The first Free Practice session (FP1) roared to life under clear skies, and riders wasted no time hitting the track. But excitement turned to shock almost immediately as Raul Fernandez crashed at Turn 10—his bike caught fire, forcing an early yellow flag and ending his initial run prematurely.

The early lap times hovered in the 1:34s, with Francesco Bagnaia initially topping the charts. However, the home hero, Fabio Quartararo, quickly thrilled the crowd by snatching the lead. As the pace intensified, the lap times dropped into the 1:33s, and soon a flurry of fast laps pushed Quartararo down the order.

Marco Bezzecchi then set the benchmark with a 1:32.899, and he didn’t stop there—shaving off more time to post a 1:32.190. Alex Marquez climbed up the ranks to slot in just behind, bumping his brother Marc Marquez to third. More riders joined the 1:32 club as the session heated up.

Marc Marquez responded with authority, becoming the first rider to break into the 1:31s. Maverick Viñales wasn’t far behind, slotting into second with a 1:32.089. With 33 minutes remaining, Alex Marquez grabbed the lead from his brother, but Marc struck back, inching closer to the elusive 1:30s with a blistering lap.

Among other notable performances, wildcard returnee Takaaki Nakagami was holding a solid 12th, while Quartararo sat in 8th. A surprise name appeared in 9th—rookie Fermin Aldeguer—impressing many with his strong pace.

As the session hit the halfway mark, riders returned to the pits for tire changes and setup tweaks. Fernandez, despite his earlier crash, was back on track with his second bike. Viñales improved to fourth, and Bagnaia climbed to second, while Jack Miller cracked the top 10 in 8th.

Quartararo continued his steady progress, moving up to 7th. But the real surprise was Joan Mir, who jumped to fifth. Meanwhile, another yellow flag was waved, this time for Franco Morbidelli’s crash in Sector 3. The incident led to the deletion of several fast laps.

Marc Marquez delivered a stunner with a 1:31.099, inching ever closer to the 1:30 mark. Quartararo pushed to fourth, much to the delight of the home fans. As the session neared its final stages, most riders—except for Quartararo, Aldeguer, and Brad Binder—were back in the pits.

Another yellow flag came with just minutes left, triggered by Alex Rins' crash, wiping out his chance to improve. Pedro Acosta managed to climb to 10th, though his time was later deleted due to the flag.

With four minutes to go, the fireworks returned. Ai Ogura leapt up to third, with Luca Marini just behind in fourth. Then Marc Marquez pulled off the perfect lap: 1:31.000—a symbolic barrier broken with style. Johann Zarco surged to sixth, and Alex Marquez responded by taking second.

In the dying moments, Marc Marquez shattered expectations, posting the only sub-1:31 time of the session: 1:30.764. Brad Binder closed strong too, finishing in second and becoming the fastest KTM rider of FP1.