Marc Marquez in Misano ahead of Italians, but not confident
Marc Marquez in front of everyone, then a dense group of Italians. Friday in Misano goes to the archives with the Catalan of Ducati once again the author of the best time, but behind him are fierce favorites of the local public. In fact, second, third and fourth were ranked respectively Marco Bezzecchi, Franco Morbidelli and Pecco Bagnaia, so much so that the centaur from Cervera still does not trust.
“I had a very stiff feeling, I felt the bike shaking all over – commented Marquez at the end of the day -. Then I did a reset and I was able to face the tests differently. I changed my riding style improving it, even in Ducati they helped me find the ideal setup. But I have the feeling that all the Italians started the weekend in great shape, right from FP1”.
Marquez is still left with the feeling of a Desmosedici less sewn to features than has been the case so far in 2025. “This morning I was fighting the bike, compared to Montmelò it felt very stiff – confirmed the Catalan about his Ducati -. This is due to the grip that there’s here in Misano, a shorter track with drier braking. In Catalonia you ride by releasing the brake and taking advantage of the cornering, here it”s basically the opposite.
The world leader has closed pre-qualifying with a time of 1’30″480, ahead by 147 thousandths Marco Bezzecchi with the official Aprilia and 193 Franco Morbidelli with the Ducati VR46. Fourth at 230 thousandths Pecco Bagnaia, who has finally shown signs of recovery after the difficulties of recent races. Completing the top five was Alex Marquez on the Ducati Gresini, 272 thousandths behind his older brother.
The day had kicked off with an excellent signal for the VR46 Racing Team, which in the first free practice had placed Franco Morbidelli in the lead with a time of 1’31″342, followed by Fabio Quartararo and Fabio Di Giannantonio. In that session, Pecco Bagnaia had been relegated to 11th position, instead giving the’impression of a crisis still ongoing as it happened in recent months until the disastrous Catalan Grand Prix weekend.
For Bagnaia, who has won only one race this year (the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin) and has not been on the podium since third place at the Sachsenring two months ago, direct access to Q2 is an important first step. The three-time world champion has drawn a positive balance of the day: “The last two races for us have been very complicated. We knew we could be more competitive here because the track offers a lot of grip and most of my problems so far come from lack of grip, and that helps. We adopted a different strategy, without making big changes, and I tried to adapt myself being that this is a track I know perfectly”.
In the top ten gaining direct access to Q2 also qualified Joan Mir and Luca Marini with the Hondas, Jorge Martin with the Aprilia, Pedro Acosta with the KTM and Fabio Di Giannantonio with the second Ducati VR46. Those excluded from the top ten include Johann Zarco and Fabio Quartararo, who will have to go through Q1, while all the KTMs have disappointed expectations after being the surprise last week in Montmeló.
