Márquez makes a strong start as Martín moves among the leaders

Márquez set a strong early pace and Jorge Martín moved into the upper part of the standings. Bezzecchi also made an impression: the first run offered a glimpse of a contest with Márquez, after the Italian took the lead ahead of Marc. Martín, meanwhile, appeared to be in better shape than in Malaysia, although braking remains a difficulty.

Martín’s appearance on track was preceded by a visit to the clinic: he needed medical clearance to race before the session. Once underway, he quickly reached the upper end of the standings, unlike his position at Sepang. He also seemed more comfortable on his RS-GP26. In the first run, Bezzecchi was a tenth ahead of Marc, and the pair pulled clear of the rest of the group. Bezzecchi later improved his own time but did not regain the advantage. Márquez, for his part, kept the same tyre compounds before beating them.

The weekend has also been shaped by a substantial number of absences. All Yamaha riders are missing, along with Fabio Quartararo, Álex Rins, Jack Miller and Augusto Fernández. The Japanese decided not to travel to the area for safety reasons. Joan Mir is also absent, with Jake Dixon replacing him at Honda. At Gresini Ducati, Iker Lecuona is taking Álex Márquez’s place. Dixon also caused a scare in the Honda garage when his bike began to shake; Ogura nearly collided with him at turn 11.

Raúl Fernández held up better than in Malaysia, where he had been forced to stop after the first free practice session. Among the positions listed were Adrián Fernández in eighth and Joel Esteban in ninth; Almansa was 12th, Brian Uriarte 14th, Carpe 17th, Cruces 20th, Ríos 22nd and Muñoz 25th.

Team manager Paolo Bonora summed up Martín’s condition on DAZN: “He is slightly better. He is better through the changes of direction; he struggles more under braking, but fortunately there are few of them. He is gritting his teeth; the aim is to keep the world championship alive.” Aprilia wants to remain positive about Martín, while Bezzecchi, the leader’s theoretical rival, showed he could keep pace with Márquez.