Márc Márquez gave everything he had to be fastest on track in a blistering Practice session, with a lap time of 1:28.117. The #93 denied Red Bull KTM Factory rider Pedro Acosta the honour, leaving him in second and splitting the Ducati Lenovo teammates. Francesco Bagnaia placed third fastest, just two tenths behind M. Márquez.
Not everyone came out unscathed in the session at the Red Bull Ring. Thanks to three Yamaha incidents, the session was delayed as the red flags came out. Take a look at how it all unfolded in our 2025 MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix coverage below.
Scorching Hot and Dramatic Start to Practice Session
With adjustments made after the morning’s Free Practice 1 session, pitlane was busy as soon as the hour began. As predicted, the temperature skyrocketed past the high twenties to reach over 30°C. Within the first few minutes, 2024 MotoGP World Champion Jorge Martín washed out spectacularly into the right-hand Turn 9. Thankfully, the #1 quickly walked away from the crash. He rejoined the session on the backup bike waiting for him in the Aprilia Racing garage. While Martín went back to his trailer to change his leathers, the rest of the grid started setting lightning-fast times. Within a minute, the top three comprised a Ducati, Yamaha, and KTM rider.
Surprise Performances at the Halfway Point
Despite all the aero updates and having all four riders participating, only Acosta was able to set fast laps. He jumped to the top of the time sheet with a lap of 1:29.129. His teammate, Brad Binder, and the two riders of Red Bull KTM Tech3, Viñales and Enea Bastianini, also appeared to struggle to crack the top ten.
While a lot of attention has been on KTM in the lead-up to their home round, very few would have predicted the incredible pace of the Honda teams. Notably, Luca Marini on the Honda HRC Castrol bike held onto a place in the top three on the timing sheet in the first half of the session. His fastest lap time was only four hundredths of a second behind Bagnaia, effectively splitting the Ducati Lenovo riders. Marini’s teammate, Joan Mir, sat just outside the advancing positions in twelfth. In the sister LCR Honda team, Johann Zarco remained in the top ten.
Yamaha Crashes Trigger Red Flags
Fabio Quartararo fell heavily onto the track in Turn 6, appearing to limp off towards his bike. Mere seconds later, Miguel Oliveira came off at the same turn. Unfortunately, his Pramac Yamaha machine went careening into the air fence, causing the red flags to come out so it could be replaced.
There also appeared to be some fluid on the track. Initially, it was thought to have come from Jack Miller, as smoke had been seen billowing out of the Yamaha bike in Turn 4. This fluid spill would explain how Miller’s teammate, Oliveira, lost the rear tyre so badly. However, a quick word with the Pramac Yamaha team confirmed that there was no fluid found on Miller’s bike.
The other theory was that it could have come from the Monster Energy Yamaha of Quartararo when he crashed. Either way, the cleanup caused a significant delay with just under 27 minutes left to complete.
Practice Resumes With Surprises
As the Practice session resumed, Viñales decided not to continue. He had put an ice pack on his left shoulder during the red flag, but ultimately chose to sit out and rest up for qualifying tomorrow. KTM, once again, found themselves down a rider. Bastianini was on a hot lap until the rear of his bike stepped out and tried to buck him off in Turn 9. He rode off into the gravel trap of Turn 4, tearing up yet another soft-rear tyre.
As KTM threw whatever they could to hold onto the top spot, the Trackhouse MotoGP Team seemed to find their stride. Raúl Fernández came up into the top five, but it was Ai Ogura who made the statement and found himself in first with a 1:28.877 lap time. However, the celebration was short-lived as Zarco set a time of 1:28.765.
Down to the Last Ten Minutes
With little time left, hot lap after hot lap was set and started shaking up the top ten. Acosta and M. Márquez contended for the top spot, with Bagnaia coming up quickly to round out the top three. However, the BK8 Gresini Racing team quickly crept up into the top ten after a relatively quiet session from both Álex Márquez and Fermín Aldeguer.
In the final minutes, the pressure got to some as Marco Bezzecchi ran wide into the gravel, and Martín had his track time deleted for infringing track limits. With the checkered flag out, there was no more time, and both will find themselves with the rest of the pack in Q1 tomorrow.
Q2 Advancers
Here are the MotoGP riders advancing straight to Q2:
While the weather was warm and sunny for the Friday sessions, a deluge is forecast for Sunday at the Red Bull Ring. While advancing through to Q2 is crucial for helping avoid any incidents that may arise from wet-track conditions, it may not help some riders if they are not strong performers in the rain. Looking back at the treacherous race conditions and result in Le Mans earlier in the year, could we see a repeat on Sunday? Or, can Bagnaia hold on to remain undefeated? We can’t wait to see how the rest of this thirteenth round shapes up.