#93 leads Friday as KTM, Aprilia, and Honda secure top six spots
The summer break might be over, but Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) hasn’t lost an ounce of speed. The championship leader put in a blistering late lap of 1:28.117 to take top spot in Friday practice at the BWIN Grand Prix of Austria, edging out home favourite Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) by 0.228s. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) slotted into third, while several big names surprisingly missed an automatic Q2 slot.
Opening action – drama from the start
It didn’t take long for the drama to unfold at the Red Bull Ring. Defending World Champion Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) suffered a heavy fall at Turn 9 early in the session. The crash left his primary RS-GP machine worse for wear, though Martin himself walked away unhurt.
Up front, Bagnaia set the early benchmark, chased by Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol), with Marquez and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) comfortably inside the top four after the first half hour.
Acosta, fresh from two Czech GP podiums, then snatched P1 — just before a red flag halted proceedings. Fabio Quartararo had gone down at Turn 6, moments after Jack Miller’s Prima Pramac Yamaha began smoking heavily. The incident left fluid on the racing line, sending Quartararo’s YZR-M1 into the air fence. Miguel Oliveira, Miller’s teammate, also crashed at the same corner in the chaos. Track crews were forced into action, cleaning the surface before the final 26 minutes could get underway.
Top 10 shuffle – rookies and surprises
When the session resumed, the order changed quickly. Rookie Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) lit up the timing screens with a 1:28.877, two-tenths clear of the field. Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) and Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) then muscled their way into P1 and P2 with just over 10 minutes left.
It was a frenetic closing stage. Acosta reclaimed top spot, chased by Bagnaia and Marquez. Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) moved to fourth ahead of teammate Zarco. Inside the final two minutes, Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) jumped to third, pushing Marc to fourth — but the elder Marquez wasn’t finished.
With seconds remaining, Marquez unleashed a lap for the ages — the new all-time track record at the Red Bull Ring — to retake P1 by over two-tenths. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) found time on their final laps to secure direct Q2 entries, sealing the top 10.
Friday’s top 10
P1: Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team)
P2: Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
P3: Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team)
P4: Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP)
P5: Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team)
P6: Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol)
P7: Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team)
P8: Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR)
P9: Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP)
P10: Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
Saturday on the horizon
Q1 will be a heavyweight battle. Among those fighting for the two remaining Q2 spots are Brno Sprint podium finisher Enea Bastianini, Fabio Quartararo, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), and both Aprilia Racing factory men — Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi. Then it’s straight into Q2, followed by the Tissot Sprintlater in the afternoon.
Moto2™ – Gonzalez edges Canet in nail-biting session
The top two in the Moto2 World Championship finished Friday split by just 0.013s. Points leader Manuel Gonzalez(Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) set a new lap record to top the timesheets, just ahead of Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego). Rookie Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – FRINSA – MSI) impressed with third, a mere 0.077s back, while Spielberg specialist Celestino Vietti (Sync SpeedRS Team) was fourth — only 0.006s behind Ortola.
Gonzalez’s day wasn’t without trouble — he received a three-place grid penalty for slow riding on the racing line. Third in the championship Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) scraped into Q2 in 14th. Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) left it late, jumping from outside the top 14 to P6 on his final flyer.
Brno winner Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) sits 15th, while David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) and Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) have work to do from 18th and 21st respectively to make Q2.
Moto3™ – Piqueras powers to P1 with lap record
In Moto3, Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) was the class of the field, clocking a 1:39.918 to set a new all-time lap record for the category at the Red Bull Ring. Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) was second, with Piqueras’ teammate Ryusei Yamanaka completing the top three — all split by just 0.3 seconds.
The CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar pairing of Maximo Quiles and Dennis Foggia rounded out the top five. David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) bounced back from a big FP1 crash at Turn 10 to claim sixth.
At KTM’s home race, Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) ended the day seventh, with teammate Alvaro Carpe clinging to a Q2 spot in 14th.
