10:03
Bagnaia briefly to the top, but he's beaten by Zarco, although only on second-fastest time because they've both set 1m28.753s!
2026 MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix
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LIVE
Austrian MotoGP LIVE: Qualifying updates after Marc Marquez crashed in FP2
Live coverage of the qualifying session at the 2026 Austrian MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring.
Live updates from the qualifying session at the 2026 Austrian MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. Qualifying is due to start at 10:50 local time, with the Sprint coming up this afternoon at 15:00.
Key Moments
- Zarco, Bagnaia advance to Q2 after setting equal times in Q1
- Marc Marquez crashes at end of FP2
- Qualifying to start at 10:50 local time/09:50 BST
Pedro Acosta comes into Saturday having dominated Friday, topping both sessions on the factory KTM. Acosta himself downplayed his chances of victory after Practice, while Marc Marquez said his compatriot remains in title contention and felt he is the clear favourite.
Marco Bezzecchi also pointed out Acosta as the benchmark when he spoke yesterday. Bezzecchi himself was only ninth in Practice after opting for a used tyre after the red flag for Alex Marquez's crash, a choice that almost backfired on the Italian.
Marquez put his odd crash, which happened as he crested the hill on the exit of turn one, down to a "strange problem". He went back out after the red flag and got himself into Q2 comfortably.
His brother, Marc Marquez, was one of several Ducati riders to feel the difference between the standard Michelin rear tyre and the heat-dissipating variant that is used at the Red Bull Ring. Bezzecchi also noted a lack of traction on the Aprilia, while Marquez said he'd spent the day trying to adapt his setup to the different tyre.
The tyre was the least of Francesco Bagnaia's problems, however, the Italian saying after Practice that he noticed no difference between the soft- and medium-compound rear tyres, nor between the standard construction and the harder, heat-dissipating casing as his difficulties in 2026 showed no signs of ending.
It's a tyre that works for KTM, though. This is not only highlighted by the position of Acosta, but also by the comments of Brad Binder, who finished eighth in Practice and said afterwards that he felt the reduction in rear grip offered by the harder tyre meant he was stressing front tyre less.
19 Sep 2026
10:06
Zarco, Bagnaia advance
Chequered flag is out on Q1 and it's Zarco and Bagnaia who advance.
Raul Fernandez misses out in third, ahead of Espargaro, Marini, Moreira, Bastianini, Morbidelli, Nakagami, Rins, Miller, and Razgatlioglu.
10:01
First lap of Bagnaia's second run was cancelled for track limits but it wasn't a fast one anyway.
09:56
Bagnaia pits at the end of his second fast lap, and he drops to seventh as everyone improves on lap two.
Now it's Fernandez from Espargaro at the top of the times. Moreira third, Zarco fourth, and Bastianini fifth ahead of Marini and Bagnaia after the first runs.
09:54
Decent opening effort from Bagnaia, 1m29.619s puts him top early on, but he's soon beaten by Zarco and Pol Espargaro who go 1-2.
09:50
Q1 start
Pit lane is open at the Red Bull Ring and Q1 is underway.
09:48
Q1 riders
Here are your 12 riders about to head out for the Q1 session in just a couple of minutes:
- Zarco
- Razgatlioglu
- Marini
- Moreira
- Morbidelli
- Bastianini
- Espargaro
- Rins
- Bagnaia
- Fernandez
- Nakagami
- Miller
09:43
Austrian MotoGP: FP2 Results
Austrian MotoGP, Red Bull Ring - Saturday Practice Results
Marc Marquez, 2026 Red Bull Ring MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
09:42
Marquez tops FP2
Marquez has got the bike running so he's riding back to the pits now. He ends FP2 fastest ahead of Martin and Aldeguer. P4 for Acosta, and Bagnaia rounds out the top-five.
09:40
Marquez now down at turn one. He'd run on a turn four a few moments before that. Just lost the front on the way into turn one, went pretty early. Very late in the session, so possible he won't have that bike ready for Q2.
09:38
Marc Marquez now fastest and 0.2s clear of Martin.
09:35
Nicolo Bulega says he will avoid “unnecessary risks”
Nicolo Bulega to miss Red Bull Ring 850cc MotoGP test
Nicolo Bulega.
© Gold and Goose
09:35
Jorge Martin now to the top and into the 1m29s for the first time in this FP2 session.
09:26
Bagnaia now top of the times and into the 1m30s. Into the final 15 minutes of this FP2 now.
09:20
Times scrolling as expected early on in FP2. Times down into the 1m32s now thanks to Raul Fernandez, so about 4s off where we were in Practice yesterday.
09:11
FP2 start
Pit lane is open in Austria for the start of FP2. Bezzecchi the first rider out of the pits.
09:05
It's going to be an interesting FP2 session coming up. Moto3 and moto3 FP2s have both been affected by wet weather. No rain since the start of the Moto3 session, but rain overnight has left the track wet.
Only right at the very end of Moto2 did some riders venture out on slicks. Tony Arbolino topped that session on dry tyres, but many others struggled to find performance on the slicks.
09:01
Welcome to live coverage of today's MotoGP action from the Red Bull Ring, where qualifying is around 50 minutes away. FP2 is just about to start.