Silverstone FP1: Ducati–Aprilia dominance, only Acosta (despite a crash) breaks up the duopoly

Alex Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi on top, Ducati and Aprilia monopolize the front positions, with only Acosta putting a KTM in P3. Report and standings from MotoGP FP1 at Silverstone.

The crash, the restart on fresh tires, the final attack that puts a KTM amid the Ducati-Aprilia dominance. No shake-ups at the end except for Pedro Acosta in P3; Alex Marquez leads, followed by Marco Bezzecchi, with more Desmosedici and RS-GP machines behind. This is the first result of the session that kicks off the restart of the 2026 MotoGP season, on stage at Silverstone. Here the week end schedule. Below is how the first session went.

Fermin Aldeguer is absent, with Iker Lecuona recalled by Gresini Racing; Maverick Vinales is also sidelined still due to shoulder issues and replaced by test rider Pol Espargaro, while test rider Augusto Fernandez is once again called in by Yamaha with a wildcard. Let’s recap the market as well: Raul Fernandez has officially renewed with Trackhouse Aprilia, confirmation is awaited for the arrival of Enea Bastianini; at Tech3 there’s a green light and we await the official announcement on the next lineup, consisting of Luca Marini and Senna Agius (much to the dismay of poor Manuel Gonzalez).

Let’s remember that Marco Bezzecchi is returning from injury at the Sachsenring, Pecco Bagnaia resumes after surgery for compartment syndrome, and Fabio Di Giannantonio has recovered from a minor arm lesion suffered in the German GP warm-up but only noticed afterwards. Looking at the track, the GP doesn’t start very well for Pedro Acosta, who has a high-speed crash at Stowe: no consequences for the KTM rider, who walks back to the box under his own power. Up front, as time goes by, Ducati and Aprilia come to the fore—in fact, the two tricolor brands monopolize the top 8. Until the end, when Acosta springs to life: restarting flat out on fresh tires, he places his RC16 in third position, thus breaking what would otherwise have been a duopoly.

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