FP1 MotoGP at Aragon: Marc Marquez Leads, Pecco Bagnaia Struggles

Marc Marquez set the fastest time in FP1 at Aragon, ahead of Jorge Martin and Pedro Acosta. The Ducatis of Bastianini and Bagnaia struggled.

The MotoGP FP1 session at Aragon has come to an end, with some surprises and a few disappointments. This first free practice session saw the home riders on a different pace from the rest of the grid: both Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin set the pace from the very first lap on their Ducatis, while rookie Pedro Acosta placed himself behind them. After a not-so-easy period, he managed to regain his feeling on his KTM.

In contrast, the two factory Ducatis of Enea Bastianini and Pecco Bagnaia struggled, with the latter outside the top 10, finishing in 9th and 21st positions respectively, both facing significant problems with the front tire. Initial pessimism was also confirmed by Davide Tardozzi, who admitted that the grip so far is not what they had hoped for.

A particularly strong performance came from Fabio Di Giannantonio, who, after the severe shoulder injury at the Austrian GP, returned and even outpaced his teammate Marco Bezzecchi, who finished only 11th at the end of these FP1.

The situation remains very critical for both Yamaha and Honda: despite the Misano tests last week, the Japanese manufacturers still seem to be struggling on a circuit that should be favorable to them. Alex Rins and Fabio Quartararo finished in 14th and 18th positions respectively, while Joan Mir and Luca Marini took 13th and 19th places, encountering significant grip problems in various corners, similar to the factory Ducati riders.

The Aragon circuit, with its completely new asphalt, doesn’t seem to be providing excellent sensations for most of the riders: even Jorge Martin, despite his strong performance, appeared very frustrated by his inability to stop the bike as he wanted, confirming a complicated first experience with the hot Spanish track.

Photo: MotoGP, Marc Marquez