Manuel González and José Antonio Rueda set the pace in Moto2 and Moto3 respectively.
Manuel González and José Antonio Rueda set the pace in Moto2 and Moto3 respectively. *Turn 7 at Jerez will be named after Carmelo Ezpeleta
25 de abril de 2025 – This Friday saw the start of a very special Estrella Galicia 0'0 Grand Prix of Spain at the Jerez–Ángel Nieto Circuit, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary in an unbeatable setting. Thousands of fans attended the first day of practice from the very beginning, creating, as every year, an exciting atmosphere that accompanied the debut of all three categories on track.
A track that, on the other hand, has not only recovered from the catastrophe of March 3rd when a static storm flooded the circuit causing significant damage, which, after the work and effort of the circuit staff and auxiliary companies, has been rebuilt to the point that today, except in Moto3 where it was close to breaking the record, in MotoGP and Moto2 the best lap references were broken on this track, a sign that Jerez is returning to normal.
In the premier class, Álex Márquez had an unforgettable Friday at Jerez, clearly winning both free practice sessions, setting a stunning 1:35.991 and becoming the first rider to break the 1:36 mark at the Circuito de Jerez–Ángel Nieto. Despite suffering two crashes—one at Turn 1 and another at Sito Pons, where his Ducati hit the barriers—the Cervera native was able to return to the track without any problems and reaffirm his excellent performance against the rest of the field.
The session began with both Márquez brothers lapping above the morning record, until a red flag halted the action due to Álex's crash at the Sito Pons corner. At the restart, Fabio Quartararo and Marc Márquez dipped below 1:37 for the first time, with Acosta, Binder, and Zarco also improving their times, but none able to match Álex's morning time. With just a few minutes remaining, the younger Márquez brother went all out again, smashing the best time and closing out the top 10 alongside Bagnaia, Morbidelli, Marc Márquez, Quartararo, Aldeguer, Zarco, Acosta, Di Giannantonio, and Mir. The rest of the grid, forced into Q1, will have to earn direct access to the front row of the grid this Saturday.
In Moto2, Manu González took the lead of the session, setting a time of 1:40.142, making clear his intention to challenge Arón Canet, the current World Championship leader, for victory at the Jerez track. Barry Baltus and Deniz Oncü finished second and third. Oncü set the benchmark in the morning free practice session with a time of 1:39.836, out of reach of the rest. However, the afternoon session was the one that decided direct access to Q2, where Spanish rider Manuel González excelled ahead of the rest.
For his part, Canet was able to improve his performance compared to FP1 and moved up to sixth place at the end of the session. Local driver Marcos Ramírez, on the other hand, was severely hampered and barely put in any useful laps, leaving him out of the fight for Q2 with a modest 23rd place.
In Moto3, José Antonio Rueda was the clear leader of the day with a time of 1:43.770, gaining more than a second on the rest of the field in the practice session that decided access to Q2. His title rival, Ángel Piqueras, managed to slightly improve his previous times from the morning and took seventh place, knocking half a second off his best time from FP1. Alvaro Carpe was second fastest, while Japanese rider Taiyo Furusato posted the fastest time of the session.
The action continues tomorrow with an unparalleled program: it will kick off with the Moto3, Moto2, and MotoGP qualifying sessions, where riders will fight for the top spots on the grid, followed by the frenetic MotoGP Sprint Race. The fun will continue throughout the afternoon in the Fan Zone with live music, interviews with the riders, and many more surprises not to be missed.
Jerez's Turn 7 will be named after Carmelo Ezpeleta
A special ceremony will name Turn 7 of the Jerez-Ángel Nieto Circuit tomorrow, Saturday, in honor of Carmelo Ezpeleta, CEO of Dorna Sports, the MotoGP rights holder.
The ceremony will take place at 12:15 p.m. on Saturday at the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Spain, honoring the contributions of a key figure in the history and future of motorcycling.
The event will take place on the Turn 7 outer service road before the start of Moto3 qualifying session 1.
