Álex Márquez breaks the Motegi record and leads Friday

Álex Márquez set the fastest Practice time at Motegi with a 1:42.811, a new circuit record. He finished 0.076s ahead of Pedro Acosta and 0.100s ahead of Marc Márquez.

Jorge Martín ended the session eighth and secured direct passage to Q2, an important result on a weekend where he defends only a 12-point championship lead over Marc Márquez. Friday therefore confirms that both title contenders are immediately in the leading group.

The new asphalt makes comparisons with previous years difficult, but the pace shown by Álex Márquez and Acosta already suggests qualifying will be decided by extremely small margins.