Holy cow, Friday practice at MotorLand Aragon just dropped the most insane top three in MotoGP history! Not only did the circuit lap record get absolutely obliterated not once, not twice, but *three* times, but we also saw the closest top three ever recorded on a MotoGP Friday. It was an absolute free-for-all in the final minutes, with Marco Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez, and Marc Marquez trading fastest laps like it was a contact sport.
The King of Aragon Gets Dethroned in the Final Seconds
Marc Marquez, the undisputed king of Aragon with seven MotoGP wins here, looked like he was going to run away with it early on. He controlled the running from the jump, sitting comfortably ahead of title rival Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio. We were all seeing that familiar dominance, right? But then, the final quarter of an hour hit, and it turned into an all-out time-attack sprint. The timing screens were glowing red! Fermin Aldeguer was the first to briefly unseat Marc, then Jorge Martin, Bezzecchi, and Pedro Acosta all fired in quick laps. Marc responded like a champion, throwing down a 1:45.493 to absolutely obliterate his *own* lap record. You thought it was over? Nope! Bezzecchi, the absolute madman, pulled a 1:45.455 out of nowhere, snatching top spot from the home hero by a mind-boggling 0.038 seconds! And then his brother, Alex Marquez, who had been chasing all session, got within hundredths of the old record on his first attempt and then, in his final push, leapfrogged Marc for second! Talk about a brutal end to what should have been a perfect homecoming for the Marquez brothers. They were denied that one-two punch by the slimmest of margins.
Q2 Drama and Shocking Casualties
Behind that insane top trio, Fabio Di Giannantonio held onto fourth, fending off a late charge from Fermin Aldeguer in fifth. Raul Fernandez rounded out the top six, with Jorge Martin settling for seventh and Pedro Acosta in eighth. Franco Morbidelli snagged a solid ninth. But the real story further down the board was Johann Zarco. Coming back after a three-month layoff, the dude clinched tenth and, with it, direct passage to Q2. What a ride! His teammate Diogo Moreira, though? Heartbreak! He missed the cut by the narrowest of margins, 11th and just 0.010s adrift of Zarco. The Q1 casualties were even wilder, featuring two former World Champions! Francesco Bagnaia made a mistake on his final flying lap and could only manage 13th, meaning the double World Champion has to fight through Q1 tomorrow. And right behind him in 14th was Fabio Quartararo, ending the day as the top Yamaha, but still needing to make it through Q1. Even Jack Miller had a moment, crashing at Turn 2 during his time attack, but thankfully he was unhurt and rushed back to get on his second bike.
The margins from today tell the whole story. With three riders separated by literal fractions of a second and the lap record rewritten three times, you know Saturday is going to be absolutely electric. Get ready for some serious Q1 battles and then a qualifying session for the ages!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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