The afternoon practice session saw riders head out on track immediately, knowing that this outing was crucial. The fastest ten riders would secure direct entry into Q2, raising the stakes from the very start. Most opted for soft front tyres, while at the rear the choice was split between soft and medium compounds.

The first timed laps ranged from 1:29 to 1:31, already significantly faster than the morning session. As earlier in the day, Marco Bezzecchi led the way, followed by Álex Márquez and his teammate Jorge Martín in third.

Meanwhile, Marc Márquez, attempting to improve from ninth place, was consistently losing time in the third sector, which prevented a stronger move forward. His teammate Francesco Bagnaia completed several laps but failed to break into the top 15.

At that stage, the leading Yamaha rider was Jack Miller in 14th, while the rest of the Yamaha riders struggled further down the order. Rookie Diogo Moreira impressed in 13th.

With 12 minutes gone, the top 10 were: Di Giannantonio, Bezzecchi, Álex Márquez, Ogura, Morbidelli, Martín, Zarco, Marini, and Marc Márquez.

Ogura continued to impress in fourth place. Fabio Quartararo found improvement with his Yamaha, climbing to 15th and sitting 1.060 seconds behind Di Giannantonio, who led by just 0.001s over Bezzecchi. Raúl Fernández moved into 10th, pushing Marc Márquez temporarily out of the advancing positions.

At the halfway mark, in the top 10 were: Di Giannantonio, Bezzecchi, Álex Márquez, Ogura, Marini, Joan Mir, Pedro Acosta, Morbidelli, Martín and Zarco. It was unusual to see both Ducati riders outside the top 10. Marc Márquez was running the 2024 aero package on his bike, while many riders remained in the pits.

With 26 minutes remaining, light rain hit parts of the circuit, dramatically affecting the session. Marshals waved the white flag to signal rain on track. Marc Márquez, after several attempts, finally improved and jumped to fourth. Quartararo also made gains, moving to 15th and closing to within one second of the lead.

With 15 minutes left, the top 10 stood as: Di Giannantonio, Bezzecchi, Acosta, Martín, Marc Márquez, Álex Márquez, Ogura, Marini, Mir and Fernández. The rain remained limited to certain sections before stopping completely, allowing lap times to improve further. Di Giannantonio extended his advantage over Bezzecchi, while Quartararo climbed to 13th. Bagnaia, however, continued to struggle in 20th.

In the final five minutes, riders returned to the track for their last attempts. A yellow flag appeared with three minutes remaining after Ogura crashed at Turn 7. As expected, times improved rapidly. Bezzecchi reclaimed first place and became the first rider to break into the 1:28 range. Marc Márquez followed, also dipping into the 1:28s to secure second.

When the chequered flag fell, the top 10 riders advancing directly to Q2 were: Bezzecchi, Marc Márquez, Di Giannantonio, Acosta, Martín, Álex Márquez, Mir, Brad Binder, Ogura and Zarco.