MotoGP™ roared back in Hungary for the first time in 33 years on Friday, as the championship made its awaited comeback to the country at the new Balaton Park circuit, hosting the 14th round of 2025. Red Bull KTM Tech3’s special Hungarian duo, Enea Bastianini and Pol Espargaro, stood out on the opening day of the Michelin® Grand Prix of Hungary, with both riders finishing in the top 10 of Practice to make it straight to Q2, alongside KTM teammate Pedro Acosta, who took the honours on Friday.
Grand Prix of Hungary
Enea Bastianini arrived at Balaton Park full of confidence from one of his best weekends of the season in Austria, and arriving at a new track with no past references continued to do wonders for the Italian, just like in Brno before the summer break. The number 23 showed good pace and confidence straight into the opening session this morning as the main class took its marks on the new layout, long of 4.075 km. Enea took the 8th time of FP1 in the morning with a fastest lap in 1'38.848, 0.892 seconds from Marc Marquez who topped the first session. As it was then time for the first highlights of the weekend with the one-hour practice session, it only got better for Bestia who found the right feeling with his RC16. After 30 minutes spent preparing for race setting, Bastianini sat in 8th just 0.494 seconds off Marquez with a 1’38.041, before he made the first major improvement to a 1’38.307, one that saw him move up to 5th. The end of the session promised fireworks, as 16 riders were less than 1 second from each other. Minutes later, the Italian hit the mark as he went below the 1’38 bar, and a 1’37.930 had him third behind Marquez and Aldeguer. The machine was on, and it was not just for Enea, as all riders began proving the extra effort. Final pit box return, and Enea was out of the top 10 as 7 minutes remained on the clock, but a brilliant last effort in 1'37.415 saw him move up to 4th. Eventually, P5 was his final position, with Marc Marquez improving his last lap to fly to 2nd. Brilliant job from Enea Bastianini, who will head once again directly in Q2!
Pol Espargaro worked his magic once again on Friday, and made a clear statement: he still got it! The Spaniard had already met all expectations at the Czech GP in July with a solid weekend as he replaced injured Maverick Viñales for the first time, and today he showed once again promising pace at the Balaton Park, a track he had already tested on a few months before with the factory. Espargaro stood out in Free Practice 1 with the second fastest lap time of the opening session, as he followed Marc Marquez with a 1'38.233 (+0.277). The start of Practice was mostly dedicated to working out the best bike setting and gathering key data for the squad. However, when it was time to gear up, Pol answered the call. From P19, he jumped to 4th with a 1’37.871 earned thanks to an impressive sector 4 as he followed a Johann Zarco tracked by Marc Marquez. He made another improvement to 1’37.727 before returning to the pit box, and a last effort in his final run saw him clock in a 1'37.544, which eventually put him in P8! Awesome job from Pol, who will have the pleasure to skip Q1 tomorrow morning.
The Red Bull KTM Tech3 crew will be back more hungry than ever on Saturday, with FP2 at 10:10, and Q2 at 11:15. Finally, we’ll sprint for the first time in Hungary, as lights of the Tissot Sprint go out at 15:00 (UTC+2), for 13 laps.
ENEA BASTIANINI: "When we did the track walk yesterday, I understood that it could be a good one for the KTM, because we are competitive at the braking. Today, we saw that this track suits our bike, although we are still missing a little something in the fast corners and some stability in the curves, which we need to work out for tomorrow. Anyway, I enjoyed the bike a lot today, and I think that it was our best Friday of the season so far. The confidence keeps building, which is positive for us, so let’s continue working, and see what we can do tomorrow."
POL ESPARAGARO: "I am very pleased with our day, because we have three KTMs in the top 10, with one of them leading the way today, which means that the last update we brought in is efficient! It helped me be in P2 this morning and P8 this afternoon for sure! I am feeling like a little kid, I am feeling a lot of emotions which I am trying to deal with because I am not used anymore to all the pressure the guys are feeling every weekend, but it's nice to feel all these things! We missed Q2 by so little in Brno on the Friday, and I could not stop thinking about it, so today, we did everything we could to make the cut. The speed of the guys is insane, so I am just happy that our strategy worked well this afternoon. Let's keep enjoying the weekend, our job is to bring data and experience to all the squad, and we will continue to give it all this weekend for the team!"
PRACTICE SESSION RESULTS
1. Pedro Acosta (SPA), Red Bull KTM Factory, 1'37.061
2. Marc Marquez (SPA), Ducati Lenovo Team, +0.006
3. Alex Marquez (SPA), BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP, +0.281
5. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.354
8. Pol Espargaro (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.483
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2025 - P. Acosta (SPA) - 1'37.061 - 151.1 km/h
Best Race Lap: New Track
Best Pole: New Track
Top Speed: 2025 - B. Binder (RSA) - 306.8 Km/h
