Marc Marquez leads Qatar MotoGP FP1 as title shot looms
Marc Marquez led FP1 at the Qatar Grand Prix
MotoGP championship leader Marc Marquez led Marco Bezzecchi in FP1 at the Qatar Grand Prix, as his first chance to wrap up the 2026 world title nears.
Despite all of the uncertainty and the tug-of-war between riders and MotoGP over the last two weeks, as well as Yamaha’s bombshell decision to withdraw, the Qatar weekend began without incident with the 45-minute FP1 session.
Coming to the Lusail desert with a 44-point championship lead, Marc Marquez can win an eighth MotoGP title this weekend if he outscores Jorge Martin by 30 points and Marco Bezzecchi by eight.
Ducati rider Marquez led the way at the end of FP1 with a 1m52.278s set on well-used medium rubber.
He beat Bezzecchi by 0.110s, who also set his best lap of the session on well-used medium tyres on his final flying lap.
Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the top three on the VR46 Ducati.
Jorge Martin was an impressive fifth on the factory Aprilia, 0.734s off the pace, as he was cleared to race on Friday morning.
The session began in dramatic fashion for Honda stand-in Jake Dixon, making his first MotoGP appearance since 2021 as Joan Mir’s replacement.
The British rider, who now competes in World Superbikes with Honda, had a moment coming through Turn 10 and was nearly hit by Trackhouse Aprilia’s Ai Ogura.
Second later, he crashed at Turn 15 in an incident that appeared to baffle Dixon.
Bezzecchi, meanwhile, set the early pace at 1m54.866s, with the Aprilia rider and Marquez trading top spot for much of the afternoon.
Marquez took over top spot definitively with just under 20 minutes to go when he posted a 1m52.379s.
He would improve to a 1m52.278s on a 15-lap-old medium with around a minute until the chequered flag to cement first place.
Bezzecchi was 0.110s behind him at the chequered flag, while Di Giannantonio was 0.413s off the pace.
Pedro Acosta was fourth on the KTM, though he suffered an apparent technical issue at the end of the session.
Martin was fifth after 15 laps of running, while Pecco Bagnaia was sixth on the second of the factory team Ducatis.
Raul Fernandez was seventh on the leading Trackhouse Aprilia has he returns from injury, while Honda’s Luca Marini, VR46’s Franco Morbidelli and LCR’s Johann Zarco rounded out the top 10.
Fermin Aldeguer was 12th on the Gresini Ducati on his injury return, while Dixon was last of the depleted 18-rider field on the Honda.
KTM’s Brad Binder, who was 13th, crashed at Turn 7 in the early stages.
