Pedro Acosta continued KTM's dream start to its home round by topping the Austrian MotoGP Practice at the Red Bull Ring on Friday, setting a fastest time of 1:28.381 to secure a direct spot in Q2.
Having already led a KTM 1-2 in FP1 with Tech3 replacement Pol Espargaro, Acosta confirmed the RC16's pace when it mattered most. The Spaniard's performance sent a clear message to his rivals ahead of the weekend's action.
Gresini's Fermin Aldeguer finished a strong second, while Ai Ogura impressed on his return from a thumb injury to lock down third. Ogura's return to form adds another layer of intrigue to the weekend.
Championship leader Marc Marquez ended the session in fourth, just ahead of Aprilia's Jorge Martin, who arrived in Spielberg tied on points at the top of the standings. The battle between the two title contenders is heating up.
Fabio Di Giannantonio and Brad Binder secured direct Q2 entries in sixth and seventh respectively. However, the session was interrupted by a bizarre crash for Alex Marquez, who brought out the red flag after an unusual incident on the straight after Turn 2. He quickly returned on his second machine to salvage eighth.
Marco Bezzecchi took ninth ahead of Fabio Quartararo, who squeezed into the final automatic Q2 spot by just 0.004s, capitalising on cooler track conditions. Luca Marini narrowly missed out, as did Johann Zarco after a late error ruined his final flying lap.
With Acosta and KTM showing such strong pace at their home track, the question now is whether they can carry this momentum into qualifying and the race. The stage is set for a thrilling Austrian GP.
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Pedro Acosta fastest in Austrian MotoGP Practice 2026 at Red Bull Ring. KTM dominates session, Aldeguer and Ogura in top three. Read full analysis.
Pedro Acosta fastest again in Austrian GP 2026 practice, ahead of Aldeguer and Ogura. Bagnaia still struggles in 18th, 0.885s off the pace.
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