Starting grid for the 2026 Motegi MotoGP race
The full starting grid for Sunday’s 2026 Japanese MotoGP Sprint race.
MotoGP title leaders Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez will start first and second on the grid in this afternoon’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Martin leads Marquez by a reduced seven points after the reigning champion won the Sprint. Meanwhile, Martin battled late-race tyre issues, then was demoted from second to third by a post-race penalty for exceeding track limits.
However, the Aprilia star got the better of Marquez in qualifying, smashing the lap record on the new Japanese asphalt. The front row is a replica of the Red Bull Ring with KTM’s Austrian winner Pedro Acosta in third.
Tyre choice will be a big question mark for the Grand Prix with Michelin withdrawing the soft rear option and recommending the hard, which no one had used before Sunday.
Martin’s team-mate and final practice leader Marco Bezzecchi heads row two of the grid from the GP26 Ducatis of Alex Marquez (Gresini) and Fabio di Giannantonio (VR46).
Diogo Moreira, promoted to secon in the Sprint by penalties for Martin and Enea Bastianini, starts as the leading Honda rider in ninth, with Fabio Quartararo by far the top Yamaha in twelfth.
Joan Mir's replacement Somkiat Chantra starts his first MotoGP races of the year from an impressive 15th, ahead of full-time HRC rider Luca Marini.
Honda wildcard Takaaki Nakagami has withdrawn due to a broken collarbone on Friday morning.
Tech3's Maverick Vinales lines up 19th for his MotoGP return.
Penalties
There are no grid penalties, but Alex Marquez has a double long lap penalty to serve for taking out Acosta and di Giannantonio on the opening lap of the Sprint.
The 24-lap Japanese MotoGP starts at 2pm local time (6am UK).
2026 Motegi MotoGP race: Full starting grid
Row 1: Jorge Martin (pole), Marc Marquez, Pedro Acosta
Row 2: Marco Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez, Fabio Di Giannantonio
Row 3: Enea Bastianini, Raul Fernandez, Diogo Moreira
Row 4: Johann Zarco, Ai Ogura, Fabio Quartararo
Row 5: Francesco Bagnaia, Franco Morbidelli, Somkiat Chantra
Row 6: Luca Marini, Brad Binder, Fermin Aldeguer
Row 7: Maverick Viñales, Jack Miller, Alex Rins
Row 8: Toprak Razgatlioglu.
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
