Opinion

Friday practice could decide MotoGP Argentina GP in Bagnaia vs Marquez battle

OPINION: A close call on the opening day of practice in Argentina reveals the pressing need for Bagnaia to up his game on Fridays.

Francesco Bagnaia may have been upbeat following his fall in practice for the Argentina Grand Prix, but the Italian will be aware that the sketchy Fridays cannot continue if he wants to challenge his factory Ducati team-mate Marc Marquez in MotoGP 2025.

While Marquez scorched past his own 11-year-old lap record at Termas de Rio Hondo to breeze into Q2 as the fastest rider, Bagnaia flirted with a repeat of the Q1 outing he faced at the opener in Thailand.

The 2022 and 2023 world champion’s final run in practice came to a sudden end when he lost the bike heading into Turn 2, putting him out of action and into grave peril. With five minutes remaining, he was only seventh.

Several riders were still attacking and he admitted to feeling vulnerable before scraping through to Q2 in 10th.

“When I was on the scooter [back to the garage] I was already thinking ‘OK, we’re going to finish 11th by a few tenths and it will be shit’,” said Bagnaia. “But luckily I was inside the top 10.”

Bagnaia reckoned he had more than three tenths up his sleeve, which would have put him around fourth in the session.

“It’s a shame about the crash,” he added. “I wanted that lap time. I love to be fast and I need to feel the speed. But I’m inside the top 10 and it’s OK.”

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Up until that point, Bagnaia had looked visibly more in control than he had in the slightly damp opening practice session. He confirmed as much in his comments at the end of the day.

“Today, with the change we made in the afternoon, I feel much better. This afternoon I felt more like how I felt last year,” he said.

“Now I can focus on improving myself and improving my setup and feeling with the bike. Tomorrow morning we will do another step for sure.”

These incremental gains from a sluggish start are standard procedure for a Bagnaia weekend. He’s often in a position to deliver great things come Sunday. But in what appears to be a more competitive 2025 field, Friday misadventures threaten to cost him more than they have in the past.

Bagnaia got through Q1 in Thailand and no harm was done. Today in Argentina, he also got away with his mistake and will take his place among the Q2 elite tomorrow. But his luck will run out soon if he can’t start ironing out Friday struggles and drama.

If that happens, the price could be particularly high given that his team-mate Marquez tends to find the limit straight away on a Friday morning. He did exactly that today, heading free practice despite running fewer laps than any of his main competition.

That was a prelude to an afternoon in which the Thai GP winner once again proved unbeatable. Bagnaia, who finished third in Thailand, admits that none of it was a surprise, particularly on a low-grip track such as this one.

“I was thinking he would push like this, because in these conditions he is always very competitive,” said Bagnaia. “I was more impressed by Johann Zarco than Marc, because I expect this from Marc.”

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Zarco continued Honda’s encouraging start to the season on his LCR entry with the second-fastest time in the morning and then a seventh place in the afternoon. The latter might well have been better but for Zarco’s mid-session fall.

“The guy who impressed me the most was Zarco, who did incredible things today,” said Bagnaia. “And also Fabio di Giannantonio, because he was out for [pre-season testing, with injury]…and without doing anything during the session he was very fast in the time attack.”

As for whether Bagnaia can catch the senior Marquez later this weekend, the Torino man’s answer was crisp and short.

“Let’s see,” he said. “It’s too soon right now.”

But if Bagnaia’s defeat to Jorge Martin in 2024 taught anything, it’s that Friday at a MotoGP event is, in fact, often quite soon enough for damage to be done.