Marc Marquez took his first pole position of 2026 at Jerez, edging Johann Zarco who had come through Q1 and showed strong confidence and speed in damp conditions. Fabio Di Giannantonio was third, using Bezzecchi as a tow to beat the championship leader by 0.018 seconds. Jorge Martin crashed and qualified seventh but carries a three place penalty, dropping him to tenth on the Sunday grid.
Alex Marquez crashed at Turn nine on his first Q2 run at Jerez, ending any hope of converting his dominant Friday into pole position. The Gresini rider recovered to fifth on the grid after the crash, joining brother Marc and Pedro Acosta on the second row. The defending Spanish GP winner had been the man to beat all week, only for a damp track to catch him out at the worst moment.
Fabio Quartararo described riding the 2026 Yamaha at Jerez as feeling like the first time he had ever been on a motorcycle, admitting he is pushing without knowing what will happen. The Frenchman finished 17th in Practice, over a second off the pace at a circuit where he was on pole 12 months ago. A new chassis tested on Friday was immediately rejected as worse than the standard setup.
Johann Zarco came through Q1 and went on to qualify second at Jerez, sharing the front row with Marc Marquez and Di Giannantonio in damp conditions. Zarco had shown strong speed and confidence through the wet session, only losing pole at the final corner when he slid both tyres and could not improve. Honda’s best qualifying result of 2026 arrived from the Frenchman who started the day in Q1.
Alex Marquez ended Friday at Jerez three tenths clear of the field, posting a 1:35.704 that sat within a tenth of the all-time lap record. Bagnaia crashed at Turn 1 on his first flying lap while shadowing Marquez, while Jorge Martin also fell at the final corner. Pedro Acosta faces Q1 for the first time this season after finishing 15th, alongside teammate Brad Binder.
Ducati boss Gigi Dall’Igna says the first impression of the Desmosedici GP27 was “very good” after test rider Michele Pirro completed a shakedown at Misano on 13 April. Dall’Igna confirmed the bike is “ready for further testing” with Pirro set to run the full 850cc package including Pirelli prototype tyres and 100 percent renewable Shell fuel at Mugello next week.
Jorge Martin’s chaotic Friday at Jerez ended with a three place grid penalty for the Sunday race after stewards ruled he impeded Alex Marquez at Turns 3 and 4 in the closing minutes of Practice. Martin had already crashed twice during the day, including a bizarre fall after the FP1 chequered flag on his way to practice starts. He called Friday “a bit of a mess” but scraped into Q2.
Fabio Di Giannantonio set the fastest time in MotoGP FP1 at Jerez, leading a VR46 1-2 ahead of Franco Morbidelli. Both riders improved late in the session on fresh tyres, while several rivals focused on race pace. Álex Márquez finished third, with Marco Bezzecchi and Marc Márquez close behind as the Spanish Grand Prix weekend began.
Fabio Di Giannantonio ended FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix fastest, with Franco Morbidelli second after both went quickest on fresh tyres at the end of the session. Alex Marquez, Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez completed the top five, with the championship leader and Marquez both avoiding fresh rubber late on. Ducati riders filled four of the top five positions. The opening day tone at Jerez has been set.
Ducati heads into Jerez focusing on braking and corner entry improvements after a difficult start to 2026. Fabio Di Giannantonio confirmed the team used the break to analyse weaknesses, with Aprilia dominating early races. Jerez is seen as a key reset point where Ducati expects to close the gap and challenge for wins again.