The opening day of practice for the 2025 MotoGP Argentine Grand Prix attracted considerable attention, particularly as the competitive picture between Ducati team-mates Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Márquez began to emerge. Friday’s practice results could prove crucial in shaping the course of the Grand Prix weekend.
There were several incidents on track during practice. Bagnaia, the 2022 and 2023 world champion, ran into trouble on his final push. He lost control as he approached Turn 2, bringing his session to an early end and briefly finding himself in a precarious position. With five minutes remaining, he was only seventh. As other riders continued their flying laps, he was fortunate to secure a direct Q2 place in tenth. Bagnaia said afterwards that, on his way back to the garage, he had even thought he would narrowly miss out in eleventh. “Fortunately, I ended up in the top ten.” He also said he had been capable of finding more than three tenths, which would have put him around fourth in practice.
Márquez, meanwhile, was in formidable form. He comfortably broke the lap record he had set at Termas de Río Hondo eleven years earlier and progressed to Q2 as the fastest rider. Márquez had already shown his strength on Friday morning, leading free practice despite completing fewer laps than his main rivals. In the afternoon, the Thai Grand Prix winner again demonstrated his ability with a commanding performance.
Bagnaia acknowledged that Márquez’s strong showing on this low-grip circuit was expected. Johann Zarco’s performance surprised him more. Riding the LCR Honda, Zarco was second fastest in the morning and finished seventh in the afternoon despite a crash during the session. Bagnaia also highlighted Fabio Di Giannantonio, who impressed in practice after missing pre-season testing through injury.
Bagnaia has often improved as a race weekend develops, recovering from difficult starts to deliver strong results in Sunday’s Grand Prix. In the increasingly competitive 2025 season, however, Friday mistakes could carry a greater cost. As his 2024 defeat to Jorge Martín illustrated, Friday performances can have a significant bearing on the final outcome. If Bagnaia cannot quickly address the problems that arose in Friday practice, he could find himself at a disadvantage against Márquez.
Whether Bagnaia can catch Márquez during the rest of this weekend remains an open question. “We’ll see. It’s too early to draw conclusions,” Bagnaia said.
2025 MotoGP Round 2 Argentine Grand Prix Friday Practice results
| Pos. | No. | Rider | Team | Best lap | Laps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Ducati Team | 1’37.295 | 24 |
| 2 | 49 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | VR46 | 1’37.430 | 22 |
| 3 | 73 | Álex Márquez | Gresini | 1’37.496 | 23 |
| 4 | 72 | Marco Bezzecchi | Aprilia | 1’37.510 | 26 |
| 5 | 33 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1’37.546 | 24 |
| 6 | 42 | Álex Rins | Yamaha | 1’37.591 | 24 |
| 7 | 5 | Johann Zarco | LCR Honda Castrol | 1’37.685 | 21 |
| 8 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha | 1’37.818 | 23 |
| 9 | 37 | Pedro Acosta | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 1’37.827 | 22 |
| 10 | 63 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Team | 1’37.834 | 20 |
| 11 | 79 | Ai Ogura | Trackhouse | 1’37.855 | 25 |
| 12 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | VR46 | 1’37.931 | 22 |
| 13 | 36 | Joan Mir | Honda | 1’37.975 | 26 |
| 14 | 43 | Jack Miller | Pramac | 1’38.058 | 24 |
| 15 | 10 | Luca Marini | Honda | 1’38.136 | 22 |
| 16 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | 1’38.315 | 23 |
| 17 | 54 | Fermín Aldeguer | Gresini | 1’38.347 | 22 |
| 18 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | Pramac | 1’38.649 | 22 |
| 19 | 35 | Somkiat Chantra | Idemitsu Honda LCR | 1’38.651 | 24 |
| 20 | 25 | Raúl Fernández | Trackhouse | 1’38.746 | 20 |
| 21 | 23 | Enea Bastianini | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | 1’38.785 | 23 |
| 22 | 32 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia | 1’39.076 | 24 |
Results source MotoGP official Friday Practice classification (© DORNA, 2025).
