MOTOGP FRIDAY ACTION IN BRAZIL: RAIN SHAKES UP THE ORDER
MotoGP returns to Brazil and it got off to a challenging start, as changing weather conditions played a big role during Friday’s sessions at the Goiânia circuit.
In the first practice session, the track was still wet after morning rain, forcing riders to begin on wet tyres. As the surface slowly dried, conditions kept improving, but it remained tricky to judge when to switch to slick tyres.
Pedro Acosta set the fastest time of the session with a late lap of 1:26.688, just ahead of Jack Miller and Marco Bezzecchi. Early on, Marc Marquez had been leading in the wet, but the final minutes saw a flurry of fast laps as more riders took risks on a drying track.
Despite the difficult conditions, there were no crashes, and riders used the session mainly to learn the new circuit layout.
The second session was even more unpredictable. The track started mostly dry, so riders immediately pushed for fast laps on slick tyres, knowing rain could return at any moment.
Johann Zarco took advantage of the early conditions and set the fastest time of the day. Marc Marquez finished second, with rookie Toprak Razgatlioglu impressing in third place.
However, rain arrived midway through the session, making it impossible for many riders to improve their lap times. This caused some big surprises in the standings.
Marco Bezzecchi, winner of the opening race in Thailand, was one of the main victims of the weather. He ended the day down in 20th place and will now have to go through the tougher Q1 session in qualifying. Raul Fernandez also struggled and finished outside the top positions.
There were also a few crashes in FP2, as riders pushed hard in difficult conditions. Brad Binder, Jack Miller, and local rider Diogo Moreira all went down at the same corner early in the session, though none were injured.
At the end of Friday, the top 10 riders, led by Zarco, Marc Marquez, and Razgatlioglu—secured direct entry into Q2. Others, including some big names, will need to fight their way through Q1.
With more uncertain weather expected, Saturday’s qualifying and Sprint race could be just as unpredictable, setting up an exciting weekend in Brazil.
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