Marco Bezzecchi fastest in Misano: beat Marc Márquez by 0.103 seconds
Marco Bezzecchi finished the first day of the MotoGP weekend in Misano at the top of the standings after setting a time of 1:30.144 in Friday afternoon's Practice session on September 11. The Aprilia Racing rider thereby responded to Marc Márquez, who had been fastest in the first free practice session, and ahead of Saturday's qualifying and sprint took on the role of the man with the fastest lap of the weekend. According to the official MotoGP results, reigning world champion Márquez was only 0.103 seconds behind, while his brother Álex Márquez was third, 0.185 seconds off the pace. Such gaps confirm just how evenly matched the field is at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli, especially among riders who also fought for the top positions at the same circuit during the previous season. Friday therefore did not provide a clear answer as to who is the favorite for Saturday, but it showed that Bezzecchi and Márquez immediately found the speed needed to fight for pole position and victory in the sprint.
Bezzecchi responds after Márquez leads FP1
The first free practice session went to Márquez, who, according to the MotoGP report, clocked a 1:31.468 in the final part of the morning session and beat Bezzecchi by just 0.060 seconds. Raúl Fernández finished third, and the leading pair had already suggested by then that their 2025 duel could continue a year later. In the afternoon, the situation was reversed. Bezzecchi was among the fastest early on, and as the end of the session approached, the riders switched to attack laps as they tried to secure direct passage into Q2. Pedro Acosta briefly took the lead, then Márquez lowered the benchmark to 1:30.247, before Bezzecchi responded in the closing moments with a 1:30.144 to change the top of the standings once again.
Official data show that Bezzecchi's lap was only 0.113 seconds slower than the circuit's all-time record of 1:30.031, set by Francesco Bagnaia in 2024. That is an important indicator of speed because Friday in Misano was not merely an introductory session for collecting data: the afternoon Practice session determines the ten riders who progress directly to the second part of qualifying. MotoGP recorded dry conditions, an air temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, a track temperature of 36 degrees and relative humidity of 60 percent. In such conditions, most of the leading riders were able to work both on race pace and on a single fast lap. That is precisely why the gap of just over a tenth between Bezzecchi and Márquez carries more weight than the final standings alone.
Álex Márquez third, VR46 strong in front of the home crowd
Behind the leading pair, third place went to Álex Márquez of Gresini Racing, who finished 0.185 seconds behind Bezzecchi. Fabio Di Giannantonio finished fourth and Franco Morbidelli fifth, putting both VR46 Racing bikes among the five fastest. The official MotoGP report highlighted that Valentino Rossi was following the action at the circuit, giving his team's result additional symbolism during the home weekend. Pedro Acosta was sixth, ahead of Luca Marini and Johann Zarco, while Pol Espargaró took ninth place while competing as a substitute in the Tech3 lineup. The final place granting direct entry into Q2 went to championship leader Jorge Martín.
Martín was under serious pressure in the closing minutes because at one point he was outside the top ten. According to the MotoGP report, he managed to improve his time and temporarily move higher, but later laps by his rivals pushed him back to tenth place. That allowed him to avoid Q1, but his Friday was not as convincing as the day enjoyed by Bezzecchi and Márquez, his two closest rivals in the title fight. Ahead of the trip to Misano, MotoGP's official weekend preview stated that Martín held a 19-point advantage over Márquez and a 24-point advantage over Bezzecchi. With all three entering the 14th round of the season separated by only 24 points, every Saturday and Sunday result can significantly change the dynamics of the championship.
Bagnaia must go through Q1 again
One of Friday's biggest surprises was Francesco Bagnaia. The factory Ducati rider and holder of the circuit's all-time record finished the afternoon Practice session only 19th, meaning he will have to fight his way into Q2 through the first qualifying segment. MotoGP described his Friday as one of the tougher ones of the season, and the situation is further emphasized by the fact that this is a circuit where Bagnaia traditionally has very strong qualifying results. Enea Bastianini also missed direct passage, by only 0.014 seconds, while Raúl Fernández, third in the morning FP1 session, also dropped outside the top ten in the afternoon session. According to the official report, less than eight tenths of a second separated the top 15 riders, meaning that even a very small loss of time left little room for correction.
Such a tightly packed order is especially important in Misano, where the starting position can have a major impact on the course of the sprint. The short format of Saturday's race leaves less time to gradually move through the field, so riders who get stuck in Q1 risk losing not only a favorable position for the sprint but also a good starting position for Sunday's Grand Prix race. Bagnaia will therefore first have to overcome an additional qualifying obstacle and then try to make up for lost ground in Q2. At the same time, riders who have already qualified directly for Q2 will be able to devote the entire morning FP2 session to preparing their bikes without the pressure of fighting for a top-ten place.
Misano brings Bezzecchi and Márquez together again
The duel between Bezzecchi and Márquez also has a strong background from last year. At the 2025 San Marino Grand Prix, Bezzecchi took pole position and then won the sprint after Márquez, who had previously taken the lead, crashed at Turn 15. A day later, the balance of power was reversed: Márquez took the lead in the main race after a mistake by Bezzecchi and withstood his pressure to the finish, while Álex Márquez finished third. MotoGP's official report from that race records that the leading pair exchanged very fast laps in the closing stages and remained in direct contention for victory almost until the end. Friday in 2026 showed a very similar pattern, with Márquez fastest in the morning and Bezzecchi responding in the afternoon.
Márquez also arrives in Misano with a very strong statistical record. According to MotoGP's official data for this circuit, the Spanish rider has six victories in the premier class at Misano, more than any other active name listed in the circuit statistics. Bezzecchi, on the other hand, is competing in an environment he knows well and where a year earlier he had already shown that he could dictate the pace both in qualifying and in the sprint. On Friday, he again managed to extract the maximum when the lap times mattered most, and his final lap came just after Márquez had appeared to have secured first place. That is why Saturday's battle looks less like the continuation of an isolated session and more like a new chapter in a rivalry that developed at the same circuit the previous year.
Aprilia has two title contenders, Ducati applies pressure with Márquez
Friday's results are additionally interesting because of Aprilia's position in the championship. Martín arrived in Misano as the overall standings leader, while his teammate Bezzecchi was only 24 points behind him. Between them sits Márquez on the factory Ducati, who reduced his deficit to Martín to 19 points after a very successful weekend in Aragón. MotoGP therefore described the title fight in its Misano preview as a three-way battle between three riders, with Aprilia having two contenders near the very top and Ducati fielding the reigning world champion, who has significantly reduced his earlier points deficit in the latter part of the season. Friday brought no points, but it provided an important indication of form: the two challengers were first and second, while the championship leader finished tenth.
For Bezzecchi, such a start to the weekend is also important because of the momentum he brought from Aragón, where, according to MotoGP, he set a qualifying lap record and finished the main race on the podium. Márquez won both the sprint and the Grand Prix there and moved up to second place in the overall standings. Martín preserved his lead with two fifth-place finishes, but his advantage was significantly reduced. Misano is therefore not just another of the championship's 22 rounds, but the beginning of the final phase of the season, in which the margin for error is gradually shrinking. In that context, a tenth of a second in Practice brings nothing by itself, but it can be a sign of a very important weekend for the championship standings.
A circuit where small differences can easily turn into a big advantage
The Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli is 4.23 kilometers long, has ten right-hand and six left-hand corners and a longest straight of 530 meters, according to the official MotoGP website. The circuit is ridden clockwise, while the premier-class Grand Prix race lasts 27 laps, or just over 114 kilometers. Misano returned to the world championship calendar in 2007 after reconstruction work and has since become one of MotoGP's regular European stops. The combination of consecutive changes of direction, heavy braking zones and sections where bike stability is important rewards riders who can string together an almost perfect lap without major corrections. That helps explain why the gaps between the fastest riders on Friday were so small and why one imperfect sector can determine several positions.
Bezzecchi's 1:30.144 particularly stands out when compared with Bagnaia's 1:30.031 record from 2024. The difference is only slightly more than a tenth, and even more importantly, such a result was achieved as early as Friday. If conditions remain stable, qualifying could provide an opportunity for a new attack on the circuit record. Márquez was also very close with a 1:30.247, while Álex Márquez was not far away with a 1:30.329. Fourth-placed Di Giannantonio and fifth-placed Morbidelli further confirm that the battle for the first two rows of the grid could involve more riders than just the main title contenders.
Saturday brings qualifying and a 13-lap sprint
According to the official MotoGP schedule, premier-class action on September 12 continues with the second free practice session at 10:10 local time in Misano, which is in the Central European Summer Time zone UTC+2. Qualifying begins at 10:50, while the 13-lap sprint is scheduled for 15:00. On Sunday, warm-up is scheduled for 9:40, while the 27-lap MotoGP main race begins at 14:00. For Bezzecchi, Márquez and the other riders who have qualified directly for Q2, Saturday morning will be an opportunity for final setup adjustments, while Bagnaia, Bastianini and the other riders outside the top ten must first deal with the additional qualifying task.
After Friday, the only thing that is clear is that no one at the top can be said to have a secure advantage. Bezzecchi was fastest when it was time to set the final lap time, but Márquez was first in the morning session and remained within 0.103 seconds in the afternoon. Álex Márquez, the two VR46 Ducati riders and Acosta remained close enough that any small change in conditions, tire choice or bike setup could alter the order at the top. Martín avoided Q1, but as the championship leader he will be looking for a bigger step forward so as not to allow his two closest rivals to turn Saturday into an opportunity to further reduce his lead. In Misano, the stage was therefore already clearly set after the first day: Bezzecchi has the fastest lap, Márquez is immediately behind him, and qualifying and the sprint should show how much Friday's tenths were really worth.
Sources:
- MotoGP - official report from the afternoon Practice session in Misano and the standings of the leading riders (link)
- MotoGP - official Practice session results, lap times, gaps and track conditions (link)
- MotoGP - report from the first free practice session and Márquez's best time in FP1 (link)
- MotoGP - official schedule for the 2026 San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix (link)
- MotoGP - official event page with information about the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli (link)
- MotoGP - overview of the title fight after Aragón and the points gaps ahead of Misano (link)
- MotoGP - report from the 2025 San Marino Grand Prix and the Márquez-Bezzecchi duel (link)