> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.the-race.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # What happened in Motegi MotoGP practice - URL: https://www.the-race.com/motogp/what-happened-in-motegi-motogp-practice/ - Published: 2026-10-02T07:26:45.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-02T07:26:45.000Z - Description: Alex Marquez set the pace to conclude Friday MotoGP practice at Motegi, as all the principal title contenders advanced into Q2 automatically - Author: Valentin Khorounzhiy - Tags: MotoGP, #secondary_feature_2 Alex Marquez set the pace to conclude Friday MotoGP practice at Motegi, as all the principal title contenders advanced into Q2 automatically. Marquez beat Austrian Grand Prix winner Pedro Acosta by 0.076s and FP1 pace-setting brother Marc by 0.100s in the late-session time attacks, ending up on a 1m42.811s at the resurfaced Japanese track - a tenth up on the 2025 pole record set by Pecco Bagnaia. Marco Bezzecchi was the lead Aprilia in fourth, followed by two riders who navigated late-session yellow flags to vault themselves into crucial top 10 spots in Enea Bastianini and Fabio Di Giannantonio. Fabio Quartararo was the standout Yamaha in seventh, 0.419s off the pace but half a second up on the next-best of the Yamahas. Points leader Jorge Martin had to use Acosta as a reference ahead to ensure passage into Q2, placing eighth as a result, followed by the LCR Honda duo of Diogo Moreira and Johann Zarco. Both Moreira and Zarco crashed in the final minutes, the former tipping over his bike when it was effectively standing still in the Turn 5 gravel and the latter taking a hard knock after falling off coming into Turn 14 while trying to keep up with Alex Marquez. Zarco was close to missing out on Q2, ending up just 0.004s ahead of Fermin Aldeguer's last-second attempt. Defending Japanese GP winner Pecco Bagnaia was only 16th, the worst of the Ducatis and one spot behind home hero Ai Ogura, Trackhouse Aprilia's outside title contender. After a decent FP1, Maverick Vinales was uncompetitive here on his return, in last place at 2.025s off - and nearly a full second down on 19th-placed stand-in rider Somkiat Chantra, putting together an impressive day as Honda's factory team substitute for Joan Mir. Honda's roster is down to four riders from a planned five after wildcard Taka Nakagami exited the weekend on his first outlap in the morning, breaking his collarbone in a highside crash. The session had been red-flagged early on due to an apparent engine failure for Ogura putting oil down onto the track. Alex Rins and Luca Marini had had crashes before the red flag. ## Results 1 Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) 1m42.811s 2 Pedro Acosta (KTM) +0.076s 3 Marc Marquez (Ducati) +0.100s 4 Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) +0.218s 5 Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM) +0.349s 6 Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) +0.386s 7 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) +0.419s 8 Jorge Martin (Aprilia) +0.464s 9 Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda) +0.495s 10 Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) +0.574s 11 Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) +0.578s 12 Brad Binder (KTM) +0.618s 13 Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia) +0.674s 14 Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati) +0.716s 15 Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia) +0.768s 16 Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati) +0.775s 17 Luca Marini (Honda) +0.877s 18 Jack Miller (Pramac Yamaha) +0.917s 19 Somkiat Chantra (Honda) +1.085s 20 Alex Rins (Yamaha) +1.493s 21 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pramac Yamaha) +1.600s 22 Maverick Vinales (Tech3 KTM) +2.025s