Acosta Fastest in Valencia GP Friday Practice

Pedro Acosta set the fastest time in Friday practice for the Valencia Grand Prix, topping the timesheets at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo and fueling expectations for his first MotoGP victory as the 2025 season draws to a close.

The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider clocked a 1:29.240 lap with more than 10 minutes remaining in the hour-long session, holding on for the top spot by 0.053 seconds over Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi. Franco Morbidelli of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team placed third on his Ducati, followed by Alex Marquez of BK8 Gresini Racing in fourth and Trackhouse Racing's Ai Ogura in fifth. The top 10 were covered by just 0.433 seconds, highlighting the intense competition at the season finale.

Acosta, in his second MotoGP season, expressed cautious optimism despite his strong showing. "The problem here is that everything is super tight, it's ridiculous," he said. "I think one second covers 19 guys. With one replacement rider and one guy that was missing a lot of races like Jorge Martin, it's ridiculous that we are in one second. You can imagine how high the level of MotoGP is at the moment." He noted challenges with time attacks using the soft front tire but...