10:35
Bezzecchi went third but also towed Di Giannantonio on that lap, and Di Giannantonio beat him, so P4 for Bezzecchi, third for Di Giannantonio.
Alex Marquez finishes the session 5th at best.
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
10:38
Marc Marquez on pole
Zarco was on an improving lap but just slid both tyres in the final corner that cost him.
That was the last challenge to Marquez's time so it's the reigning champion on pole.
Zarco and Di Giannantonio join him on the front row.
Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez, and Acosta on row two.
Martin, Bastianini, Raul Fernandez row three, then Bagnaia, Ogura, and Aldeguer on the fourth row.
10:34
Now it's Marc Marquez back to pole and by a goo margin, 1m48.087s puts him 0.140s ahead of Zarco.
10:33
Zarco improves again to a 1m48.227s to be now 0.635s clear at the top of the times.
10:31
New rear tyre for Zarco's second run and he goes 10th to pole, 0.237s ahead of Marquez with four minutes remaining.
Literally seconds later Martin crashes at turn one having just been bumped to P4 by Zarco's lap. Of course, Martin has a three-place grid penalty for tomorrow's race so that would effectively be P7.
10:29
Alex Marquez heading back out now having got back to the garage.
10:28
Simple low-side for Alex Marquez, he's down in 7th at the moment.
10:28
Marquez down, Marquez top
Alex Marquez has crashed at turn nine, moments later Marc Marquez goes into the 1m48s to be over 0.6s clear of Acosta now.
10:26
1m49.385s has put Marc Marquez back on top of the session, 0.049s is his advantage over Acosta.
10:26
Aldeguer has crashed, his second of the day. Turn 8 for him. Acosta was on the inside of the track which maybe distracted him.
10:24
1m49.434s puts Acosta fastest after the first lap, precisely 0.100s ahead of Marc Marquez.
10:20
Q2 start
A little delayed, but pit lane is open in Jerez and Q2 is underway. Rain has been off-and-on all morning but if it stays away there is a faint possibility of slicks at the end.
10:18
Currently looking at a start time of 11:20 local time for Q2, so around 2 minutes' time.
10:16
Safety car has arrived at turns nine and 10 to inspect the track conditions there.
10:11
Q2 delayed
The Q2 session has been delayed for track conditions. Morbidelli's Ducati was smoking as he entered the pits at the end of Q1 so it could be related to that.
10:07
Zarco tops Q1
Flag is out in Q1 and it's Zarco and Acosta who pass through to Q2, which will be starting in just a few minutes at 11:15 local time.
Binder, Mir, Marini miss out. Fernandez the fastest Yamaha, and no time for Moreira after his crash.
10:05
Conditions seem to be going away, or maybe just tyres fading, but no one has really improved for a few minutes, certainly no one threatening Acosta or Zarco at the top.
10:01
Marini has crashed at the final corner but has remounted.
10:01
Zarco improves again to 1m48.267s, but Acosta is going faster behind.
Acosta loses time in the final sector, improves to a 1m48.3s lap time but stays second.
09:59
Moreira the latest rider to crash. No lap time for the Brazilian at the moment, no valid one anyway.
Zarco has finally got his time on the board and he's gone fastest on a 1m48.388s, so that's Marini out of the Q2 spots.
09:57
Acosta with the early benchmark on a 1m48.302s. That was bettered by Zarco, but that lap has been cancelled for yellow flags at the final corner for Miller crash.
Miller ran across the track as Martin did yesterday to get back to the pits.
Acosta from Marini in the top-two positions at the moment.
09:53
Morbidelli has crashed at turn six on his first flying lap. Trying to restart so he seems okay.
09:50
Q1 start
Pit lane is open in Jerez and we are underway for 15 minutes of Q1.
09:50
Mir has been called to the FIM MotoGP Stewards at the end of qualifying after his FP2 incident. Could be a grid penalty on the way for the Spaniard.
09:49
Lucio Cecchinello just telling the world feed broadcast that he thinks there could be some who gamble on slicks at the end of Q1.