Franco Morbidelli continued his resurgence in form by topping a rain-soaked FP1 session at the 2025 MotoGP Americas Grand Prix, while Marc Marquez experienced his first crash as a factory Ducati rider.
Heavy rain lashed the Circuit of the Americas in Texas ahead of the third round of the 2025 MotoGP season, creating challenging conditions for the riders during Friday morning’s practice.
Marc Marquez, who had dominated the opening rounds of the season and has an impressive record with seven wins at COTA, showed early speed by setting a string of fast laps. However, with just over 30 minutes left in the 45-minute session, he lost control at Turn 2 and was thrown from his Ducati. Fortunately, he was uninjured and managed to rejoin the session with 15 minutes remaining, ultimately finishing third with a best time of 2m12.780s.
It was VR46 Ducati rider Franco Morbidelli who made the most of the improving track conditions. Building on his recent podium finish in Argentina, Morbidelli steadily improved his pace and laid down a session-best lap of 2m12.531s in the final moments, securing the top spot by 0.083s over Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller.
Johann Zarco showed strong pace once again, placing fourth on his LCR Honda, while Pedro Acosta led the KTM charge in fifth. Reigning double world champion Pecco Bagnaia, still adjusting to the GP25, ended the session in sixth.
Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez placed seventh, followed by last year’s COTA winner Maverick Viñales on the Tech3 KTM. Brad Binder (KTM) and Augusto Fernandez, standing in for Pramac’s Miguel Oliveira, rounded out the top 10.
MotoGP rookie Fermín Aldeguer impressed with 13th place in his first wet session aboard the Gresini Ducati. Fellow newcomers Somkiat Chantra and Ai Ogura ended the session 20th and 22nd respectively.
It was a frustrating morning for Aprilia, particularly for Marco Bezzecchi. His RS-GP went into engine safe mode right at the start of FP1, forcing a switch to his second bike. That machine then developed a fuel pump issue before Bezzecchi crashed it at Turn 5. When he returned to his primary bike, the original issue resurfaced, limiting his running and leaving him 19th at the chequered flag.
Despite the treacherous conditions, Morbidelli’s performance showed he’s carrying momentum into Austin, while Marquez’s early crash served as a reminder of how quickly fortunes can change—even for the season’s strongest performer so far.
