MotoGP Barcelona, FP1 standings: Ducati ahead, nasty crash for Jorge Martin

Low temperatures on the Catalan track, Ducati ahead with the 2025 vice–world champion, Aprilia momentarily worried after Martin’s slide.

The Catalan Grand Prix opens with the fastest time by Alex Marquez in MotoGP FP1. The BK8 Gresini team rider set his best lap in 1'39"950. Behind his Ducati is Jorge Martin’s Aprilia, 349 thousandths adrift.

With less than 20 minutes left in the session, Martinator crashed at Turn 12. His RS-GP26 hit the barriers and he was thrown into them as well, appearing a bit sore in his left arm when he got up. Brought back to the paddock by scooter, his physical condition was checked by Dr. Angel Charte. Fortunately, there don’t seem to be any major issues; the 2024 MotoGP champion was seen back in the box explaining what happened to the team.

Paolo Bonora, Aprilia’s race manager, spoke to Sky Sport MotoGP without overcommitting on how the weekend might go: "In 2023 we won, taking our first one-two, but in 2024 and 2025 we struggled a bit to find the right setup. We don’t expect to be the favorites. This track is quite particular in terms of grip; we’ll need to work well, as in past weekends. The layout is flowing and should generally suit the bike and the riders. Our 2026 bike has improved in stability and grip management, but before making any strong claims it’s better to see the first sessions. Martin? Just a bit of pain in the left arm. In the crash it seems he hit the bike and we need to take a good look, but fortunately after Dr. Charte’s first check everything seems okay. Obviously, we’ll monitor the situation and get a better understanding. Anyway, he seems fine".

The opening Grands Prix of the 2026 calendar show that Aprilia has worked better than the competition, so it’s normal to expect them to be strong this weekend as well. But Ducati, even without Marc Marquez at the moment, is pushing hard to get back to being the benchmark.

Behind the Marquez–Martin duo is the Pertamina Enduro VR46 team Ducati ridden by Fabio Di Giannantonio, ahead of Pedro Acosta, who fell at Turn 2 shortly after Martinator’s tumble. Fortunately, no physical consequences for the KTM rider, who in the timesheets finished ahead of the championship leader. Marco Bezzecchi closes out the top 5, 472 thousandths off the top and just ahead of Enea Bastianini’s KTM.

Today should be the coolest day of the weekend; conditions should be different on Saturday and Sunday with higher temperatures. Worth noting that Pecco Bagnaia, only seventeenth, struggled quite a bit in the final sector due to low grip: in the first stint he rode the first bike, in the second he switched to the second, and in the third he got back on the first. The Ducati team tried to make changes to meet his needs, but FP1 was fairly complicated for the three-time world champion.