Alex Marquez fastest in Catalunya MotoGP FP1 after Jorge Martin crash
Alex Marquez led the opening practice for the 2026 MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix
Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez led the opening practice for the 2026 MotoGP Catalan Grand Prix, as Aprilia’s Jorge Martin suffered a concerning crash.
Winner last year at Barcelona, Alex Marquez will be hoping for a repeat in 2026 following a disastrous French Grand Prix last weekend.
Running under the radar for much of the opening 45-minute FP1 at Barcelona on Friday morning, Marquez shot to the top of the order late on with a 1m39.950s.
He headed French Grand Prix winner Jorge Martin, who led for much of the session before suffering a crash at Turn 12 with around 20 minutes to go.
The Aprilia rider lost the front-end of his RS-GP going through Turn 12 and looked in great discomfort as he got to his feet.
However, Martin was able to return to the circuit for the post-session practice start period.
KTM’s Pedro Acosta set the early pace in the cold opening session of the Barcelona weekend, with the Spaniard posting a 1m40.388s.
That was quickly beaten by Jorge Martin just over 10 minutes in, with the Aprilia rider edging ahead with a 1m40.331s.
He improved on his next lap to a 1m40.299s with just over half an hour remaining, before crashing 10 minutes later at Turn 12.
KTM’s Acosta crashed at around the same time, though doing so at Turn 2, with team-mate Brad Binder doing the same a few moments later.
Martin’s time was deposed in the closing stages when Alex Marquez switched to a fresh medium rear tyre.
The Gresini rider posted a 1m40.021s initially, before improving on his final lap to a 1m39.950s to move 0.349s out of reach of the field.
Martin was second despite not fitting fresh rubber at the end, while Fabio Di Giannantonio was third on the VR46 Ducati on a fresh medium rear.
Acosta was fourth despite his crash, with championship leader Marco Bezzecchi fifth on the sister factory team Aprilia.
Enea Bastianini was sixth on the Tech3 KTM, with Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer, Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller, VR46’s Franco Morbidelli and LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco rounding out the top 10.
It was a low-key start to the weekend for Pecco Bagnaia, who was 17th on the sole factory team Ducati, while Maverick Vinales (Tech3) was 1.029s off the pace as he returned for the first time since Austin.
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