Marco Bezzecchi set the pace in Friday’s practice session for the Aragón Grand Prix. On the Spanish circuit, the Italian rider produced an almost perfect lap, setting a new track record with a time of 1:45.455 and edging a determined Álex Márquez by just 0.010 seconds.
The afternoon session was fiercely contested, with the top ten earning direct access to Saturday’s Q2. Bezzecchi found the decisive improvement in the closing stages, beating Gresini Ducati rider Álex Márquez and the factory Ducati of Marc Márquez, who finished third after dominating the opening morning session.
Behind the leading trio, the battle for the remaining Q2 places was equally intense. Fabio Di Giannantonio put his VR46 Ducati fourth, ahead of Fermín Aldeguer and Raúl Fernández. Jorge Martín, Pedro Acosta, Franco Morbidelli and Johann Zarco completed the top ten, with Zarco immediately showing strong pace on his return to action.
The biggest disappointment of the day was Francesco Bagnaia. The Italian was unable to secure a place in the top ten after making a mistake in the final sector of his flying lap at the crucial moment. As a result, Bagnaia will have to go through Q1, making his fight for pole position considerably more difficult.