Pedro Acosta Leads MotoGP's Return to Valencia

Pedro Acosta, with his KTM during practice at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo. The return of the Circuit Ricardo Tormo in Valencia to the MotoGP calendar a year later was made official this Friday during practice sessions, with a large crowd already in the stands and even the weather cooperating. It was a reunion only missing the reigning world champion, Marc Márquez, who is recovering from a complicated right shoulder injury but will be present over the weekend at the Cheste track, where he plans to attend the MotoGP awards ceremony on Sunday.

Márquez's absence has widened the field in the premier class, and evidence of this is that the last six races have seen six different winners. Since Márquez's last victory of the year in Misano, the most surprising aspect of that list is the absence of Pedro Acosta, the most in-form rider in this final part of the championship alongside Álex Márquez and Marco Bezzecchi. The Murcian has come close to glory on several occasions and has been on the podium in recent Grands Prix, but a win still eludes him, which could come this weekend.

So far, he has started in the best possible way, being the fastest in the afternoon practice when everyone mounts the soft tire and seeks those ten spots that give direct access to Q2. For the second time this season, Acosta led a Friday session and confirmed his candidacy to close the 2025 season with a victory. Bezzecchi finished very close to the Murcian, just 53 thousandths behind, and Franco Morbidelli was third, the best Ducati rider.

Álex Márquez's fourth place is perhaps less representative because the Cervera rider spent much of Friday testing new Ducati parts. The Catalan wanted to get ahead of Tuesday's test work, partly because lower temperatures are expected, which could significantly shorten the day. So, without much time to work on the setup for this weekend, the MotoGP runner-up smoothly navigated Friday and confirmed himself as the only rider on the premier class grid to have been present in all twenty-two Q2 sessions of the season.

The top 10 featured representation from all five brands in the category, with four Ducatis (Morbidelli, Márquez, Di Giannantonio, and Aldeguer), two Aprilias (Bezzecchi and Ogura), two Yamahas (Miller and Quartararo), one KTM (Acosta), and one Honda (Mir). Pecco Bagnaia failed again, which is no longer a surprise, finishing fourteenth and having to go through Q1's repechage for the sixth time in the last eleven Grands Prix.

To win the title, one must first secure it, even if it seems as close as it does for Diogo Moreira. The Brazilian has a 24-point lead and only needs to score two points on Sunday to secure it. In other words, finishing fourteenth would suffice, assuming his rival, Manu González, wins the race. If this isn't a miracle, it comes close, but in any case, if there's a straw to clutch at, the Madrid rider found it this Friday.

Unlike MotoGP, in the smaller categories, the top fourteen from the afternoon practice go directly to Q2. Moreira faltered, finishing in a discreet nineteenth position, sending him to Q1's repechage, adding pressure for a rider contending for the championship. Manu González didn't have an outstanding practice either, only managing tenth, but at least he met Friday's objective, putting the first 'check' on the most important weekend of his racing career.

The best in the intermediate category was the already 'rookie of the year' in Moto2, Dani Holgado, with a circuit record included, ahead of British rider Jake Dixon, the only one to break into the Spanish arsenal in the top 5: third Dani Muñoz, fourth Izan Guevara, and fifth Álex Escrig. In Moto3, there was also dominance by national riders, occupying the top two positions in the standings, with Leopard team riders David Almansa and Adrián Fernández.