Marc Marquez rebounded from an earlier crash to dominate 2025 Americas MotoGP Friday’s practice.
Held at the iconic Circuit of the Americas (COTA) in Austin, Texas, the Ducati Lenovo rider showcased his mastery of the challenging track to conclude the day as the fastest rider, solidifying his reputation as a dominant force at the venue.
Despite mixed weather conditions and a new track surface that tested riders’ adaptability, Marc Marquez delivered a blistering lap time of 2:02.929 to emerge as the standout performer in Americas MotoGP Friday’s practice.
While FP1 was held on a wet circuit thanks to overnight rain that left the track slippery and treacherous, conditions improved slightly for Free Practice 2 (FP2) which took place under warmer temperatures of 21 degrees Celsius.
The session began on a damp track but gradually dried out allowing riders to push harder as grip levels improved. The evolving track conditions meant that lap times tumbled dramatically in the final minutes, creating an intense battle for supremacy.
Marc Marquez immediately seized control of FP2 with a series of incredible laps in succession. His performance was particularly impressive given his earlier crash in FP1, underscoring his ability to bounce back under pressure.
His nearest challenger was Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina VR46 Racing Team) who finished 0.736s off the benchmark to secure second place while his teammate Franco Morbidelli continued his strong form by finishing third with a time of 2:03.766.
The BK8 Gresini Racing duo of Alex Marquez and rookie Fermin Aldeguer also impressed, claiming fourth and fifth respectively. The younger Marquez demonstrated his familiarity with COTA’s demanding layout, while Aldeguer’s performance highlighted his rapid adaptation to MotoGP’s premier class.
Jack Miller also emerged as a standout performer in Americas MotoGP Friday’s practice after finishing in sixth to mark the first non-Ducati rider. His strong showing came after having bravely switched to slick tires early in the session on his Yamaha M1.
Miller was followed by KTM stablemates Pedro Acosta and Maverick Viñales in seventh and eighth respectively. Acosta continued to impress in his rookie season while Viñales showed glimpses of his potential despite struggling with consistency earlier in the day.
Joan Mir emerged as Honda’s top representative in ninth place while two-time MotoGP World Champion Francesco Bagnaia rounded out the top ten to secure a spot in Q2.
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Further down the order, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) finished just outside the top ten in 11th place followed by Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in 12th.
Aprilia Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi managed to recover from his disastrous FP1 session to claim 13th place while rookie Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Racing) ended up 14th after an eventful day.
Americas MotoGP Friday’s practice also saw its share of challenges for several riders. Joan Mir suffered another crash towards the end of FP2 but managed to walk away unharmed.
Johann Zarco struggled to find pace on his LCR Honda Castrol machine after a late crash and finished 19th overall.
Lorenzo Savadori (Aprilia Racing), substituting for injured reigning champion Jorge Martin, had a tough outing and ended up 22nd.
The mixed weather conditions and new track surface added an extra layer of complexity to Friday’s practice sessions at COTA. Riders had to navigate rapidly changing grip levels while adapting their setups for both wet and dry conditions.
For Marc Marquez, however, these challenges seemed only to fuel his determination as he stamped his authority during Americas MotoGP Friday’s practice.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s qualifying sessions and Sunday’s race, Marquez’s dominant performance has set him up as the clear favorite. However, with several riders showing strong pace and unpredictable weather potentially playing a role again it remains to be seen if he will claim a treble.
