Alex Marquez Leads Friday Practice at Jerez MotoGP 2026

MotoGP, Sportrik Media - Alex Marquez and Gresini Racing set the benchmark in Friday practice for the 2026 Spanish MotoGP at Jerez, delivering a competitive response after a difficult start to the season.

The Spanish rider posted a 1m35.704s lap to lead the session, ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio from VR46 Racing Team in second. Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia Racing secured third, underlining the strong presence of Ducati and Aprilia at the front.

Reigning world champion Marc Marquez, representing Ducati Lenovo Team, finished fourth, while rookie Ai Ogura impressed in fifth with Trackhouse Racing. Francesco Bagnaia recovered to sixth despite suffering an early crash.

Baca JugaJorge Martin Kena Penalti Grid Usai Insiden Jerez 2026

Bagnaia’s incident occurred under braking into Turn 1, sending his factory Ducati into the gravel. A similar moment affected former world champion Jorge Martin at the final corner. Both riders, however, were able to return to the track and secure positions sufficient for direct progression to Qualifying 2.

The session highlighted the competitive advantage of Ducati and Aprilia, with nine of the top positions dominated by the two manufacturers. Raul Fernandez and Fermin Aldeguer completed the top eight, while Martin secured ninth. Enea Bastianini was the leading KTM rider in tenth.

Outside the top ten, several high-profile riders will have to contest Qualifying 1, including Pedro Acosta, Honda representatives such as Joan Mir and Luca Marini, as well as Yamaha riders led by Fabio Quartararo. The results emphasize the current performance gap between manufacturers at this stage of the weekend.

Earlier in Free Practice 1, Di Giannantonio led the session after switching to fresh tyres late on, while rivals including the Marquez brothers and Bezzecchi remained on used rubber, reflecting differing strategic approaches. Additional incidents followed the session, with Martin crashing during practice starts and Ogura narrowly avoiding a fall entering pit lane.

With Friday running complete, focus now shifts to qualifying and race execution, where tyre strategy, consistency, and evolving track conditions will be decisive factors in determining the outcome of the 2026 Spanish MotoGP at Jerez.