The free practice session started with riders going straight on track, since the session lasts only 45 minutes. This weekend is special, because if Marc Márquez outscores his brother by 3 points, he will win the MotoGP World Championship. Also, Takaaki Nakagami is racing at his home Grand Prix as a wildcard for HRC Honda.

Early lap times were between 1:46 and 1:48. After the first measured laps, the top five were: Raul Fernandez, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Fabio Quartararo, Pedro Acosta, and Francesco Bagnaia.

Just eight minutes into the session, there were two crashes in quick succession: Raul Fernandez fell first, and Marco Bezzecchi crashed right after him in sector 3, bringing out the first yellow flag.

With 10 minutes gone, the top five were: Morbidelli, Bagnaia, Bezzecchi, Mir, and Raul Fernandez, with times between 1:45 and 1:46. Morbidelli led with a 1:45.346, and riders were getting close to the 1:44 mark. Soon after, Bagnaia set the fastest lap at 1:45.042, while his teammate Marc Márquez was down in 9th.

At the 15-minute mark, Bagnaia became the first rider to dip into the 1:44 range. The top five were: Bagnaia, Morbidelli, Marc Márquez, Bezzecchi, and Mir.

By halfway, most riders had returned to the pits to speak with their mechanics before heading back out. Most used a hard rear tyre with either a soft or medium front. The order was: Bagnaia, Morbidelli, Marc Márquez, Bezzecchi, and Mir.

Among the KTM riders, only Pedro Acosta was inside the top 10, while the rest struggled. Championship contender Alex Márquez was far down in 17th. Meanwhile, Honda showed good pace with Marini and Mir inside the top 10. But trouble continued for Marco Bezzecchi, who crashed again at Turn 5 after braking too hard.

With 15 minutes left, lap times improved slightly. The top five: Marc Márquez, Bagnaia, Morbidelli, Acosta, and Marini.

With 7 minutes remaining, Bagnaia set a 1:44.857 to take back the lead. The top five then were: Bagnaia, Marc Márquez, Marini, Morbidelli, and Acosta.

In the final minutes, riders pushed for their last laps. Fabio Quartararo, who had been in the top 10 earlier, dropped to 14th. Jack Miller sat in 7th. With 2 minutes left, Jorge Martin jumped to 2nd place. But then came more drama: Enea Bastianini crashed at Turn 10, Morbidelli went down in sector 3, and just before that, Jack Miller also crashed at Turn 5.

The final top 10 were Bagnaia, Martin, Marc Márquez, Di Giannantonio, Marini, Morbidelli, Acosta, Miller, Chantra, and Bezzecchi.