It was an absolute disaster of a Friday for some of the biggest names in Moto3 at Motegi, but Marco Morelli (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) made sure his name was written at the very top of the timesheets. Needing a massive effort as the session wound down, the #97 machine delivered a stunning final flying lap to secure his first-ever session top spot in the category with a 1’55.280, comfortably moving straight into Q2.
Behind the pacesetter, Ryusei Yamanaka (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI) put together a brilliant start to his home round to take second. Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) rounded out the top three, while his Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Alvaro Carpe claimed P4. Unfortunately for Carpe, his strong pace came with a heavy price, requiring a trip to the medical centre following a violent highside at Turn 8.
Turn 8 was far from the only trouble spot on a bruising circuit. Championship designate Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) suffered a fall at Turn 3 on his way to P6. David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) went down at Turn 7, the exact same corner that caught out Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP teammate David Almansa earlier in the day. In fact, Almansa endured a miserable run by crashing three times across the session, ultimately ending up in P10, with Muñoz sitting just ahead in P7.
Rounding out the rest of the top ten were Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in P5, Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia) in P8, and Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP-MTA) in P9.
Not everyone managed to salvage a Q2 spot from the carnage. Hakim Danish (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI) suffered a massive highside at the final corner near the end of practice, adding to a sizeable get-off he already endured in FP1. Scott Ogden (CIP GreenPower) also missed out, sliding off late in the session despite showing strong sector times before his mistake.
