The San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Grand Prix weekend kicked off with intense action at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. Friday’s track sessions delivered high drama, culminating in a fierce battle between Marc Márquez and home favorite Marco Bezzecchi, while three-time world champion Francesco Bagnaia endured a nightmare start.
Morning Practice (FP1): Marc Márquez Takes Early Command
The weekend opened under the sign of Marc Márquez. The Ducati rider set the pace in the opening free practice session, stopping the clock at 1:31.468 to send a clear message to his rivals right from the start.
Márquez edged out Marco Bezzecchi by just 0.060 seconds. Riding his Aprilia, the Italian showed strong pace on home turf to stay right on the heels of the factory Ducati. Raúl Fernández made it two Aprilia machines in the top three, finishing just 0.133s behind Márquez.
Álex Márquez put his Gresini Ducati in fourth ahead of Honda LCR’s Johann Zarco, while Pedro Acosta (KTM) and Luca Marini (Honda) took sixth and seventh respectively. Championship leader Jorge Martín wrapped up FP1 in eighth position, slightly over two tenths off the top pace. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) rounded out the top ten.
FP1 also saw minor incidents for Jack Miller (Turn 4) and Pedro Acosta, though both walked away unscathed.
Afternoon Practice: Bezzecchi Strikes Back for Aprilia
The afternoon pre-qualifying session saw a dramatic response from Marco Bezzecchi. Under the watchful eye of his mentor Valentino Rossi—who was present in the Aprilia garage—Bezzecchi launched a blistering late attack. In the final seconds of the session, the Italian set a lap of 1:30.144, narrowly missing the all-time track lap record.
Marc Márquez finished second with a 1:30.247 after failing to improve on his final attempt during the late time-attack phase.
Behind the lead duo, Ducati showcased strong overall depth:
- Álex Márquez placed third (+0.185s).
- Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli finished fourth and fifth for the VR46 squad, placing four Desmosedici bikes right behind Bezzecchi’s Aprilia.
Pedro Acosta recovered from his morning crash to secure sixth place, helping pull teammate Pol Espargaró (substituting for the injured Maverick Viñales) into ninth. Honda enjoyed a promising session as Luca Marini and Johann Zarco took seventh and eighth place respectively.
Championship leader Jorge Martín managed to scrape into the top ten in tenth position, securing direct access to Q2 despite having a couple of lap times deleted due to track limits.
Bagnaia Sinks into Q1
The biggest shock of Friday came from Francesco Bagnaia. After an 18th-place finish in FP1, the Italian struggled severely in the afternoon Practice session, dropping to 21st overall—1.3 seconds off Bezzecchi’s benchmark and ahead of only the Yamahas of Jack Miller and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu.
Bagnaia, along with Enea Bastianini (11th), Raúl Fernández (12th), and Fabio Quartararo (16th), will now be forced to fight their way through Q1 in Saturday’s qualifying session.
Photo by Alessio Mazzocco