Fabio Di Giantantonio set the fastest lap around Jerez in FP1 as the VR46 scored a one-two when MotoGP returned from its April break.
The premier class paddock gathers in Jerez this week, a full month after the last race. MotoGP has postponed the Qatar Grand Prix until November due to the situation in the Middle East, creating a gap of four weeks from the United States Grand Prix at COTA. Spanish GP.
Just 21 full-time drivers will participate in the Spanish GP Maverick Vinales The KTM Tech3 will not race in Jerez due to an ongoing shoulder injury. KTM test rider Pol Espargaro is also dealing with an injury, so he won’t be able to compete after the race. Vinales left the Spanish GP.
Both Yamaha and Aprilia have test riders taking part in this weekend’s Spanish GP, but they are still benefiting from discounts as Augusto Fernandez continues development of the former’s V4-engined YZR-M1 and the latter’s Italian team refines the RS-GP.
Ducati rider Mark Marquez His ongoing recovery from a shoulder injury will also affect his early results this year. But the Spaniard says he feels “in a good way” now that he’s arrived in Jerez and has quickly settled into a fast rhythm with the Ducati aces.
Is another pole position on the cards for Fabio Di Giannantonio this weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix?
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As Alex Marquez tested Ducati’s new rear wing in FP1 at Jerez, Fabio Di Gianntonio set the pace.
Knight of Gresini Alex Marquez He took to the circuit to test Ducati’s new rear wing on his Desmosedici GP26 in the early stages of FP1 this Friday. The 30-year-old set a time of 1:37.332 to pip his brother Mark ahead. By Gianantonio The VR46.

On the contrary, Aprilia Racing Marco Bezecchi – who won each of the first three Grands Prix this season – took time to build up to FP1 at the Spanish GP. In the year The early 2026 championship leader jumped to second after 30 minutes, 0.015s shy of Alex Marquez’s benchmark.
In the first half of the opening practice session for the 2026 Spanish GP, few riders apart from Bezecchi had major improvements on their hands. Most of the drivers opted to stay in the garages for several sessions before they all flocked to the track for the final eight minutes.
Ducati injectors Francesco Bagnaia He was one of the few drivers to make a big profit early in the season. The two-time riders’ champion moved up from P16 to P4 on the timesheet after half an hour, shortly after trying to push on the Ducati GP26 and running wide at Turn 6.
The Ducati GP25 showed promising signs for the VR46 rider at Jerez. Franco Morbidelli. Last year Desmosedici didn’t have many positive results for Morbidelli this year, but team-mate Di Giantantonio took P4 in the final three minutes after going too fast in GP26.
George Martin gets into the gravel at the start of practice! 💥 Is the Aprilia star taking too many unnecessary risks?
Morbidelli made it a VR46 one-two when the checkered flag fell in FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix on Friday. The Italian continued to gain more speed on the Ducati GP25 to finish the session slower than team-mate Di Giannantonio in GP26, albeit by 0.288s.
The late rounds also saw a pair of pramaks. Toprak Razgatlioglu And Jack Miller Start showing some speed on the Yamaha M1 around Jerez. After switching to his second bike midway through the session, Razgatlioglu moved up to P12 before Miller got better to claim P7.
The drama continued after the Czech flag fell to end FP1 at the 2026 Spanish GP, when Aprilia’s Jorge Martin crashed on his way back to Jerez for the start of practice. Martin lost the lead going through lap 3 and took a quick slide into the gravel trap.
Full 2026 MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix FP1 Timesheet in Jerez
| POS | RIDER | group | GAP |
| 1 | Fabio D’Giantantonio | VR46 | 1:36.954 |
| 2 | Franco Morbidelli | VR46 | +0.288s |
| 3 | Alex Marquez | Gresini | +0.378s |
| 4 | Marco Bezecchi | Aprilia | +0.393s |
| 5 | Mark Marquez | Ducati | +0.542s |
| 6 | Raul Fernandez | Tracking house | +0.556 s |
| 7 | Jack Miller | Pramak | +0.562s |
| 8 | Pedro Acosta | KTM | +0.606 s |
| 9 | Johann Zarko | LCR | +0.649s |
| 10 | George Martin | Aprilia | +0.720s |
| 11 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati | +0.730s |
| 12 | Brad Binder | KTM | +0.747s |
| 13 | Diogo Moreira | LCR | +0.763s |
| 14 | Joan Mir | Honda | +0.774s |
| 15 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | Pramak | +0.877s |
| 16 | Fermin Aldeguer | Gresini | +1.010 s |
| 17 | Luca Marini | Honda | +1.053 s |
| 18 | Ine Bastianini | Tech3 | +1.199 s |
| 19 | No. Ogura | Tracking house | +1.255 s |
| 20 | Fabio Quatararo | Yamaha | +1.267s |
| 21 | Alex Rin | Yamaha | +1.366 s |
| 22 | Lorenzo Savadori | Aprilia | +1.566 s |
| 23 | Augusto Fernandez | Yamaha | +1.625 s |
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