggered a Red Flag, cutting the session short with just over a minute remaining. Fortunately, Lopez walked away unscathed, and Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) rounded out the top three.
Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing) and Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing) comfortably secured fourth and fifth, with Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) finishing sixth. However, the drama wasn’t over for the #44: in the final stages, Canet suffered a significant crash at Turn 11 but has since been declared fit for the rest of the event.
The action continued for others as well, with Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) experiencing a dramatic fall at Turn 1 that forced him to miss the remainder of the session. He ended up in fifteenth and will now need to fight through Q1 on Saturday. With so many twists and turns, the stage is set for an intense battle on the track tomorrow.
Moto 3 Almansa shatters the lap record, outpacing Carpe and Rueda to lead Day 1.
David Almansa (Leopard Racing) led the Moto3™ timesheets on Day 1 at Termas, marking his first-ever session win with a brand-new lap record. He built an impressive gap of 0.364 seconds over rookie Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who had already turned heads in Thailand with a stunning debut podium on unfamiliar ground. Also, Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo), the Thai GP winner, completed the top three and continued to show his consistency—having also been the second fastest in FP1.
Home hero Valentino Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) came in fourth, setting himself apart in a closely contested field where even thousandths of a second mattered. Following him were Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA), Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) along with his teammate Angel Piqueras, then Scott Ogden (CIP Green Power), Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), and finally, Buriram podium finisher Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing).
One notable rider who didn’t automatically progress to Q1 was David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP). Despite topping FP1, an incident with Foggia in the afternoon pushed him to P15. No further action was taken regarding the incident, but Muñoz already faces a pitlane start here for a previous crash with Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) in Thailand—so qualifying isn’t his main priority at the moment.
Luca Lunetta also made a surprise appearance in Q1, and so did Matteo Bertelle (LEVEL UP – MTA), who, despite an afternoon crash in Argentina that briefly brought out the Red Flag, is thankfully okay and set to move on as the Buriram polesitter.
