Daniel Holgado  was the man to beat during Moto2 World qualifying Saturday at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, in Spain. The Spaniard rider topped qualifying session with a new lap record time. Riding his Pirelli-shod CFMOTO Impulse Aspar Team Kalex, Holgado navigated the 2.89-mile (4.66 km) course in 1:41.549, breaking Sergio Garcia’s 2024 All-Time Lap Record of 1:41.894.

Jake Dixon was second-best with a 1:41.629 on his ELF Marc VDS Racing Team Boscoscuro.

Collin Veijer claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:41.738 on his Red Bull KTM Ajo Kalex.

Row-two qualifiers included Italjet Gresini’s Albert Arenas (1:41.761), Fantic Racing Lino Sonego’s Barry Baltus (1:41.800) and Veijer’s teammate Daniel Muñoz (1:41.807).

American Joe Roberts finished Saturday qualifying’s session 18th with a best time of 1:42.369 on his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna: 

Holgado takes first Moto2™ pole to head Dixon and Veijer. Two rookies and a veteran start from the front row in Barcelona, with Canet P9, Gonzalez P12 and Moreira P13 as the top three face a comeback. 

After some impressive pace on Friday, Dani Holgado (CFMoto Impulse Aspar Team) backed it up on Saturday with a new lap record for his first pole position in Moto2™. Fellow rookie Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) continued his recent form to take a first front row in the class, with the two debutants split by Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in second.

Dixon was holding provisional pole until the final couple of minutes of Q2 as Holgado hammered home his new lap record to deny the Brit. Veijer was the last fast lap of the session to steal that final place on the front row, just denying Albert Arenas (Italjet Gresini Moto2), who came from Q1 and heads Row 2.

He’s joined on the second row by Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) in P5 and an impressive performance from Daniel Muñoz as he continues to sub for Deniz Öncü at Red Bull KTM Ajo. Filip Salač (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) and Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Lino Sonego) are Row 3, with Ayumu Sasaki (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP) completing the top ten.

Normally, P9 could be an extra complication for a title contender, but this time Canet’s position on the third row actually puts him highest up the grid of the top three in the title fight. Points leader Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) in P12, and third overall, Brazilian Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) right behind him.

Click here for FULL Moto2 qualifying results from Barcelona. The stage is set for a stunner, so tune in for Moto2™ from 12:20 (UTC +2) on Sunday!

David Almansa earned pole position during Moto3 World Championship qualifying Saturday at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, in Spain. Riding his Leopard Racing Honda on Pirelli control tires, Almansa topped the 26-rider field with a lap time of 1:46.877.

Joel Kelso was the best of the rest with a 1:47.079 on his LevelUp MTA KTM, and Angel Piqueras claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:47.086 on his Frinsa MT Helmets MSI KTM.

Row-two qualifiers included Liquid Moly Dynavolt Intact GP’s David Muñoz (1:47.096), Piqueras’ teammate, Ryusei Yamanaka (1:47.233) and Almansa’s teammate Adrian Fernandez (1:47.235).

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Almansa blasts to career-first pole in Barcelona. Leading the field going into Sunday, the #22 has primed himself for a strong Grand Prix. 

David Almansa (Leopard Racing) left it late to fire himself into pole position for the first time in his Moto3™ career. The Spaniard will have a clear view down to Turn 1 and was the only rider able to dip into the 1’46s, with a 1’46.877 good enough to see him clear of Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA) and Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI).

Graduating from Q1, Angel Piqueras, teammate Ryusei Yamanaka (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI), Dennis Foggia (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) and Cormac Buchanan (DENSSI Racing – BOE) all joined the pole battle. After the first run in Q2, Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) was sitting pretty at the top of the standings with Yamanaka right behind him ahead of Piqueras, whilst David Almansa (Leopard Racing) was P4. After his two crashes thus far in the weekend, Maximo Quiles’ (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) got his first lap banked, good enough for P7.

However, with less than three minutes remaining, the fast laps started to come in as everyone pushed to raise the bar one more time. Piqueras blasted to provisional pole, using his extra Q1 session to his advantage. Late laps were needed for the likes of David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) with them 12^th and 17^th and for Muñoz at least, he managed to get into P4, whereas Perrone was 14^th. At the front and on his last lap, Almansa pounced to bag a career-first pole and fifth front row of the year. He wasn’t the only late improver as Joel Kelso took second and first front row since Le Mans; denied pole, Piqueras completed the front row in third.

Behind the top three, Muñoz was a solid fourth ahead of Yamanaka and Fernandez. Championship leader Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) could only manage seventh and heads up the third row, ahead of Guido Pini (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo). Quiles, unable to challenge at the front, rounds out the top ten and starts from the fourth row, his second-worst qualifying of the year.

Alex Marquez earned pole position during MotoGP World Championship qualifying on Saturday at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, in Spain. Riding his BK8 Gresini Racing Ducati Desmosedici GP24, the Spaniard broke Brad Binder’s 2025 All-Time Lap Record of 1:38.141 he set Friday afternoon with a time of 1:37.536 around the 2.89-mile (4.66 km) circuit during Qualifying Two (Q2) on Saturday.

Fabio Quartararo was the best of the rest with a 1:37.803 on his Monster Energy Yamaha YZF-M1 , and Marc Marquez claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:37.945 on his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP25.

Row-two qualifiers included Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Ducati’s Franco Morbidelli (1:38.010), Red Bull KTM Factory’s Pedro Acosta (1:38.019) and Morbidelli’s teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio (1:38.034).

Francesco Bagnaia qualified 21st on his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici GP25 with a time of 1:38.530. 

More from a press release issued by Dorna:

Alex Marquez lands lap record pole as Quartararo claims front row from Q1. Two blue machines sit ahead of the red of Marc Marquez following a brilliant Q2 in Barcelona. 

How about that for a qualifying session? Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) clinched pole position at the Monster Energy Grand Prix of Catalonia with a simply stunning new all-time lap record. The #73’s final sector was mega as his 1:37.536 was plenty good enough to beat second place Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), with the Frenchman coming through Q1 to stick his Yamaha on the front row. That’s a proper top job from the #20, and it’ll be Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) lining up alongside the two blue machines on what is a tantalising front row in Barcelona.

Q1: NO WAY THROUGH FOR PECCO AND MARTIN

As is often the case these days, Q1 was a star-studded affair that included our four most recent World Champions: Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Quartararo, and FP2 pacesetter Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol). But it was none of those names who sat in the early top two positions, because Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) were quickest out of the blocks.

Mir then stepped up his pace to jump into P2, knocking Miller out of the promotion places, as Quartararo improved his time to a 1:38.417 to go P3 – 0.186s adrift of Di Giannantonio. At the end of the first run, Martin was P7, with Bagnaia in P10 – work to be done for our 2023 and 2024 title winners.

It was all change at the top with three minutes to go. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and Miguel Oliveira (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) took turns at leading before Quartararo rose to P1 with a 1:37.906, a new all-time lap record, as Di Giannantonio climbed back to P2 to sit 0.139s away from the Frenchman. Now, could Bagnaia pull something out of the hat on his final lap? He needed to, because the #63 was P12. However, the best the Italian could do was hop into P11, and Martin could only manage P8. A morning to forget for both, as Quartararo and Di Giannantonio sailed into Q2.

Q2: LAP RECORD SMASHED AS ALEX MARQUEZ EARNS POLE

It wasn’t an ideal start to the session for Marc Marquez after Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) slid up the inside of the championship leader at Turn 1 after gobbling up a healthy amount of slipstream, costing the #93 his first go at it. Meanwhile, Alex Marquez was straight into the 1:37s to go P1 ahead of Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who then improved his time a lap later despite overtaking Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) around the outside at Turn 10.

Then, Quartararo grabbed P1 but his stay at the summit was short-lived because Alex Marquez set a 1:37.914 to take provisional pole back. That saw Acosta sit P3 after the initial efforts, Zarco was P4, Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was occupying P5 ahead of Marc Marquez in P6.

That, as things stood, was a rather tasty-looking grid for the Tissot Sprint and Grand Prix, but there were still five minutes of play time in Q2 to shake things up a bit. And on his first lap in the closing stages, Acosta was on it. 0.176s was the time he had in hand coming into Sector 3 and sure enough, the #37 shot to P1 with a new lap record – but it was then cancelled!

Then, after an almighty last sector, Alex Marquez landed a colossal 1:37.536 to go four tenths clear of Marc Marquez, before Quartararo responded to crawl back into P2. Acosta went again and improved his time but it was only good enough for P4, 0.074s away from the front row. That became P5 though because Morbidelli propelled his VR46 Ducati into P4, as we then turned our attention to the Marquez brothers on track together.

Through Sector 1, with Alex chasing Marc, the red corner was on target for pole but at Turn 5, a moment. And a pretty big one on the front end too. Did he save it? Of course he did. But that meant Marc Marquez’s pole position hopes were ended, meaning Alex Marquez collected a Saturday morning P1 ahead of Quartararo and Marc Marquez in front of his home crowd.

YOUR TOP 12 ON THE GRID

Morbidelli spearheads Row 2 ahead of Acosta and Di Giannantonio, as KTM’s Friday dominance fades a little in qualifying – but P5 will do for the Spaniard. Zarco dropped to P7 at the end of the session, with the Frenchman joined on Row 3 by top Aprilia Ogura and Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3). Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) qualified P10 to sit ahead of Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) on the grid.

COMING UP: SPRINT TIME IN BARCELONA

How about that for a grid? We look set to be locked in for a barnstorming Tissot Sprint in Barcelona, make sure you tune in to see if Alex Marquez, Quartararo or anyone else can end Marc Marquez’s incredible run – or the latter continues his dominant victory streak.

MotoGP qualifying results!

Joan Mir led MotoGP World Championship Free Practice 2 Saturday morning at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, in Spain. Riding his Honda HRC Castrol RC213V on spec Michelin tires, the 2020 MotoGP Champion turned a lap time of 1:39.119 to lead the 24-rider field.

Alex Marquez was the best of the rest with a 1:39.141 on his BK8 Gresini Racing Ducati Desmosedici GP24.

Fabio Quartararo, riding his Monster Energy Yamaha YZR-M1, was third at 1:39.237.

Maverick Viñales finished the session fourth with a 1:39.289 on his Red Bull KTM Tech3 RC16. 

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Pedro Acosta got fifth with a lap time of 1:39.293.

Marc Marquez was 8th on his Lenovo Ducati Desmosedici GP25 with a time of 1:39.340 and his teammate, Francesco Bagnaia is 17th at 1:39.741. 

Daniel Holgado was quickest during Moto2 World Championship Free Practice 2 Saturday morning at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, in Spain. Riding his Pirelli-shod CFMOTO Impulse Aspar Team Kalex on the 2.89-mile (4.66 km) track, the Spaniard recorded a 1:41.897 to lead the field of 29 riders.

Senna Agius was the best of the rest with a 1:41.921 on his Liqui Moly Dynavolt IntactGP Kalex.

Celestino Vietti was third-fastest with a 1:42.132 on his Beta Tools SpeedRS Team Boscoscuro.

American Joe Roberts finished Saturday morning’s practice session 13th with a best time of 1:42.651 on his OnlyFans American Racing Team Kalex.

Classification fp2 moto2

Angel Piqueras led Moto3 World Championship Free Practice 2 Saturday morning, at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, in Spain. Piqueras used his Pirelli-shod FRINSA – MT Helmets MSI KTM to lap the 2.89-mile (4.66 km) track in 1:47.365, which led the field of 26 riders.

Adrian Fernandez was second-best with a time of 1:47.706 on his Leopard Racing Honda. 

His teammate, David Almansa, claimed the third and final spot on the front with a lap time of 1:47.906.