Pedro Acosta wasted no time asserting his authority on home soil. The Red Bull KTM rider ended the opening practice session for the 2026 Austrian MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring at the top of the timesheets, setting a benchmark of 1m 29.851s. He was the only rider to dip into the 1m 29s bracket, underlining the RC16's strength at its home circuit.
Remarkably, Pol Espargaro slotted into second place. The Tech3 KTM stand-in, just as he did at Misano last weekend, grabbed a late tow from Acosta to post a lap just 0.233s adrift. This KTM one-two in the opening session sends a clear message to the rest of the field.
Jorge Martin endured a dramatic session. The Aprilia rider suffered a technical issue early on and had to pull off track. He recovered to briefly split Acosta and Marc Marquez at the top before eventually settling for third after Espargaro's late lap. Martin, who is evaluating whether he needs arm pump surgery, finished 0.308s behind.
Marc Marquez, the defending winner in Austria, had to settle for fourth. The Ducati champion was 0.335s off Acosta's pace. Behind him, Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) completed the top six. Bezzecchi, who crashed out of the lead on the opening lap at Misano, is still searching for his rhythm.
FP1 saw riders use soft front and medium rear tyres, a combination typically not used in qualifying or the race. The predicted choices for the rest of the weekend are medium front and soft (Sprint)/medium (GP) rear. This makes the FP1 results less indicative, but still offers a glimpse of each team's potential.
Marc Marquez arrives at the Red Bull Ring as the championship leader for the first time this season after completing a perfect double at Misano. He is tied on points with Jorge Martin but leads on countback with five grand prix wins to Martin's one. Their battle is expected to intensify throughout the Austrian weekend.
With this result, KTM has shown it has the pace at its home track. However, Ducati and Aprilia will not take this lying down. FP2 and qualifying will be the real test. Will Acosta maintain his momentum, or will Marquez and Martin respond? The action at the Red Bull Ring is just getting started.
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