Austrian MotoGP sprint 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.