Marco Bezzecchi claimed pole position during MotoGP qualifying Saturday afternoon at Lusail International Circuit, in Qatar. Riding his Aprilia Racing RS-GP26 on the 3.34-mile (5.38 km) track, Bezzecchi turned a 1:50.028. Not only was that good enough to lead the 18-rider field, it was also good enough to eclipse Fabio Di Giannantonio’s 2026 All-Time Lap Record of 1:50.406 he set yesterday during the practice session.
Marc Marquez was the best of the rest with a 1:50.294 on his Ducati Lenovo Team Desmosedici GP26, and Fabio Di Giannantonio claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:50.327 on his Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati Desmosedici GP26.
Row-two qualifiers included SuperFile Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez (1:50.457), Ducati Lenovo Team’s Francesco Bagnaia (1:50.592) and Fernandez’s teammate Ai Ogura (1:50.596).
MOTOGP QP
More, from a press release issued by MotoGP:
Bezzecchi smashes lap record to deny Marquez, Martin P11. The #72 takes pole as he makes a final stand – with Marquez second and Diggia locking out the front row at Lusail.
Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) took a lap record pole position for the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar, setting a new 1:50.028 to pull clear of Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) by more than a quarter of a second. Marquez lines up second as he looks to set up a championship point for Sunday, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) completing the front row.
Bezzecchi will be aiming to make his own final stand and cut his 67-point deficit this weekend, but to have a Championship point on Sunday, it’s Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) that Marc Marquez needs to outscore in the Tissot Sprint – by five points. The #89 starts down in P11 after a messier qualifying session – but not one where he was lacking outright speed. Can he make a comeback?
Q1
First, Q1. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory) was leading the way with a comfortable margin as they headed out for their second runs, with the #37 a rare sight in the Q1 session and looking to ease through. Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) found something in the locker round his next lap though, taking over on top with two minutes left on the clock.
The final train round saw Acosta leading a quartet of riders all looking to improve, and the #37 did but it wasn’t enough to topple Aldeguer from the top. Still, Acosta headed through alongside the #54.
Q2
Much was on the line for Aprilia – and the 2026 championship fight – as the field rolled out of pitlane to begin Q2. Marc Marquez set the a serious benchmark on the first runs, but that didn’t last too long as a stunning lap came in from a key rival: Bezzecchi. The #72 smashed the all-time lap record with a 1:50.065, taking the honours from Friday’s fastest, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team).
That left Bez at the top, 0.296 ahead of Marc Marquez, with Raul Fernandez (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) in a provisional P3.
With three minutes left on the clock, everyone was back out and Marquez was beginning another fast one. Up through sector 1 by eight hundredths, up through sector 2 by eight hundredths, losing out in sector 3 and then crossing the line two tenths off, that was that for the points leader – no pole, provisional second place, and waiting for the rest to put their final laps in.
For Bezzecchi, it was another lap record. The #72 took a further 0.037 off his best to head Marquez by 0.266, with all eyes on Martin as he looked to improve from P11. It wasn’t to be however, as the #89 encountered Acosta a bit closer than he would have liked round the final sector and couldn’t improve – sitting up angrily as he was left in P11 on the grid.
THE GRID
Up top it’s Bezzecchi, who needs to make big gains to get a foot back in the title fight. Marquez lines up second as he looks to outscore Martin by 30 points and Bezzecchi by eight points this weekend to take the Championship. 2023 Qatar GP winner Diggia, after topping the timesheets on Friday, lines up third.
Fernandez is forced to settle for fourth after a big moment for him ruining his last lap, with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) up in fifth. Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) takes P6, completing Row 2.
Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) is next up as he heads Row 3 from Acosta and Aldeguer, with the Q1 graduates in reverse order on that third row. Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) completes the top ten as Martin faces down a rescue mission from P11, ahead of only Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) after the South African crashed early in the session, rider ok.
The grids are set, the championship fight is hotting up in the desert – and the Tissot Sprint will decide if Marc Marquez has a match point on Sunday. Tune in for that as we go racing under the floodlights in Lusail!
