20:59
Marc Marquez back on top with a 2m00.927s.
Marc Marquez, Ducati Corse, 2026 US MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
2026 US MotoGP practice reaction LIVE: Marquez fastest after scary crash
Live text coverage of Friday at the 2026 MotoGP United States Grand Prix
KEY MOMENTS
- Marc Marquez leads Friday at COTA
- Nine crashes in Practice
- Marc Marquez has terrifying crash in FP1
- Acosta fastest in FP1
- Vinales withdraws due to shoulder injury
The 2026 MotoGP season continues with round three at the United States Grand Prix, taking place at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Aprilia and Marco Bezzecchi arrive in America off the back of another dominant victory last time out in Brazil, with the latter leading the riders' standings ahead of team-mate Jorge Martin.
Aprilia and Bezzecchi have won the last four consecutive grands prix, with the Italian rider just three laps away from beating the all-time laps led record currently held by Jorge Lorenzo set in 2015.
Jorge Martin will be looking to build on his first podium with Aprilia in Brazil, as he continues to grow in confidence on the RS-GP.
All eyes will be on Marc Marquez and Ducati to try to quash Aprilia's dominance, with the seven-time world champion returning to one of his strongest circuits.
Marquez has won seven times at COTA in his MotoGP career, and was close to an eighth last year before he crashed out of the lead. Ducati has had a tough start to the 2026 season, but a return to the standard Michelin rear tyre construction is set to benefit the Italian marque.
KTM looks set for a tough weekend, with Pedro Acosta admitting after Brazil that the RC16 is struggling for top speed right now, and is wary of how that will impact his performance at COTA.
Tech3 KTM's Maverick Vinales may also not see out the US Grand Prix weekend as he continues to battle the effects of the left shoulder injury he suffered in a crash in Germany last July.
2026 Unites States MotoGP Friday schedule
FP1 - 3:45pm-4:30pm GMT
Practice - 8pm-9pm GMT
27 Mar 2026
00:22
Marco Bezzecchi “much better than last Friday..."
Marco Bezzecchi “much better than last Friday” but Marquez “super strong”
Marco Bezzecchi, 2026 US MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
00:21
Marc Marquez's "big mistake"
Marc Marquez explains COTA crash: “Big mistake, I hit the wall at high speed”
Marc Marquez, 2026 US MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
21:56
Holgado, Alonso in MotoGP talks with KTM?
KTM talking to Moto2 stars for 2027 MotoGP “chance”
Dani Holgado, David Alonso, Brazilian Moto2 Grand Prix.
© Gold and Goose
21:17
Report: Marc Marquez leads crash-strewn US MotoGP Practice
Marc Marquez brushed off his massive FP1 crash to lead Friday at the US MotoGP
Marc Marquez, Ducati Corse, 2026 US MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
21:07
US MotoGP: Friday Practice Results
2026 US MotoGP, COTA - Friday Practice Results
Marc Marquez, 2026 US MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
21:01
Chequered flag
Chequered flag is out.
Marc Marquez leads the way on a 2m00.927s from Ai Ogura.
Di Giannantonio, Bezzecchi, A.Marquez, Acosta, Martin, Bagnaia, Marini and Bastianini have secured places in Q2.
20:58
Bagnaia salvages sixth as Martin up to fourth.
20:58
Crash: Brad Binder
Brad Binder has become the latest crasher at Turn 1.
20:57
Bezzecchi improves to second, while Acosta is third.
20:54
Something has just fallen off of Bezzecchi's bike as he left pitlane.
20:54
Big discussions happening in the Ducati garage right now between Bagnaia and his crew. He's down in 15th right now, as his time attack struggles in 2026 seem to be persisting.
20:53
Fabio Di Giannantonio now goes fastest with a 2m01.114s.
20:51
Top 10 with 10 minutes to go:
- Marc Marquez
- Bezzecchi
- Acosta
- Marini
- Bastianini
- Ogura
- Martin
- Fernandez
- Aldeguer
- Zarco
20:50
Marc Marquez finds a 2m01.267s to take over top spot again with 10 minutes to go.
20:48
Acosta misses out on top spot by 0.002s.
20:47
Bastianini has leapt up to third on the KTM on a new soft rear.
20:46
Marco Bezzecchi fires in a 2m01.367s on a new soft rear to take over top spot.
Marini moves up to second on the Honda.
14 minutes to go.
20:42
Fabio Di Giannantonio, on an eight-lap-old soft rear has gone fastest with a 2m01.980s.
20:40
Only Marc Marquez, Bagnaia and DiGia on track right now. Some decent long running pace being done by the Ducatis right now.
20:34
Marc Marquez has stayed out on the medium rear tyre he started the session on and has just gone fastest with a 2m02.066s. That tyre has now done 12 laps.
Top three laps are on the medium, while Fernandez is the leading soft tyre runner. Interesting to see the performance that medium has over the soft in these baking conditions.
20:32
Ogura now fastest with a 2m02.073s.
20:32
Aldeguer, on new medium rear, has moved up to fifth.
20:31
Top 10 after 30 minutes:
- Bagnaia
- Ogura
- Fernandez
- Acosta
- Bezzecchi
- A.Marquez
- Marini
- Zarco
- M.Marquez
- Martin
20:31
Ogura has also escaped sanction after an investigation into crashing under yellow flags. No explanation yet, but likely the stewards deemed he didn't have enough time to react to the yellow flags given how soon after Acosta crashed that he went down.