14:34
Acosta down to a 1m28.381s now, he's over 0.6s clear of Marini now.
Pedro Acosta, 2026 MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
Austrian MotoGP Friday as it happened
Live updates from the Friday practice sessions at the 2026 Austrian MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring.
Live coverage of the FP1 and Practice sessions at the 2026 Austrian MotoGP. Pedro Acosta topped FP1 this morning, and Practice is due to start at 15:00 local time.
Key Moments
- Pedro Acosta tops Practice as Ogura impresses & Fernandez struggles
- Bezzecchi squeezes into Practice top-10 in P9
- Red flag out with 11 minutes to go after odd Alex Marquez crash
- Acosta continues Friday dominance early in Practice, first rider into 1m28s
- Pedro Acosta tops FP1 ahead of Pol Espargaro, Jorge Martin
- Alex Marquez suffers bizarre aero failure in closing minutes of FP1
- Early technical problem for Martin at turn four in FP1
The championship lead is shared coming into this weekend, as Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez both arrive at the Austrian Grand Prix with 274 points. Marquez has won more races, so he holds that top position in the standings for the first time in 2026. It was Martin, though, who got the better of Marquez in FP1 this morning, finishing third to Marquez's fourth despite an early technical problem for the Aprilia rider.
Of course, Marquez - winner of the last four MotoGP races, including Sprints - is no stranger at this point to a title battle in the premier class, and he said yesterday that it was his first-year fight with Jorge Lorenzo that put him under the most pressure.
For 2024 champion Martin, the position is not alien, either, but the Spaniard - who suffered with arm pump in his slump from the lead to fifth at Misano - said yesterday it's "crazy" that he is still joint-leader with Marquez.
Marco Bezzecchi sits third in the standings after his Misano disaster, crashing out of the lead on the first lap. He admitted yesterday the analysis of that lap one, turn 13 crash with Aprilia afterwards was "painful". It was a low-key start for Bezzecchi in Austria - P6 in FP1 this morning.
Bezzecchi's compatriot and future team-mate Francesco Bagnaia was caught up in controversy in the week since Misano. Bagnaia was caught on camera by Spanish broadcaster DAZN speaking to Fabio Di Giannantonio after he crashed out of the Misano race. Bagnaia was appearing to explain to Di Giannantonio that Ducati was not allowing him to try different bike setups as he continues to struggle with the 2026 Desmosedici GP.
Bagnaia himself spoke to the media yesterday, saying the way the footage was published by DAZN was "disrespectful".
Di Giannantonio also spoke on the subject yesterday, saying the way the footage was captured and released was "unfair".
It wasn't a great start for either Italian in FP1 this morning, Di Giannantonio finishing 12th while Bagnaia was down in 14th.
Ducati has won the last four races at the Red Bull Ring. Indeed, it's only been beaten twice here, both times by KTM, which itself hasn't won since 2021. Pol Espargaro said yesterday that this weekend will be a good chance for Pedro Acosta to claim his first MotoGP win, although the Ducati-bound Spaniard was more realistic, even if he admitted it would be a dream scenario given his history with KTM that is about to conclude in a few months. It was certainly a good start to the weekend for Acosta, who was fastest and the only rider in the 1m29s this morning, while Espargaro used the Murcian's tow to take second place.
18 Sep 2026
14:32
Marini the latest rider to go into the top-three with a soft rear.
Acosta also on the soft rear now and he improves his benchmark to a 1m28.507s. He's now 0.485s ahead of Marini in second.
14:31
Few run-ons in the last few minutes for Marc Marquez, first at turn one, then turn four. Not looking perfectly comfortable out there. Currently P6 in the session.
14:30
Martin out on the soft rear and jumps up to second, 0.162s ahead of Bezzecchi but still over 0.2s behind Acosta.
14:26
Moreira off again at turn four. He's gone straight on three times there in the first 25 minutes of this session.
14:23
Morbidelli has also run on at turn four. No crash for the Italian.
14:21
Crash for Zarco at turn four. As he was walking away, Moreira just narrowly avoided him as he ran on through the gravel.
14:20
So we mentioned Bezzecchi's decent start to the session earlier. He used the soft rear to do that. Quartararo also on the soft in third. Everyone else in the top-10 on the medium rear.
14:15
Decent start from Bezzecchi up in second place, better than this morning when he was sixth.
Still almost 0.4s behind Acosta, though - the Murcian still the only rider in the 1m28s.
14:08
Pace immediately a step up on FP1, or two or three steps.
Acosta straight down into the 1m28s and he leads by 0.4s ahead of Quartararo.
14:06
Moreira in the tow of Marc Marquez on his first flying lap. Almost cleaned the pair of them out as he lost control under braking. Well gathered in the end by Moreira.
14:00
Practice start
Practice is underway in Austria as the Red Bull Ring pit lane opens.
13:58
Conditions
Dry conditions as this morning for Practice, but much clearer skies.
Still not the warmest, though, with 20C air temperature and 19C track temperature.
13:48
Moto2 Practice is over at the Red Bull Ring. Salac ends fastest from Ortola and Holgado.
MotoGP coming up in just over 10 minutes.
13:43
O'Shea save
Unreal save here from Eddie O'Shea in the Moto3 Practice!
Unfortunately for O'Shea it didn't do much for his position - P23 at the end of the session.
13:30
Into the final 15 minutes of Moto2 Practice now, meaning just half-an-hour before MotoGP starts.
Guevara still fastest from Alonso and Ortola in the Moto2 session, and looks like Sergio Garcia's bike has expired between turns five and six.
13:19
Moto2 currently on track for its Practice session. Izan Guevara was strong this morning, inside the top-three, and is currently fastest by almost 0.3 seconds ahead of David Alonso in Practice.
13:06
Practice
Welcome back to live coverage of today's MotoGP practices from the Red Bull Ring, where Practice will be starting in just under 55 minutes at 15:00 local time.
12:04
KTM "will not sell any part of its team"
KTM rules out MotoGP team sale as company returns to profit
KTM RC16s.
© Gold and Goose
10:46
Report: Pedro Acosta leads KTM 1-2 in Austria MotoGP FP1
Pedro Acosta was fastest in FP1 at KTM’s home race at the Red Bull Ring.
Pedro Acosta leads KTM 1-2 in Austria MotoGP FP1
Pedro Acosta, KTM Factory Racing, 2026 Austrian MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
10:43
Looks like Pol Espargaro has crashed on his in-lap from the practice start session. He's all okay.
10:34
Red Bull Ring MotoGP: FP1 Results
Austrian MotoGP, Red Bull Ring - Friday Practice Results
Pedro Acosta checks his KTM, FP1, 2026 Red Bull Ring MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
10:33
Acosta tops FP1
It's a perfect start to their home weekend for KTM - it's a 1-2 for them in FP1, Acosta ahead of Espargaro.
Martin takes third ahead of Marc Marquez, Zarco, Bezzecchi, Fernandez, Alex Marquez, Moreira, and Luca Marini who rounds out the top-10.
10:29
Pol Espargaro in the tow of Acosta goes up to seconds. New tyres front and rear for the Vinales replacement at Tech3. Still only Acosta in the 1m29s.
10:27
Alex Marquez, currently P6, has run off at turn four. Unsure what's happened, but his left downwash duct has become dislodged exiting turn three. Quite bizarre, never seen that before. He's made it back to the pits.