Jorge Martin emerged on top of a fiercely contested MotoGP qualifying session at Motegi, breaking the lap record to claim pole for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix and deny Marc Marquez the top spot.
The Aprilia Racing rider set a new benchmark of 1m 42.371s, finishing 0.110 seconds clear of Marquez on the Ducati Lenovo machine.
The result marked a strong response from Martin after he could only manage eighth on Friday. The championship leader bounced back on Saturday morning by finishing second in final practice behind his Aprilia team-mate Marco Bezzecchi.
Tyre choice proved significant in the battle for pole. Bezzecchi stuck with a medium rear tyre, while Martin set his best qualifying time on a used soft before switching to new rubber for the decisive run.
The move paid off as Martin produced the outright fastest lap of the weekend to secure pole position.
Marquez pushed hard in an attempt to respond on his final lap, but the Ducati rider ran into trouble at Turn 3. He had to release the brakes after pushing as late as he dared, effectively ending his chance of beating Martin.
“That is how hard he was pushing. That is how desperate he was to try and wrestle back that pole position,” the commentary noted after Marquez made the mistake.
The Spaniard was then seen shaking his head in frustration, knowing the error had cost him a chance to challenge Martin for the top spot.
The margins at the front underlined just how close the qualifying battle was. The top seven riders were separated by only 0.298 seconds.
Pedro Acosta completed the front row in third, just 0.122 seconds behind Martin. The Red Bull KTM rider also showed strong pace on the soft rear tyre and secured a place among the leading three.
Bezzecchi was pushed down to fourth, ahead of Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio. Enea Bastianini qualified seventh, followed by Raul Fernandez in eighth.
Diogo Moreira secured ninth for Honda, with Johann Zarco taking 10th despite a crash. Home rider Ai Ogura qualified 11th after being reduced to one bike following his final practice crash.
Fabio Quartararo completed the top 12, while Francesco Bagnaia suffered another setback after failing to progress through Q1. The two-time Motegi winner will start from only 13th.
Somkiat Chantra impressed with 15th in his first MotoGP qualifying appearance of the season, finishing ahead of full-time Honda HRC rider Luca Marini.
Maverick Vinales qualified 19th on his return from injury, with Jack Miller, Alex Rins and Toprak Razgatlioglu completing the final four positions.
Martin will now lead the grid for the 12-lap Motegi Sprint, scheduled to start at 3pm local time.
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Jorge Martin rebut pole MotoGP Jepang di Motegi, ungguli Marc Marquez. Simak hasil lengkap kualifikasi dan kejutan dari Chantra.
Marco Bezzecchi memimpin 1-2 Aprilia di latihan bebas terakhir MotoGP Jepang. Jorge Martin kedua, Pedro Acosta ketiga. Sesi dihentikan bendera merah.
Kualifikasi MotoGP Jepang 2026 dimulai pukul 03:50 dini hari. Bagnaia dan Ogura harus berjuang dari Q1, sementara Marquez waspadai aspal baru Motegi.
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