Marc Marquez mastered difficult conditions to secure pole position in MotoGP qualifying Saturday at the Cercio de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, Spain. Riding his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP26 on the 2.75-mile (4.42 km) track, Marquez set a 1:48.087 in the 23-rider field.
Yohan Zarco took the third and final position on the front row with a 1:48.227 on the Castrol Honda LCR RC213V, and Fabio Di Gianntonio on the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Ducati Desmosedici GP26 with a 1:49.097.
Row two qualifiers included Aprilia Racing’s Marco Bezecchi (1:49.115), BK8 Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez (1:49.146) and Red Bull KTM Factory’s Pedro Acosta (1:49.230).
More from the MotoGP press release:
Marc Marquez denies shooting Zarco with wet pole. The Spanish GP qualifying session was an interesting affair but gave the home crowd what they wanted as the #93 took his first pole of the year.
Making his mark on the home turf, Mark Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) It was a classic head-to-head battle to qualify for the first pole position of the 2026 season. Johann Zarko (Castrol Honda LCR) Despite a valiant effort, it will be in the middle of the front row with Ducati in the standings. Fabio D’Giantantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) completes the front row.
It was wet conditions at the start of Q1 in Jerez and it immediately got the big names. Franco Morbidelli He was an early wreck before joining the (Pertamina Enduro VR46 racing team). Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) failed to set a lap time and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), but the latter was cut off. A good sense of the situation, Zarko and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) graduated to join the Q2 pole battle and had the experience and perhaps the advantage to understand the most difficult conditions.
After a slight delay to the session following Morbidelli’s Ducati smoking at the end of Q1, the riders hit the track on wet tires but a dry line appeared. It was Marc Marquez who entered the middle of the session and was leading the way, but he did not reach the same joy for his brother Alex, who turned around at nine minutes on the clock. Temporarily joining #93 on the front row George Martin (Aprilia Racing) was third but dropped to turn 1 and was soon dropped down the order by Rari Zarco entering P1.
In the year Looking to take Honda’s first pole since 2023, Zarco’s hopes of a first pole in 4 years were dashed when Marc Marquez set a great lap time to take his first pole position since last year’s Hungarian GP. Zarco was pushing hard in the final lap but had to settle for P2 after a mistake in the final corner saw the Frenchman almost lose the front. Front row finisher Di Gianantonio was more than a second up but managed to sneak past the championship leader. Marco Bezecchi (Aprilia Racing) will head to the second row ahead of Alex Marquez and Acosta.
The accident left Martin in the gravel and unable to improve his lap time, relegating him to seventh and third row, he joined Ine Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) who also crashed, this time at turn 8, and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), Aprilia’s third. More qualifying bouts left for the double world champion. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) in the fourth row in P10, in front No. Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) suffered his second crash of the day – this time at Turn 8, crashing at Turn 13 in FP2.
With the grid set, attention shifts to the Tissot Sprint. It will be on at 15:00 local time (UTC +2), don’t miss it!
Post MotoGP: M. Marquez on pole position in Jerez It appeared at first Roadracing World Magazine | Motorcycle riding, racing and technology news.
 track, Marquez turned a 1:48.087 to top the 23-rider field. Johann Zarco was the best of the rest with a 1:48.227 on his Castrol Honda LCR RC213V, and Fabio Di Giananntonio claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:49.097 on his Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Ducati Desmosedici GP26. Row-two qualifiers included Aprilia Racing's Marco Bezzecchi (1:49.115), BK8 Gresini Ducati's Alex Marquez (1:49.146) and Red Bull KTM Factory's Pedro Acosta (1:49.230). More from a press release issued by MotoGP: Marc Marquez denies Zarco in damp pole shootout. The Spanish GP’s qualifying session was a tasty affair but it gave the home crowd what they wanted as the #93 took a first pole of the year. Making his mark on){kind=link}