Marc Márquez, Licensed to Dream at the Aragón GP

Marc Márquez mentioned in Thursday's official press conference that he was calm because he felt he would have opportunities to win from now until the end. Judging by his performance at the start of the Aragón Grand Prix this Friday, perhaps no clearer opportunity will present itself for him to achieve victory. From the moment the green light in the pit lane turned on and the MotoGP bikes hit the resurfaced Alcañiz circuit, Márquez took control of Motorland. He dominated FP1 with almost half a second advantage over Jorge Martín and shattered the circuit record in the afternoon session when everyone switched to soft tires, having led the entire session on used rubber.

Márquez was superior in race pace and single-lap speed, both with new and worn tires. He demonstrated a level of superiority not seen in a long time: "I've been told this is my best Friday since Texas 2021. We need to maintain this level because things will start to even out tomorrow. But we have a good opportunity here, although it's just Friday. We must keep our feet on the ground because it's not the first time we've started well and then things go wrong for some reason."

There are several reasons for this authoritative version of Márquez. Firstly, the Motorland Aragón track, which has a majority of left-hand turns (his favorites), and secondly, the new asphalt that required adapting to unknown conditions where Marc usually excels as he can adapt faster than anyone else to changes. Lastly, his step forward at the last Austrian GP, which, although not reflected in results, brought him closer than ever to Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martín, the championship dominators.

The smile on Márquez's face as he ended the day and removed his helmet was reminiscent of when he first rode the Ducati during testing in Valencia last November. When he realized that with a competitive bike, he could be fast again. This Friday at Motorland, he enjoyed riding again, and the times came effortlessly. "Above all, what satisfies me most is the feeling I had. I was having so much fun that during my third outing they signaled for me to enter the box but I stayed out. Today I didn't want messages; I wanted to enjoy myself and come in when I felt like it," concluded Márquez from Cervera, who could end more than 1,000 days without a MotoGP win this Sunday.

It wasn't just Márquez who shone this Friday. The home advantage played in favor of Spanish riders who occupied the top five positions. Behind the eight-time world champion were Aprilia riders Aleix Espargaró and Maverick Viñales, followed by Jorge Martín and Álex Márquez completing the 'top 5', just ahead of reigning champion and MotoGP leader Bagnaia, who typically took it easy on Friday.

The official Noale factory riders left very good impressions as they were the only ones to challenge Márquez on Friday, although they finished more than two-tenths behind, clearly indicating they could contend with Ducati at the Alcañiz circuit. Even Aprilia's satellite riders Raúl Fernández and Miguel Oliveira made it into the top ten positions that grant direct entry to Saturday's Q2. The presence of Frenchman Johann Zarco in eighth position was surprising as it was the first time a Honda made it into Q2 in 2024.

The downside of the inaugural day was for KTM as none managed to secure direct entry to Q2 and will have to compete in Q1. It will be one of the most challenging repechages of the season because besides Pedro Acosta or Brad Binder, there will be three Ducatis, including third-place championship contender Enea Bastianini who was disadvantaged by a yellow flag towards the end of practice while on a fast lap.

In the smaller categories, it was a day for 'Alonsos', with Madrid rider Alonso López dominating Moto2 and Hispano-Colombian David Alonso being fastest on Friday in Moto3.