2025 Japanese MotoGP, Motegi - Saturday Practice Results
Saturday practice results from the 2025 Motegi MotoGP at Motegi, round 17 of 22.
Pedro Acosta and home rookie star Ai Ogura head the timesheets during final practice for the 2025 Japanese MotoGP
Marc Marquez was soon on top of the timesheets, then suffered a slow lowside fall at Turn 5 - which earlier caught out Fabio di Giannantonio - and became frustrated by the marshals efforts to extract his bike from the gravel.
Marquez finished third fastest, while factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia continued to build momentum with fourth place (+0.2s).
Most riders used medium front and soft rear tyres, the expected pairing for this afternoon's Sprint race.
Qualifying 1, for those outside the top ten on Friday, including Ogura and Alex Marquez, will now begin.
2025 Japanese MotoGP, Motegi - Saturday Free Practice Results | ||||||
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Team | Time/Diff | Lap | Max |
| 1 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | 1'44.108s | 9/13 | 317k |
| 2 | Ai Ogura | JPN | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25)* | +0.125s | 12/13 | 313k |
| 3 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Ducati Lenovo (GP25) | +0.213s | 4/10 | 317k |
| 4 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP25) | +0.230s | 7/12 | 318k |
| 5 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Pertamina VR46 Ducati (GP24) | +0.233s | 9/10 | 315k |
| 6 | Luca Marini | ITA | Honda HRC Castrol (RC213V) | +0.312s | 9/13 | 316k |
| 7 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | +0.413s | 6/15 | 315k |
| 8 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | Idemitsu Honda LCR (RC213V) | +0.420s | 4/13 | 314k |
| 9 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.483s | 11/12 | 312k |
| 10 | Alex Marquez | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24) | +0.522s | 7/12 | 312k |
| 11 | Joan Mir | SPA | Honda HRC Castrol (RC213V) | +0.526s | 5/13 | 316k |
| 12 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.536s | 12/13 | 316k |
| 13 | Jack Miller | AUS | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.559s | 9/12 | 317k |
| 14 | Fermin Aldeguer | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24)* | +0.568s | 5/12 | 314k |
| 15 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | +0.765s | 10/11 | 313k |
| 16 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Castrol Honda LCR (RC213V) | +0.774s | 4/11 | 316k |
| 17 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25) | +0.784s | 4/12 | 312k |
| 18 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +0.831s | 9/12 | 316k |
| 19 | Miguel Oliveira | POR | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.899s | 4/10 | 316k |
| 20 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +0.971s | 10/10 | 314k |
| 21 | Alex Rins | SPA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +1.035s | 9/10 | 312k |
| 22 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Pertamina VR46 Ducati (GP25) | +1.118s | 6/11 | 315k |
| 23 | Somkiat Chantra | THA | Idemitsu Honda LCR (RC213V)* | +1.838s | 11/11 | 312k |
* Rookie
Official Motegi MotoGP Records:
Best lap: Pedro Acosta, KTM, 1m 43.018s (2024)
Fastest race lap: Jorge Martin, Ducati, 1m 44.461s (2024)
Marc Marquez gets his first chance to win this year’s world championship in Japan.
The Ducati Lenovo rider returns to Japan, scene of past title glory with Honda, holding a 182-point lead over younger brother Alex.
While Marc Marquez can’t be crowned champion in the Sprint race, he will wrap up his first MotoGP title since 2019 if he holds an advantage of at least 185 points over Alex on Sunday afternoon.
Marc and Alex (Gresini Ducati) are now the only riders still in world championship contention, with Francesco Bagnaia slipping 275 points behind his team-mate.
The Italian – winner of last year’s Japanese Grand Prix - now has a fight on his hands to hold third place, with Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi just eight points adrift after a brilliant 1-2 (Sprint-GP) weekend in Misano.
Meanwhile, KTM's Pedro Acosta could be another contender after taking pole position as a rookie at the 2024 event, before crashing out of both races.
Ducati has won all five races held at Motegi since Marc Marquez’s 2019 victory for Repsol Honda, courtesy of Jack Miller (2022 GP), Jorge Martin (2023 Sprint & GP) and Francesco Bagnaia (2024 Sprint & GP).
Joan Mir and home rookie star Ai Ogura are back in action after missing the Misano test due to injuries in the San Marino race weekend.
HRC test rider Takaaki Nakagami, who injured knee ligaments when he was taken down at Brno, is the second home rider on track this weekend.
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