The first Free Practice 1 (FP1) session of the season at the Grand Prix of Thailand at the Buriram Circuit has wrapped up, giving us plenty of topics to discuss.

Marc Marquez wasted no time showing his speed, picking up right where he left off in testing. He shot to the top of the timesheets, finishing with a comfortable lead of over a tenth and a half. But that’s not all—FP1 was full of surprises.

Franco Morbidelli shocked everyone by securing second place, proving that his strong pre-season wasn’t just a dream. Fabio Quartararo followed closely in third, continuing his promising performances from testing. Both riders made big improvements late in the session.

Jack Miller made it into the top four, ensuring two Yamahas finished inside the top four as he edged out Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi, one of the standout performers from pre-season. However, the biggest surprise of the session was rookie Ai Ogura. The debutant put in a stunning performance, taking P6 and finishing as the fastest rookie.

Rounding out the top ten were Alex Marquez, Miguel Oliveira, and Maverick Viñales. Despite a rough start due to technical issues, Viñales managed to recover, ensuring all five manufacturers were represented in the top ten. The final spot in the top ten went to Francesco Bagnaia, who, as usual, took his time to build pace at the start of the weekend.

Honda showed impressive progress in FP1, with both Luca Marini and Joan Mir running inside the top six for most of the session. However, they dropped to P12 and P13 by the end, just behind a late-charging Johann Zarco.

Home hero and rookie rider Somkiat Chantra had an exciting first MotoGP FP1 session at home. Although he finished P17, he briefly cracked into the top ten during the session, giving the local fans plenty to cheer for.

With Free Practice 1 complete, the stage is set for the weeknd. Stay tuned!