Marco Bezzecchi never worried that Jorge Martín would crawl to the back of the order during Friday’s practice at the San Marino Grand Prix, saying he would watch his teammates climb the grid tomorrow.
Aprilía faces Saturday setbacks
Bezzecchi pushed the factory RS‑GP almost onto the lap‑record, yet Martín only managed a 10th‑place lap 0.546 s slower, securing the last spot in Q2 by a hair of 0.016 s. The Spaniard’s performance faltered on Michelin’s soft rear tyre, a compound that has frustrated the pair since the season began. Even with a clean final run, Martín finished 0.267 s off the lead in FP1 and blamed tyre comfort for the loss in the afternoon heat.
At the satellite Trackhouse, Raúl Fernández finished 12th. Fernández had been third in FP1 and positioned inside the top 10 for much of the session, but dropped in the closing stages. He admitted his own errors – a couple of wrong lines on the final laps – cost him the seat in Q2.
Other satellite and Ducati entries
Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura missed the weekend entirely after an injury, while the team’s other rider, Fernández, saw a difficult day. Ducati, in contrast, fielded a strong line‑up with four Desmosedici riders inside the top five. Fermin Aldeguer’s last timed lap fell short because of a technical glitch, leaving Francesco Bagnaia as the only Ducati rider with a pace problem that kept him out of Q2.
Optimism for tomorrow’s run
Bezzecchi stressed that Friday is only the opening day, emphasizing a focus “on ourselves, working as hard as we can in the pit” and trusting the team to build the speed needed for tomorrow. He rejected the notion of worry, and believed both Martín and Fernández would be “at the sharp end of the field” in qualifying.
With the paddock set and an eye on the grid, the Aprilía squad keeps its confidence intact as the track lights up later in the day, ready for a swifter morning in Misano.
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