MotoGP practice results with Alex Marquez setting the pace at the Spanish GP and Francesco Bagnaia

Christmas Marquez Gresini runner-up Di Giannantonio ended the clock aboard the Ducati GP26, destroying the benchmark and throwing down a mark that would have no rival. Even Marc Marquez struggled to get within half a second of his brother’s best time.

Alex Marquez sets a high benchmark in Jerez practice! Which rider will join this lot in Q2 on Saturday?

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Alex Marquez set the pace in practice at the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix by 0.333 seconds.

LCR rider Johan Zarco and factory Honda racer Joan Mir were among the first riders to set fast lap times in practice. Spanish GPFocusing on getting an automatic spot in Q2. However, neither rider got within touching distance of Di Gianntonio’s first effort.

Zarco is back up the schedule after a short break, as Aprilia’s Marco Bezecchi finally starts to show some pace at the Spanish GP. However, it was another Ducati GP26 that ousted Di Giannantonio from the top spot as Gresini rider Marquez took first place in the final 10 minutes.

Marquez was the first rider to come in under 1:35s, and quickly put some distance between his time and the rest of the best. The 30-year-old set a 1:35.704, opening a gap of 0.563s on Di Giannantonio, 1:35.704, before most drivers then put everything on the line.

Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin crash during practice for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix

Ducati rider Bagnaya He crashed just two minutes into the session, after locking up his front tire trying to brake for Jerez’s regular No.1. His Desmosedici GP26 refused to bite the track, with the rear tire jumping from side to side as Italian Alex Marquez tried to slow down behind him.

Once back on track, Bagnaia continued to struggle to stop the GP26, with the rear of the Ducati often coming out in the braking zone. The two-time riders’ champion was finally able to secure an automatic spot when flying late in Q2.

After the marshals got Bagnaia’s GP26 out of the gravel and back to the pits, the GP26 was on the time sheet. VR46 pilot Di Gianntonio continued his strong start to the Spanish GP event by setting the early pace again in Friday’s scheduled practice session.

Aprilia rider George Martin He continued his unusual day at Jerez for accidents after crashing on his way to the grid for the start of morning practice and nearly crashing on the pit lane in the afternoon. Fast lap times weren’t so easy for Martin to produce in practice.

Martin crashed in the final corner of practice just after the half-hour mark after losing front-end under Jorge Lorenzo’s hairpin braking at Jerez. While the crash took Martin to the gravel trap on the far side of the circuit, he sprinted his way back to the pits.

Turn 6 came close to catching KTM’s Pedro Acosta in the final 10 minutes. Acosta was only P15 on the KTM RC16 time sheet at Turn 6 when he tried to brake with his right hand, but the Cervera native somehow managed to avoid a potentially massive climb.

Acosta didn’t find enough speed to secure an automatic place in Jerez in Q2, though, with the Spaniard only setting the 15th fastest lap time on Friday. Tech3 rider Innea Bastianini was the only KTM rider to secure an automatic Q2 spot, finishing 10th on Friday.

In contrast, on Friday four Aprilia riders secured places through to Q2 for the first time since the 2024 Aragon Grand Prix. Bezzecchi was the fastest of the Aprilia riders in P3, but even he was 0.506 off Marquez’s time – split by Di Giantantonio, 0.333s adrift.

Full 2026 MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix practice results