New talking points from Friday practice at the 2025 MotoGP Americas Grand Prix

        On March 28, 2025 local time, Friday practice for the Americas Grand Prix unfolded at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA). Unusual track conditions and the riders’ performances brought several new developments to watch in the young season.

        Conditions were particularly challenging. The newly resurfaced circuit and the transition from wet to dry tested both riders and teams, adding considerable uncertainty. The morning’s Free Practice 1 took place on a wet track in 18°C conditions, with the surface beginning to dry towards the end. Temperatures rose slightly for the afternoon Practice session that determined direct Q2 places. It began in damp conditions at 21°C, but fortunately there was no further rain.

        At the start of the morning session, lap times were almost 15 seconds slower than the record Viñales had set in qualifying the previous year. By the end of afternoon Practice, however, that deficit had fallen to just over two seconds. Marc Márquez led the way on his Ducati in the afternoon, finishing 0.736 seconds ahead of VR46 Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio and 0.837 seconds clear of Franco Morbidelli. Márquez had made a mistake and crashed entering Turn 2 on the wet track in the morning, but quickly regrouped to finish FP1 third, around half a second faster than team-mate Francesco Bagnaia. For Bagnaia, the wet-to-dry conditions worked against his approach and he only just secured a direct place in Q2 in tenth. The two-time world champion had struggled across the opening three rounds, narrowly avoiding a similar setback in Argentina after failing to qualify directly in Thailand, a concerning run of form.

        Alongside Márquez, Franco Morbidelli stood out during the day. He topped the wet morning session and remained among the frontrunners as the track dried in the afternoon. His timing late in Practice was excellent, demonstrating his ability to use slick tyres before the track was fully dry and carrying forward the form that had taken him to the podium in Argentina two weeks earlier.

        Jack Miller also caught the eye on the Pramac Yamaha. He was second in the morning and switched to slick tyres early in the afternoon, repeatedly setting the fastest lap midway through Practice. As the track dried, his early advantage disappeared, but he still finished sixth. That offered encouragement that he could remain competitive in fully dry conditions later in the weekend. His performance also suggested he might challenge current factory Yamaha rider Fabio Quartararo’s position as the manufacturer’s leading rider.

        Rookie Fermín Aldeguer also attracted attention. After an unremarkable opening two rounds, the Gresini Ducati rider emerged in fifth in Practice, very close to his in-form team-mate Álex Márquez. KTM also showed an overall improvement, with Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder looking steady, while Maverick Viñales secured a direct place in Q2 in eighth.

        Ai Ogura had a mixed day. Technical problems with his bike limited his running in the morning. Although he struggled early in afternoon Practice, he adjusted in time to finish fourteenth. With Ogura himself feeling that he had yet to adapt fully to the track conditions, there remained considerable scope for improvement in the sessions ahead.

        Friday practice for the Americas Grand Prix highlighted the riders’ adaptability and potential in different conditions, adding further intrigue to the races ahead in the 2025 MotoGP season.

2025 MotoGP Round 3 Americas Grand Prix Friday Practice results

Results source Official MotoGP Friday Practice timing sheet (© DORNA, 2025).