14:14
Lead change
Alex Marquez leads on lap 7, passes Marc at turn nine as Di Giannantonio continues to close in.
Marc Marquez, 2026 MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
2026 Jerez MotoGP Sprint Reaction LIVE: Marc Marquez wins after crashing
Live coverage of the Sprint from the 2026 Spanish MotoGP at Jerez, the first European round of the season.
Live updates from the Sprint at the 2026 Spanish MotoGP, which is coming up this afternoon at 15:00 local time.
Key Moments
- Marc Marquez wins despite crash
- Alex Marquez crashes out
- Marc Marquez crashes on lap eight, pits for bike change
- Alex Marquez leads on lap 7
- Martin out with apparent brake issues
Alex Marquez dominated Friday's running in Jerez, topping Practice by over 0.3 seconds ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio and being the only rider to lap in the 1m35s. Marquez said afterwards the day was just what he and Gresini needed after a tough start to 2026, but a crash in Q2 leaves him on the second row of the grid for the Sprint.
His brother, reigning champion Marc Marquez, claimed pole position this morning in damp conditions. After Friday's dry practices he felt that ambitions of a podium finish at his home race would be "optimistic".
Johann Zarco was the only rider to challenge Marquez in qualifying, although Marquez himself was expecting the Frenchman to beat him to pole. The LCR Honda rider didn't show front running pace on Friday, so could prove a bit of a 'cork in the bottle' at the front of the pack in the races.
Marco Bezzecchi was third-fastest for Aprilia on Friday but qualified fourth this morning. He said after Practice that he encountered some old problems with the RS-GP that held him back.
Jorge Martin qualified seventh this morning. He was handed a three-place grid penalty on Friday after riding slowly on the racing line, but this only applies to Sunday's race, so he will start where he qualified this afternoon.
Joan Mir has also been given a penalty ahead of this weekend's races after he rode his bike back to thee pits this morning after crashing in FP2 after being shown the black-and-orange flag. For that, he has a double long lap penalty, but like Martin's grid drop it will be served in the grand prix.
Friday was a poor one for Pedro Acosta, who was 15th in Practice. Enea Bastianini was the lead KTM in 10th yesterday, with Acosta saying he suffered problems that seem to be recurring for him at Jerez specifically. However, the Spaniard was more competitive this morning the qualified as the top KTM in sixth.
25 Apr 2026
14:13
Lap 6/12
Di Giannantonio now within a second of the leaders in third place, but it's still Marc Marquez leading from Alex. Rain flags still being waved.
14:11
Lap 5/12
Alex Marquez now right on the tail of his brother, his pace is just superior at the moment. They're 1.6s clear of Di Giannantonio, but the VR46 rider was 0.6s faster than them on the previous lap.
14:10
Lap 4/12
Zarco back to P6 now as Di Giannantonio, Fernandez, and Acosta go through.
Alex Marquez within 0.3s of Marc Marquez now. A bit 2025, this!
14:09
Bezzecchi now 15th after passing Bagnaia, soon after Bagnaia was passed by Moreira.
14:08
Lap 3/12
Alex Marquez now within half-a-second of Marc at the front.
Zarco holding onto third ahead of Di Giannantonio although he's clearly not as fast as the four or five riders behind him.
Reports on the world feed that the rain is getting heavier.
14:07
Bezzecchi obviously made up a place with Martin's problem, but he still dropped to 16th on lap two.
14:06
Lap 2/12
Alex Marquez up to second on lap two, past Zarco, and the fastest lap of the race that time.
14:06
Martin out
Martin pulled off at the first turn on lap two. He's continuing at the back. He was trying to defend from Alex Marquez but it looks like his front disc overheated somehow, it was glowing red - something normal in Qatar at night but not at midday in Spain.
14:04
Lap 1/12
Marquez 0.6s clear after the first lap and Zarco indeed holding up the field behind him.
Decent first lap from Bezzecchi after the woeful launch, he's 15th so up two positions.
14:03
Sprint start
It's lights out in Jerez and Marc Marquez makes the holeshot from Zarco.
Shocker for Bezzecchi, he's 17th.
14:00
Warm-up lap
Riders are off on their warm-up lap ahead of the Jerez Sprint.
13:56
Clouds continue to gather
Clouds are continuing to gather over Jerez. Seems certain to be a dry start, with the Sprint to begin in five minutes, although the world feed just reporting via its pit lane reporter Jack Appleyard that there are light spots of rain in pit lane.
13:55
The Zarco factor
Zarco's excellent qualifying in second place could put him in position to be a bit of a 'cork in the bottle' today, since the Frenchman wasn't among the fastest riders in terms of pace yesterday.
If a rider like Marc Marquez can be ahead of him after the first couple of corners he could break away to an unassailable extent for his main rivals, such as Marco Bezzecchi and Alex Marquez.
For Zarco, of course, he will be aiming to turn his front row into a Sprint podium.
13:51
Masini: First laps "crucial"
Gresini boss Michele Masini just spoke to the MotoGP world feed broadcast.
Alex Marquez starts from the second row in fifth today, but showed yesterday the pace to win.
Masini is confident in Marquez's pace but admits the first laps will be important.
"For sure we know we have the speed on the dry, so we try at least to stay in the top-three today," said Masini, "and we know also that we can manage well the used tyre on the dry.
"So, I think it will be crucial like always the first laps."
13:48
Conditions
15 minutes out from the start of the Sprint and the sky seems to be getting darker. Still dry for now, though, with 22C air temperature and 29C track temperature, so the hottest it's been this weekend so far.
13:46
Grid
Starting order for today's Sprint:
| 1 | Marc Marquez | ESP | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP26 |
| 2 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Castrol Honda LCR | Honda RC213V |
| 3 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Pertamina Enduro VR46 | Ducati GP26 |
| 4 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia RS-GP |
| 5 | Alex Marquez | ESP | Gresini Racing | Ducati GP26 |
| 6 | Pedro Acosta | ESP | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 |
| 7 | Jorge Martin | ESP | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia RS-GP |
| 8 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | KTM RC16 |
| 9 | Raul Fernandez | ESP | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia RS-GP |
| 10 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP26 |
| 11 | Ai Ogura | JPN | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia RS-GP |
| 12 | Fermin Aldeguer | ESP | Gresini Racing | Ducati GP25 |
| 13 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 |
| 14 | Joan Mir | ESP | Honda HRC Castrol | Honda RC213V |
| 15 | Luca Marini | ITA | Honda HRC Castrol | Honda RC213V |
| 16 | Augusto Fernandez | ESP | Yamaha Test Team | Yamaha YZR-M1 |
| 17 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha YZR-M1 |
| 18 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Pertamina Enduro VR46 | Ducati GP25 |
| 19 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | TUR | Prima Alpine Pramac Yamaha | Yamaha YZR-M1 |
| 20 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia RS-GP |
| 21 | Alex Rins | ESP | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha YZR-M1 |
| 22 | Jack Miller | AUS | Prima Alpine Pramac Yamaha | Yamaha YZR-M1 |
| 23 | Diogo Moreira | BRA | Pro Honda LCR | Honda RC213V |
13:22
Moto2 Q2 finish
Moto2 qualifying has finished with Collin Veijer on pole from Alex Escrig and Manuel Gonzalez.
Senna Agius, Alonso Lopez, and David Alonso on the second row.
Just over half-an-hour out from the MotoGP Sprint now.
13:13
Halfway through Moto2 Q2 at the moment and it's Alonso on provisional pole from Escrig and Veijer.
13:04
Sprint
Welcome back to live coverage of today's MotoGP action from Jerez.
The Sprint is due to get underway in around 55 minutes at 15:00 local time.
Moto2 Q2 is just about to start. The weather had cleared up for Moto3 qualifying and Moto2 Q1, but the clouds are gathering once again.
12:20
Joan Mir penalty
Joan Mir penalised for ignoring black-and-orange flags at Jerez MotoGP
Joan Mir riding with bike damage, Final Practice, 2026 Spanish MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
12:05
Jerez MotoGP qualifying reaction
Marc Marquez feared “Zarco will beat me” to Jerez MotoGP pole
Marc Marquez, Johann Zarco, 2026 Spanish MotoGP qualifying.
© Gold and Goose
11:15
Jerez MotoGP Sprint: Starting grid
Starting grid for the 2026 Jerez MotoGP Sprint race
Marc Marquez, Johann Zarco, 2026 Spanish MotoGP qualifying.
© Gold and Goose
10:52
Marc Marquez ends 245-day pole drought in crash-strewn Jerez MotoGP qualifying
Marc Marquez secured his first pole of 2026 in a damp qualifying at Jerez
Marc Marquez ends 245-day pole drought in crash-strewn Jerez MotoGP qualifying
Marc Marquez, Ducati Corse, 2026 Spanish MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
10:41
Spanish MotoGP: Qualifying Results
2026 Spanish MotoGP, Jerez - Full Qualifying Results
Marc Marquez, 2026 Spanish MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose