14:05
Lap 2/14
Acosta almost a second clear at the front. Martin still stuck back in seventh behind Bagnaia.
Bezzecchi pressuring Marquez for second.
Jorge Martin, 2026 MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix. Credit: Gold and Goose.
© Gold & Goose
Austrian MotoGP sprint as it happened
Coverage of the Sprint race at the 2026 Austrian MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg as it happened
Live updates from the qualifying session at the 2026 Austrian MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring. Jorge Martin took pole position in qualifying this morning and will start from the front in the Sprint, coming up this afternoon at 15:00 local time.
Key Moments
- Martin wins Red Bull Ring Sprint from Marquez, Bezzecchi after late Acosta crash
- Martin leads after Acosta crash
- Acosta blows a two-second lead with turn 2 crash on lap 12
- Martin recovers to second from eighth after early Marquez clash
- Acosta leads Sprint early on and builds a lead over Marc Marquez
- Marquez & Martin clash at turn two
- Sprint to start at 15:00 local time/14:00 BST
- Martin beats Marquez, Acosta to Austria pole
Pedro Acosta came into Saturday having dominated Friday, topping both practices on the factory KTM yesterday. 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.
Acosta was beaten to pole this morning by Jorge Martin, who scored his third pole position of the season. Marc Marquez also beat Acosta, and the KTM man will start third.
Marco Bezzecchi pointed out Acosta as the benchmark 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, who was better in time attack mode this morning when he qualified fourth.
Alex 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, but crashed again in qualifying at turn one and will start sixth today.
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. Marquez had also felt stronger in race pace than one-lap speed on Friday, so was pleased to qualify in the middle of the front row in second place this morning.
That heat dissipating tyre was the least of Francesco Bagnaia's problems on Friday, 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. He was only 18th in Practice, but managed to get through Q1 and qualify on the third row in seventh.
That tyre is one 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. Binder was less strong in Q2, though, and will start 11th this afternoon.
19 Sep 2026
14:04
Martin ran wide at turn one which gave Marquez a run on him to make that move at the chicane - was aggressive, though.
It also held up Bezzecchi, who had jumped Acosta off the line, but the Spaniard passed both Bezzecchi and Marquez at turn three.
14:03
Sprint start
It's lights out in Spielberg and we're underway for the Sprint.
Martin made the holeshot, but Acosta leads after an aggressive move from Marquez at turn two that sent Martin to eighth.
14:00
Warm-up lap
Riders are off on their warm-up lap ahead of this 14-lap Sprint.
13:57
Marini also on medium rear now. Everyone in the front three rows on soft bar Bagnaia.
13:55
Two late tyre changes: Bagnaia and Rins on the medium rear.
13:50
Grid
Here's the starting order for today's Sprint with Jorge Martin on pole.
Marc Marquez has started second in the last two Sprints and led the first lap. Can he do the same today?
| 1 | Jorge Martin | ESP | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia RS-GP |
| 2 | Marc Marquez | ESP | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP26 |
| 3 | Pedro Acosta | ESP | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 |
| 4 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia RS-GP |
| 5 | Ai Ogura | JPN | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia RS-GP |
| 6 | Alex Marquez | ESP | Gresini Racing | Ducati GP26 |
| 7 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP26 |
| 8 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Pertamina Enduro VR46 | Ducati GP26 |
| 9 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha YZR-M1 |
| 10 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Castrol Honda LCR | Honda RC213V |
| 11 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 |
| 12 | Fermin Aldeguer | ESP | Gresini Racing | Ducati GP25 |
| 13 | Raul Fernandez | ESP | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia RS-GP |
| 14 | Pol Espargaro | ESP | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 |
| 15 | Luca Marini | ITA | Honda HRC Castrol | Honda RC213V |
| 16 | Diogo Moreira | BRA | Pro Honda LCR | Honda RC213V |
| 17 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | KTM RC16 |
| 18 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | Honda HRC Castrol | Honda RC213V |
| 19 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Pertamina Enduro VR46 | Ducati GP25 |
| 20 | Alex Rins | ESP | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha YZR-M1 |
| 21 | Jack Miller | AUS | Prima Alpine Pramac Yamaha | Yamaha YZR-M1 |
| 22 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | TUR | Prima Alpine Pramac Yamaha | Yamaha YZR-M1 |
13:46
Early tyre choice
Riders have arrived to the grid, so we have our first look at tyre choice.
Everyone with medium-compound front and soft-compound rear at the moment.
13:40
Sighting lap
Pit lane is open at the Red Bull Ring for the riders to head out on their sighting lap ahead of the Sprint, which is now only 20 minutes away.
13:32
Just under half-an-hour away from the MotoGP Sprint in Austria now. Conditions have certainly cleared up compared to this morning and at the moment we look all set for a dry Sprint, although 30 minutes is plenty of time for things to change in the Styrian mountains, it must be said.
13:22
Chequered flag is out on Moto2 Q2 with Salac on pole from Gonzalez and Escrig, whose 2027 deal with ItalTrans was announced only a few minutes ago.
13:14
Moto2 currently out on track for its Q2 session, which is being led at the moment by Ivan Ortola ahead of Izan Guevara and Filip Salac.
13:12
Sprint
Welcome back to live coverage of today's MotoGP action from the Red Bull Ring, where the Sprint will be starting in just under 50 minutes at 15:00 local time.
11:43
Jorge Martin beats Marc Marquez by 0.015s to Austrian MotoGP pole
“On the limit” - Jorge Martin pole sets up “intense” Austrian Sprint
Jorge Martin, 2026 Red Bull Ring MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
11:17
Tech3 confirms no 2027 MotoGP deal was ever tabled to Maverick Vinales
Guenther Steiner has clarified that Maverick Vinales was never a 2027 Tech3 option.
Tech3 confirms no 2027 MotoGP deal was ever tabled to Maverick Vinales
Maverick Vinales, Tech3 KTM, 2026 German MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
10:47
Report: Jorge Martin snatches Austria MotoGP pole from Marc Marquez
The co-championship leaders start 1-2 on the grid for the Austrian Grand Prix.
Jorge Martin snatches Austria MotoGP pole from Marc Marquez
Jorge Martin, Aprilia Racing, 2026 Austrian MotoGP
© Gold and Goose
10:33
Austrian MotoGP: Qualifying Results
Austrian MotoGP, Red Bull Ring - Qualifying Results
Jorge Martin, 2026 Red Bull Ring MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
10:31
Martin takes Austria pole
It's pole position for Jorge Martin at the Red Bull Ring. He takes it ahead of Marc Marquez and Acosta.
Bezzecchi fourth, then Ogura and Alex Marquez on row two.
Bagnaia, Di Giannantonio, Quartararo on row three.
Zarco, Binder, Aldeguer on row four.
10:29
Martin into the 1m27s on lap two. 1m27.917s.
Acosta also into the 1m27s behind but he's 0.060s behind.
Bezzecchi briefly third, but he's beaten by Marc Marquez who gets back up to second.
Alex Marquez has crashed at turn one - currently fifth.
10:27
Martin improves on the first lap of his second run and hits the top - 1m28.223s and he leads Q2 by over a tenth.
10:22
Now it's Acosta to the top, 1m28.328s to be 0.147s ahead of Marquez. That bumps Martin to the front of the second row.
10:21
Marc Marquez improves on the second lap and goes fastest. He's 0.083s ahead of Alex Marquez, then Martin third.
Bezzecchi bumped to fourth ahead of Di Giannantonio and Bagnaia.
10:19
On the road, Marc Marquez leads Martin, Acosta, Binder.
Acosta the fastest of them, but he lost time in the final two sectors as he caught Martin. Bezzecchi goes faster behind but only a 1m28.914s - that'll be beaten.
10:16
Q2 start
Pit lane is open for Q2 at the Red Bull Ring.
Can Acosta keep up his Friday form and take pole position?
10:12
Q2 contenders
Q2 coming up in a few minutes. Here are your 12 riders battling for pole after Zarco and Bagnaia moved through from Q1.
- Acosta
- Aldeguer
- Ogura
- M. Marquez
- Martin
- Di Giannantonio
- A. Marquez
- Binder
- Bezzecchi
- Quartararo
- Zarco
- Bagnaia