MotoGP LIVE today: All the news about the training in Japan in the live ticker

As always, Markus's Thursday video blog will give you the perfect introduction to the race weekend. This time, the topics include the promotion of Alex Marquez , who will receive factory support from Ducati in 2026.

The engines are resting here for now. Moto3 practice resumes at 6:15 a.m. Until then, we have some news for you.

After setting the fastest time, Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi sees confirmation that Francesco Bagnaia is back: "Absolutely, I really believe it. I think we've now found the right path and he can get back to the positions he deserves." The testing opportunity in Misano was crucial: "Being able to test the bike for a full day like in Misano helped us try out several solutions. That's something you can't do during a race weekend."

At least there's some good news for Marco Bezzecchi. The Aprilia guys were quick and managed to repair a bike for the practice starts. However, these are going rather bumpy for the Italian. The Marquez brothers' strongest challenger of late seems to be off on the wrong foot here.

If Alex Marquez wants to prevent his brother from winning the title, he'll have to do more. 15th place was certainly not a great finish. He hasn't been that far back in a long time. But he's in good company. We wouldn't normally see Fabio Quartararo finishing 16th either.

With that, practice concludes, and Francesco Bagnaia secures the fastest time. Finally, some positive news for 'Pecco'. Jorge Martin, with fresh tires, secured second place, followed by Marc Marquez and Fabio di Giannantonio. Luca Marini registers his Honda in fifth place. Pedro Acosta is seventh. Special praise must go to Somkiat Chantra, who makes his first appearance in the top 10 in ninth.

Shortly before the finish, there were some unpleasant scenes. First, Enea Bastianini crashed. Then, in quick succession, Franco Morbidelli and Jack Miller crashed in the same corner. The Italian was lucky that the Australian didn't slide into him.

Jorge Martin has put on fresh tires and is taking advantage of them. The world champion moves up to second place. Fast laps are still the Spaniard's biggest weakness on the Aprilia. He seems to be practicing for that now. We won't see teammate Bezzecchi again until this afternoon. Both bikes need repairs.

Francesco Bagnaia's answer is clear. He beats teammate Marquez by a tenth. This is a good sign, as the Italian set his time on old tires and isn't usually a fast starter for a weekend. Compatriot Marini also impresses, finishing third.

He was already a force here in Moto2. Now rookie Somkiat Chantra moves up to fifth place. We can't remember ever seeing him so far ahead in the premier class.

And there he is. Marc Marquez is the new leader. The Spaniard is eight thousandths of a second faster than his teammate Bagnaia.

It's a complete false start for Marco Bezzecchi. He's barely back out when his front wheel collapses in Turn 5. The Aprilia rider is, of course, out of sorts. Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta and Alex Marquez are slowly making their way back into the lead. The KTM rider is now fourth, while the World Championship runner-up makes his first appearance in the top ten.

Honda obviously wants to deliver here on its home track. And things are looking good at the start. Luca Marini has just moved up to fourth place. Teammate Joan Mir is in sixth. That would have been unthinkable a year ago.

The first few runs are now largely complete. Less than a second separates Bagnaia's best time from Ai Ogura in 18th place. The field has closed in on the Italian, but no one has been faster. Franco Morbidelli and Marc Marquez are the closest pursuers.

A look at the timesheet might give Francesco Bagnaia some hope. The Italian is comfortably leading the session so far. Did he actually make progress in the Misano test? We'll have to wait and see. We've seen glimmers of hope vanish too often with 'Pecco'.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a good start for Aprilia. Raul Fernandez crashed at Turn 7, and shortly afterward, Marco Bezzecchi was also involved in a crash at Turn 10.

It's starting. The engines roar and the field moves out. All eyes are naturally on Marc Marquez , who can and wants to win the title this weekend.

Japanese fans can look forward to seeing two of their compatriots on the track this weekend. While Ai Ogura will be competing in his first home race as a MotoGP rider, Honda has given Takaaki Nakagami the mandatory wildcard start. We're always happy to welcome the veteran, who is extremely popular in the paddock. This brings the total to 23 riders on the grid.

Then we turn to the premier class. MotoGP begins at 3:45 a.m. with its first free practice session. The motorcycle stars have 45 minutes at their disposal.

You can also set the fastest time without yellow flags. That's exactly what Jake Dixon does in the closing stages. A 1:49.067 is the new lap record. Izan Guevara secures second place ahead of Manuel Gonzalez and Dabid Alonso. Aron Canet and Diogo Moreira begin the weekend in 11th and 15th place, respectively.

Jake Dixon manages to beat Manuel Gonzalez, but his time is not counted. Dani Holgado crashed at Turn 10, causing the Briton to set a time under yellow.

That was the end of the brief Japanese joys. Now Manuel Gonzalez has secured the lead. His 1:49.563 is already a new lap record. If the weather remains stable, it will be significantly lowered this weekend.

Just in time for his home race, Ayumu Sasaki appears in regions of the standings where we normally don't see him. The Japanese driver secures the fastest time.

Manuel Gonzalez is in fourth place. His two World Championship rivals, Diogo Moreira and Aron Canet, are in eighth and ninth, respectively. That sounds like a bigger gap than it actually is. In fact, the three drivers are separated by only two tenths. David Alonso is off to a good start in sixth place, for the first time faster than his recently strong teammate Holgado.

Tony Arbolino has now secured the lead. The Italian is the first to break 110 seconds, clocking a time of 1:49.936. We have four Boscoscuros in the top five. Only Manuel Gonzalez has slipped in between.

The other MarcVDS driver is also in the spotlight now. Unlike Dixon, however, it's unfortunately not a positive one. Filip Salac fires his Boscoscuro into the gravel at Turn 7. This gives his team a lot to do.

Jake Dixon takes the lead in the opening minutes, and quite decisively, taking almost three-tenths of a second off world championship leader Manuel Gonzalez. Meanwhile, Alex Escrig is struggling with a problem with his forward.

And then the Moto2 field moves in. As always, we expect a close field.

The first practice session is over. Now the Moto2 riders can explore the track. It starts at 2:50 a.m. The intermediate class has 40 minutes to complete.

At the end, Angel Piqueras and Jose Rueda tried again, but they just couldn't beat Adrian Fernandez's best time. Unfortunately, in the final seconds, Luca Lunetta caused the first crash of the day. Fortunately, the Italian was unharmed in his mishap at Turn 10.

Joel Kelso tried to put things right for KTM, but the Australian couldn't catch up to Fernandez. He ended up a tenth behind. Angel Piqueras finished a clear third.

Now Munoz has lost the lead, and how! Adrian Fernandez puts his foot on the gas and knocks the fastest time off by a whopping eight tenths. This puts a Honda ahead on Honda's home track.

He's still clearly the fastest man, but now he's also the first to go off the track. However, during his trip into the gravel trap at Turn 1, David Munoz manages to stay seated and rejoins the track.

We're delighted to finally welcome Matteo Bertelle back on track. After a strong start to the season with pole positions and podium finishes, the Italian unfortunately suffered severe bone fractures that kept him out of action for months. Here he makes his comeback and currently ranks 17th. That's more than respectable after such a long break.

One man is clearly ahead at the start. David Munoz has put almost half a second between himself and his closest rivals. Especially in the final sector, the Intact rider is in a league of his own.

It's starting. The Moto3 race starts in 35 minutes of free practice. As always, Marco Bezzecchi is standing at the pit wall, watching the juniors. This time, however, he's also accompanied by his teammate Jorge Martin. A world-class crowd for the youngsters.

It's not called the land of the rising sun for nothing. This morning we're treated to a bright blue sky. At 27 degrees Celsius, it's quite warm for Motegi standards.

02:00 - 02:35: 1st Free Practice Moto3 02:50 - 03:30: 1st Free Practice Moto2

03:45 - 04:30: 1st Free Practice MotoGP

06:15 - 06:50: Moto3 practice 07:05 - 07:45: Moto2 practice

08:00 - 09:00: MotoGP Training

We still have to put a question mark over this, but in the home of his former employer Honda, Marc Marquez has the chance to be crowned MotoGP World Champion for the seventh time. Today's practice in Motegi will give us the first indications of whether he can achieve this. And, as always, it's all about making it to Q2. Our live ticker will accompany you throughout the day in Japan. Moto3 starts at 2:00 a.m.