Marc Márquez and the Ducati Lenovo Team have enjoyed an excellent start to the Grand Prix of Czechia by topping the timesheets in both Friday sessions at the Automotodrom Brno. Francesco Bagnaia wrapped up Practice in thirteenth place.
Márquez interpreted the constantly evolving track conditions to perfection following the downpour that led to a delay of the Practice session. With 22 minutes left, Marc logged a 2’03.935 lap-time, which remained unbeaten until the end. Bagnaia, third in FP1, could not find the right speed nor manage the strategy in the best way at the end of the afternoon session and will therefore take part in Q1.
The Ducati Lenovo Team will resume proceedings tomorrow morning at 10:10 local time (GMT +2) for Free Practice 2, which will be followed closely by Q1 (10:50) and Q2 (11:15). The twelfth Sprint of 2025 will begin at 15:00 and will be contested over a ten-lap distance.
Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st
“The new asphalt works really well in both dry and wet conditions, thanks to an incredible level of grip. We still need to work properly on the set-up by carefully analysing the data, as we didn’t have time today. It looks like, however, that it’ll be dry from now on. I wasn’t fully comfortable on the bike in FP1, but the important thing is that we’re in Q2. We’ll only have 30 minutes tomorrow to find the best set-up, and then it’ll all be about time attack. In one way, the riders who’ll partake in Q1 will have a better margin time attack-wise. The Sprint will also serve as a test for Sunday.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 13th
“The day itself was a positive one, but then unfortunately we missed the strategy in the final minutes, and this prevented me from finishing in the top ten. We were very strong in dry conditions in the morning, and I was also riding well in the wet. We lost a bit too much time in the pits and this didn’t help – we didn’t make our life easy. I hope the track will be dry tomorrow, because it’ll be key to work well to understand how to make the most of the grip at this track – and the time attack will also be crucial. The potential is there, but getting into Q2 is always a bit of a lottery.”
