MotoGP Jerez Qualifying: Marquez snatches pole from Zarco, Bezzecchi 4th

Marquez-Zarco duel for P1, the Ducati rider edges it: here’s how today’s MotoGP Qualifying went at Jerez.

Qualifying for the 2026 Spanish Grand Prix ends with pole position for Marc Marquez, the best of the bunch in the mixed conditions of MotoGP Q2 at Jerez. The Ducati Lenovo Team rider beat a fantastic Johann Zarco on the LCR Honda by 140 thousandths. Joining them on the front row is Fabio Di Giannantonio with the Pertamina Enduro VR46 team’s Desmosedici GP26.

The two riders who managed to progress from Q1 to Q2 were Johann Zarco and Pedro Acosta, who from the start of the session looked the fastest on a wet Jerez track. They made the difference over everyone else—just consider that third place Brad Binder was 925 thousandths behind the Frenchman from the LCR Honda team. Lining up alongside the KTM rider will be the HRC Hondas of Joan Mir and Luca Marini.

Fabio Quartararo (2025 poleman) will start from seventeenth on the grid, while Franco Morbidelli from eighteenth and Toprak Razgatlioglu from nineteenth. The Turk from the Prima Pramac Yamaha team had a promising FP2, complete with a “Marc Marquez-style” miracle save, but then in Q1 he couldn’t be competitive on his M1.

Q2 started late because Morbidelli’s Ducati dropped oil and the track had to be cleaned. Overall asphalt conditions remained damp, making rain tires mandatory for the restart.

Front row Marquez-Zarco-Di Giannantonio, with the second row led by Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi. Lining up next to the MotoGP championship leader will be Alex Marquez (who crashed at Turn 9) and Pedro Acosta. Seventh time for Jorge Martin, who crashed at Turn 1 with 4 minutes left in Qualifying. Remember that the 2024 MotoGP champion will have to serve a three-place grid penalty for Sunday’s race. Eighth time for Enea Bastianini on the Tech3 KTM, just ahead of Raul Fernandez on the Trackhouse Aprilia.

Only tenth for Pecco Bagnaia, who couldn’t find feeling and speed in this morning’s conditions at Jerez. We’ll see what the asphalt is like for the Sprint (start at 3:00 p.m.), while for Sunday’s full-distance race it seems certain it will be dry.