Marquez picks up where he left off at the Austrian GP

Marc leads Friday practice as Miller penalised for riding smoking Yamaha

Marc Marquez resumed command at the BWIN Grand Prix of Austria, topping Friday Practice with a 1:28.117 to lead by 0.228s from Pedro Acosta, with Francesco Bagnaia third as several big hitters missed the automatic Q2 cut. The opening half-hour saw Bagnaia set the pace from Luca Marini, with Marquez and Fabio Quartararo nestled comfortably in the top four, but drama struck when reigning World Champion Jorge Martin crashed at Turn 9.

Unhurt but without his preferred RS-GP, Martin’s day got more complicated—much like the session itself, which was red-flagged after Quartararo fell at Turn 6. That incident followed smoke trailing from Jack Miller’s Prima Pramac Yamaha, raising suspicions of fluid on the circuit; Quartararo’s YZR-M1 punched the air fence and Miguel Oliveira then tumbled at the same corner before marshals repaired barriers and cleaned the track for the final 26 minutes.

The timesheets swung wildly as the pace ramped up. Rookie Ai Ogura briefly lead the field with a 1:28.877 to go clear with 17 minutes remaining, before Johann Zarco and Franco Morbidelli swept to the sharp end inside the final 11 minutes. Acosta used a tow behind Marquez to reassert himself at the top, while Joan Mir vaulted to fourth ahead of fellow HRC rider Zarco. With two minutes to go Alex Marquez grabbed third, nudging his brother to fourth—only for the #93 to uncork a blistering late lap.

Marquez’s 1:28.117 stood unchallenged as the flag fell, Acosta settled for second, Bagnaia banked third, and Alex Marquez ended the day fourth. Raul Fernandez’s late flyer secured fifth ahead of Mir in sixth, with Morbidelli seventh, Zarco eighth, Fermin Aldeguer ninth, and Brad Binder tenth as both factory KTMs secured Q2 at their home round. That leaves a blockbuster Q1 on Saturday morning featuring Enea Bastianini, Quartararo, Fabio Di Giannantonio, and both factory Aprilia Racing riders—Martin and Marco Bezzecchi—scrapping over just two spots before Q2 and the Tissot Sprint.

Off-track, Miller was handed a €1,000 fine and ordered to sit out the opening five minutes of Saturday’s practice after continuing to circulate despite smoke coming from his Yamaha. The FIM MotoGP Stewards said Miller encountered a technical problem at Turn 1 and continued at slow speed on the racing line at times, contravening rider-responsibility and safe-return regulations (Articles 1.21.2, 1.21.6 and 1.21.7). No Black Flag with Orange Disc was shown, but the Stewards emphasised that the burden of responsibility remains with the rider.

Quartararo, who crashed at Turn 6 before red flags were shown to repair the air fence, said he saw marshals putting absorbent material on the track and “for sure there was something there,” while Oliveira called his own fall “really strange” after slowing on the way back to the pits and then going down unexpectedly. Miller  maintained “there was no oil,” explaining that the bike “only smoked when I shut the gas,” and that he tried to stay off the line while returning.

Riders have also voiced their opinions a new technical update, with a Stability Control update to the electronics now mandatory. Technically, the “slide” control runs on the unified ECU and acts during the acceleration phase to regulate rear-wheel slip more precisely than conventional traction control by modulating torque delivery to keep the tyre within a target slip window. It blends inputs from wheel speeds, throttle position, lean angle and IMU data to predict and smooth torque spikes before the tyre breaks away, reducing spin-induced heat and tyre wear while improving drive consistency off corners. Some riders, including Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta, have cautioned that deeper electronic mediation could diminish rider influence on corner exit feel and throttle modulation.

Marc Márquez (P1) – “It was a good day, given we set the fastest lap in both sessions, but at the same time it was a bit more complicated than usual. It’s true we’re coming back from the summer break, but things didn’t go as smoothly. I took a different approach to Practice, staying calmer while focusing on my riding with used tyres and finding consistency on the longer run. We managed to do so, so we need to continue this way tomorrow as there are two or three riders who are very close to us pace-wise. We definitely need to put in some more work with regards to my riding approach of sector two.”

Francesco Bagnaia (P3) – “It was a very good day, maybe the best Friday of the season so far, as I had a good feeling with both new and used tyres. I managed to be consistent and try different things, which worked well, and above all I could brake very hard with a good front-end lock feeling – something I had been missing. The race pace is very good, while in the second time attack I couldn’t make the most of the opportunity. The goal right now is to battle for the podium, but we’ll see, as the races have been what made my life more difficult so far this year. The aim is to get a good qualifying and then stay at the front, as I feel really good here.”

Jack Miller (P20) – “Not much to say about today. We‘re struggling a bit here with the Yamaha. We tried a lot of things, but we were dealing with a lot of vibrations and couldn‘t do much. If I had put my lap together, I would have been with Fabio and Alex, but the front was collapsing a lot, which doesn‘t give you much confidence, and there was a lot of spinning—it‘s hard to find traction here. Then I also had a problem with the engine… An eventful day. I need a night‘s rest and to get used to riding this bike again.”

2025 Austrian GP Friday Practice