Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi set the pace in Friday’s opening practice session for the 2025 MotoGP Italian Grand Prix, edging out KTM’s Pedro Acosta despite both recording identical lap times.
In hot and humid conditions at Mugello, Bezzecchi clocked a 1m46.199s on his final lap to top FP1 — the same time set earlier by Acosta, but the Aprilia rider was classified first thanks to a faster second-best lap.
It was a rare session in 2025 with no Ducati presence in the top three. Brad Binder completed the leading trio for KTM, as the top riders took advantage of fresh medium rear tyres late in the 45-minute run.
Championship leader Marc Marquez finished fourth with a 1m46.293s, having stayed on the same rear tyre for the entire session. He briefly led the standings midway through the session before being bumped down in the final minutes.
Pecco Bagnaia, aiming for a fourth straight win at his home race, started strongly on the factory Ducati but had several front-end moments and expressed visible frustration. He ended FP1 in eighth with a 1m46.651s.
Fabio Di Giannantonio was fifth for VR46 Ducati, followed by Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo and Tech3 KTM’s Maverick Vinales. Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) and Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) rounded out the top ten.
The only faller of the session was Trackhouse Aprilia’s Raul Fernandez, who crashed at Turn 8 early on. He ended up 19th. Ai Ogura returned from injury in 15th, while Honda tester Takaaki Nakagami — replacing Luca Marini — finished 17th.
