2026 Japanese Moto3 - Practice Results

The first day of action for Moto3 at Motegi saw Marco Morelli leading the riders to make it directly to Q2, ahead of the Japanese Grand Prix.

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Morelli was down in 17th as the chequered flag came out to end Practice, only moving into first in the session with his very last lap.

The Aspar rider had slotted in behind the bike ahead, belonging to Brian Uriarte, on his way to the best time on the opening day in Japan, a 1’ 55.280s lap.

Leader of FP1 Ryusei Yamanaka had gone top of the timesheets just seconds earlier, pushed back to second for MT Helmets on home soil, finishing just 0.016s slower.

Uriarte was quick himself completing the top three for Red Bull KTM Ajo.

Alvaro Carpe was the best placed of the many fallers in Practice, finishing fourth, just behind his rookie team-mate, having led earlier in the session.

It was a strong day most of the Red Bull bikes, with Tech3 rider Valentin Perrone fifth quickest.

Championship leader and winner at the last round in Austria, Maximo Quiles was down in sixth after a crash, ahead of 2025 race winner David Munoz, another rider to find the gravel in the second session, in seventh for Liqui Moly Dyanvolt Intact GP.

Rookie Veda Pratama was the best placed Honda rider in eighth for Honda Team Asia.

Matteo Bertelle was ninth fastest for Level Up - MTA, just quicker than David Almansa, who picked up his third crash of the day on his way to tenth on the second Dynavolt entry.

Adrain Fernandez picked up the pace late on to climb to 11th for Leopard, ahead of Joel Esteban on the second Level Up bike.

Joel Kelso was 13th for GRYD Racing, with Michael Laverty’s rider clear of a late scramble for the final Q2 placement.

Scott Ogden had improved to 14th with a minute still on the clock for CIP Green Power, only to see team-mate Adrian Cruces go faster. Rico Salmela put the second Tech3 bike in the position, before dropping back to 15th after having his last lap cancelled, leaving Cruces to claim the final place.

Despite the resurfacing since the last visit to Motegi, grip was at a premium after earlier rain, with Cruces also one of the riders to crash in the session, along with Hakim Danish, Jesus Rios, Ogden, Eddie O’shea and Ruche Moodley.

Regular rider Zen Mitani finished his home Practice session in 18th on the second Honda Team Asia bike.

There are two replacement riders for the Japanese round. CODE Motorsports bring in 2025 Asia Talent Cup champion and 2026 Moto3 Junior and Red Bull Rookies Cup participant Ryota Ogiwara for an outing at home, placing 20th.

Over at Rivacold Snipers, Thai rider Kiattisak Singhapong (25th) is in for Nicola Carraro, who previously picked up a point in Silverstone when he stepped in for Zen Mitani over at Honda Team Asia.

Moto3 Practice times:

Official Japanese Moto3 Records:
Fastest race lap: Jose Antonio Rueda (2025) 1’ 55.305s
Best Pole: Ivan Ortola (2024) 1’ 54.761s
All-time lap record: Ivan Ortola (2024) 1’ 54.761s

Free Practice 1

The first session saw the rain flags out in the middle, with Yamanaka able to give the home fans a show, heading back out on the damp track to go faster and top the session.

That lap took over from long-term leader Munoz, who finished second ahead of Carpe, Perrone and Quiles.

Fernandez was the best Honda rider, in sixth.

The yellow flags were out early for Rios, who got back out late in the session. Danish had a big off, thrown over the front of his bike onto the track before rolling into the gravel, while Almansa was a double crasher in FP1.

FP1 times can be found below.

Moto3 FP1 times: