Alex Marquez Fastest in Motegi Practice, Bagnaia to Q1

Alex Marquez topped the MotoGP Practice session at the Mobility Resort Motegi for the Japanese Grand Prix. The BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP rider set a 1'42.811 in the closing stages, beating Pedro Acosta and Marc Marquez. Meanwhile, Francesco Bagnaia endured a tough session, finishing sixteenth and forcing him to go through Q1 for a place in Q2.

The Practice session at Motegi began with incidents. Alex Rins crashed at Turn 3 on his first flying lap after losing the front of his Yamaha. Shortly after, Luca Marini also went down at Turn 1. Both were able to continue without major issues. However, a more serious problem struck Ai Ogura. The Japanese rider had to stop his Aprilia after a large plume of smoke came from his RS-GP. With oil on the straight, the red flag was shown to allow marshals to clean the asphalt.

At the time of the interruption, Pedro Acosta led from Marco Bezzecchi and Marini. After about ten minutes, the session resumed.

Baca JugaAcosta Fokus Podium, Tak Pikirkan Gelar MotoGP 2026

Close Battles in Motegi

In the second part of the session, the fastest time changed hands frequently. Alex Marquez briefly took the lead, then Acosta responded. Bezzecchi then set a 1'43.742. Marc Marquez was initially outside the top positions but gradually moved forward. Jorge Martin also had to come from behind; the Aprilia rider was sixteenth halfway through but later comfortably made it into the top ten.

Notably, Fabio Quartararo's pace was impressive. The Frenchman kept his Yamaha in the top six for a long time, showing that the Japanese machines were competitive at Motegi. Johann Zarco and Diogo Moreira also hovered near the top ten during the session.

With just under half an hour to go, Marc Marquez took first place with a 1'43.623. Martin moved up to second shortly after, while Bezzecchi, Acosta, Quartararo, and Ogura also featured at the front.

Time Attacks Decide Q2 Fight

With twenty minutes remaining, Acosta set the fastest time at 1'43.589. Fermin Aldeguer then dipped under that, and the real time attacks began. Marc Marquez made a significant step with a 1'43.138, approaching the existing lap record. Bezzecchi responded almost immediately with a 1'43.029, making it clear that a sub-1'43 lap was within reach.

The gaps were incredibly small. With five minutes left, eighteen riders were within one second of each other, meaning almost every fast lap had major implications for direct Q2 qualification.

In the closing stages, Johann Zarco suffered a highsider and took a heavy blow to his right shoulder. His condition is unknown, but the incident provided a dramatic end to the Practice session.