Marc Marquez, 2025 MotoGP Thai Grand Prix. Credit: Gold and Goose
Marc Marquez, 2025 MotoGP Thai Grand Prix. Credit: Gold and Goose
© Gold and Goose

2025 Thai MotoGP, Buriram: Friday Practice as it happened

Recap Friday practice for the season-opening 2025 Thai MotoGP round at Buriram.

The 2025 MotoGP season begins with a pair of Friday practice sessions at Buriram, the second of which will decide the top ten for direct Q🎃ཧualifying 2 access.

Reigning world champ🦩ion Jorge Martin remains absent after sufferi🌠ng further hand injuries in training earlier this week and is replaced by Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori.

But Fabio di Giannantonio - also injured on day one of the Sepang test - is back for V🌊R46.

Marc Marquez was fastest at the recent Buriram pre-season test, where he also delivered a peerless race simulation. The new Ducati Lenovo rider topped the timesheets ahead of brother Alex Marquez (Gresini), Marco 🔜Bezzecchi (Aprilia) and Pedro Acosta (KTM).

Last year’s title runner-up Francesco Bagnaia was fifth, as the factory Ducati team committed to keeping the GP24 engine, followed by the t🦹op Honda of Joan Mir with Fabio Quartararo in eighth for Yamaha.

FP1 takes place from 10:45 to 11:30am local time with afte𓄧rnoon practice from 3-4pm.

09:03

So, it's Alex Marquez from Marc Marquez at the top of �🌄�Practice and Acosta third.

Bezze𒁃cchi takes fourth, ahead of Morbidelli, Mir, Fernandez, Quartararo, Ogura, and Zarco.

Vinales, Binder, and most notably Bagnaia all miss ouꦗt and will have to contend with Q1 tomorrow morning.

09:02

Ma🐲rc Marquez has just been bumped to second atꦺ the death there by his brother, Alex, who tops Practice with a 1:29.020.

09:01

Bagnaia on another lap now but it's🎃 gone away in the third sector thanks to Franco Morbidelli who was - not for the first time - cruising on the line.

08:59

Bagnaia now back to 11th thanks to an Ogura lap that pu🍒t th𝓡e rookie eighth.

08:59

Bagnaia has had his lap deleted for𓆉 yellow flags and is𒁏 back to 10th. Bezzecchi meanwhile has crashed at turn three.

08:58

Bagnaia uꦕp to seventh with his first lap, almost 0.3s off the top time of Marquez, though.

08:57

According to the timing screens, Bagnaia is out for his final time attack on a 3-lap-old soft t𒊎yre.

08:56

Bezzecchi up to second place, now, and Bagnaia is now down t🅠o 10th and on the Q2 bubble.

08:55

Second time attacks beginning now.

Quartararo up to third with the fir𝓀st lap on his second tyre, but he's bumped to fourth as Morbidelli goes second.

08:53

Bagnaia was on a personal best at the third sector on his second fl🔯ying lap on his first tyre but he's pitted. He's ninth ahead of the final time attacks. 🅘;

Just under seven minutes to go.

08:52

Not a brilliant first lap from Bagnaia - only ninth and﷽ 0.5s off the pace.

08:51

Ogura into the top 10 in ninth, and now Bagnaia is delive🍒ring his first time attack.

08:50

Marquez extends his advantage at the top with a 29.197, th♕en Alex Marquez goes up to second with a 29.400.

08:48

Marquez's first t❀ime attack takes him back to the top, a 1:29.374 puts him clear by 0.124s over Acosta.

08:47

Acosta finally beats Zarco's time with a 1:29.509 and goes to the top and Morbidel﷽li goes second.

08:47

Brad Binde rup to second with his first time attack lap.💞 1:29.804 for the KTM rider, but faster la꧑ps coming behind.

Quartararo third, and Acosta is on the way too.

08:43

Marini into the 1:29s with his latest lap. Looks like a time attack with a fresh s🍰oft tyre but he's behind Marquez, who hasn't done a hot lap yet.

08:39

Marquez done with that run now, ཧstill only four laps on that tyre. He♕ did run wide at turn four, so perhaps something he wants to change.

08:38

Another 29.9 for Marquez. It's a good tenth or two better than we'vဣe seen in terms of race pace from anyone else🌟.

08:36

Marc Marquez now out on a fresh hard compound rear tyre and going rather quickly. Juౠst went away at the end of the lap there for Marquez but it's still a 1:29.9; but in the meantime Johann Zarco goes fastest on a 1:29.624.

08:32

Just under half-an-hour to go in Practice now, and it's still Marquez who 𒀰leads. Bagnaia and Acosta both lapping in the low-1:30s at the moment, but Acosta is running with the hard rear tyre, Bagnaia the mediu𒆙m.

A💙nd as we say that, looks like Bagnaia is done with this r♊un.

08:29

Bagnaia now doing some race running. 🥃Pace seemingly a🌠 couple of tenths shy of Marquez's but he's about comparable with Acosta in low-1:30s.

08:28

Joan Mir doing his best Toprak Razgatlioglu impression with a seemingly intentional stoppie braking for the final corner. Not the smoothest landing for the rear tyre, but this is looking increasingly promising for HRC and Mir, who actually looks relatviely comfortable on the RC213V for perhaps the first time since he jumped on it at the end of 20𓄧22.

08:25

Somkiat Chantra lappinඣg in the low-1:36s at the moment and is the only Honda rider still running that pilot whale-ish tail unit.