Acosta fires up KTM’s home GP | Agius and Kelso through to Q2

MotoGP 2026

Round 15 – Red Bull Ring – Friday

Pedro Acosta gave KTM’s home crowd plenty to get excited about on Friday at the Red Bull Ring, topping both MotoGP sessions as Ai Ogura returned from injury in third and championship rivals Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin finished almost inseparable. Francesco Bagnaia faces Q1, while Jack Miller has work to do after ending Practice 21st.

Filip Salac broke the Moto2 lap record, with Senna Agius safely through to Q2 in 12th. Joel Kelso also secured direct passage in Moto3, leading the Honda contingent behind an extraordinary KTM sweep of the first 11 positions as David Almansa set the pace ahead of Maximo Quiles.

MotoGP Friday Practice

Pedro Acosta topped both Friday sessions at KTM’s home Grand Prix, and the detail behind his 1m28.381s benchmark was arguably more encouraging than the 0.127-second advantage over Fermin Aldeguer.

Acosta’s third run produced consecutive laps of 1m28.783s, 1m28.507s and 1m28.381s on a new soft rear. Even the middle lap would have beaten Aldeguer’s eventual best by one thousandth. The Spaniard later recorded a 1m28.371s that was cancelled, leaving his earlier effort as the official benchmark.

Acosta had also managed a 1m28.840s on the medium rear during his opening run.

Acosta is still seeking a first premier-class Grand Prix victory following podiums at Aragon and Misano, a first sequence of three consecutive Sunday podiums in MotoGP. Only Ducati and KTM have won premier-class races here since the championship returned in 2016, with Ducati claiming ten victories to KTM’s two.

Brad Binder backed up the home factory’s showing with seventh, just over a quarter of a second from his team-mate. Four Ducatis, three Aprilias, two KTMs and one Yamaha secured the ten direct Q2 places, leaving Honda to fight through Q1.

Ogura returns straight to the sharp end

Ai Ogura delivered one of Friday’s standout performances, progressing from 19th in FP1 to third in Practice on his return from the thumb injury that kept him out of Aragon and Misano.

The Trackhouse rider’s 1m28.568s left him less than two tenths from Acosta and ahead of both factory Aprilias. More encouragingly, Ogura reported that the injured hand was not distracting him while riding, even around a circuit with such demanding braking zones.

Ai Ogura

“We didn’t expect to finish inside the top 10 today, so it was a good first day. I’m happy to see my hand is OK and I’m doing OK on the bike and to have a good speed as well. Luckily the place where I got the injury is not so important on hard braking here, so I’m lucky with that. I’m not even thinking about the injury when I’m on the track, so it’s really good.”

Jorge Martin was fifth, only 18 thousandths behind Marc Marquez. The pair arrived level on 274 championship points, with Marquez leading on Grand Prix wins after overturning a 102-point deficit — the largest deficit recovered to take the championship lead in MotoGP history, according to the official pre-event statistics.

Martin’s immediate concern remains the arm trouble that compromised his Misano race. Friday provided encouragement, although the Aprilia rider is reserving judgement on how it will hold up over Sunday’s distance.

Jorge Martin

“My arm is better than I had thought. I felt good, but it is obviously still a question mark until Sunday. For Saturday, I don’t think it will limit me and I hope it doesn’t on Sunday either. I felt good with the bike too, considering the fact that it’s Friday, which is usually a complicated day for me. I managed to be consistent. It’s true that I struggled more in the time-attack, but we have clear ideas of where to improve.”

Marco Bezzecchi made it three Aprilias directly into Q2 with ninth. His final attacks were complicated by the red flag and a mistake after restarting on the same tyre, prompting another stop for fresh rubber.

Bezzecchi took Aprilia’s first pole at this circuit last year and finished third in the Grand Prix. Victory on Sunday would carry an unusual distinction: his first 11 MotoGP Grand Prix wins would all have come at different circuits, matching a feat previously achieved by Freddie Spencer.

Raul Fernandez was the Aprilia rider to miss out, finishing 19th. He struggled to use the rear tyre under braking and said he wanted to return to his familiar aerodynamic package on Saturday after an unconvincing first day with the new version.

Aldeguer second as Alex Marquez survives a scare

Fermin Aldeguer was Ducati’s fastest rider in second, a promising start to the weekend of his 100th Grand Prix start across all classes. He finished second here in his rookie MotoGP season last year.

Gresini team-mate Alex Marquez brought out the red flags with 11m42s remaining after a strange crash exiting Turn 1. Alex attributed the fall to a front-brake issue, but returned on his second bike and secured eighth.

Alex Marquez

“I had a small issue with the front brake, which led to this unexpected crash. The impact was hard, but I’m okay, although I’ll need a long physiotherapy session this afternoon. In the end, we managed to make it into Q2, but at least at the moment we’re not competitive enough to stay with the front runners. After this Friday, I have to say that Pedro is definitely one step ahead.”

Marc Marquez improved through the afternoon to finish fourth, 0.204 seconds from Acosta. The championship leader identified Austria’s different rear-tyre casing as an important part of the setup work still required.

Marc Marquez

“The feeling in FP1 wasn’t the best, while we improved with each outing during Practice and I believe we have now found the direction to follow. Tomorrow we’ll surely have to make another step forward. The bike behaviour at this track is very different and we need to find a way to make it work at its best, especially with the rear-tyre casing we have available here in Austria.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio took sixth and his first direct Q2 berth at the Red Bull Ring. There was considerably less satisfaction for three-time Austrian GP winner Francesco Bagnaia, whose 18th place leaves him facing Q1 alongside Franco Morbidelli, who finished one position ahead.

Bagnaia was 0.885 seconds from the outright pace but 0.449 seconds from the Q2 cut. With the first 19 riders covered by less than a second, the classification looked harsher than the absolute gap, although finding grip remains the central problem.

Francesco Bagnaia

“We tried to lap as much as we could and did a lot of work. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the performance out, but we’ll keep giving our best effort in order to turn things around. The main point to work on is trying to find grip. All in all, it didn’t go that badly despite the final position, as lap times are usually extremely close at this track.”

Four thousandths separate Quartararo and Marini

Fabio Quartararo snatched the final direct Q2 spot on his last lap, edging Luca Marini by just four thousandths. It was only the Yamaha rider’s second direct Q2 appearance of the season, and his first since Barcelona.

The speed-trap figures added perspective: Quartararo’s maximum was 307.6 km/h against session speed-trap leader Enea Bastianini’s 318.5 km/h. Quartararo credited his braking for much of the lap time that secured tenth.

Marini led a frustrated Honda trio in 11th, followed by Johann Zarco and Diogo Moreira. Zarco recovered from a Turn 4 fall, while Moreira rued mistakes that prevented him putting a complete lap together.

Luca Marini

“Tonight, I think I will have a nightmare about this 0.004s to Quartararo because such a small margin changes our whole weekend. I’ve had a good feeling with the tyres from the first outing which is positive, but Q1 will be tough as we have had some surprises here with the time sheets.”

Marini remains the only rider to have scored points in all 14 Sunday MotoGP races this season. His replacement team-mate Takaaki Nakagami, standing in for Joan Mir, finished 20th while readjusting to the RC213V and the tyres used in Austria.

Bastianini and Pol Espargaro were 14th and 15th for Tech3. Bastianini felt his pace was stronger than his position suggested, with mistakes and yellow flags disrupting his attacks. Espargaro, approaching his 300th Grand Prix start, had been second in FP1 but acknowledged that fitting a fresh tyre had flattered that morning position.

Miller seeks a response after difficult afternoon

Jack Miller finished 21st on a 1m29.949s, 1.568 seconds from Acosta and 1.132 seconds outside direct Q2 qualification. Pramac Yamaha team-mate Toprak Razgatlioglu was only 33 thousandths behind in 22nd.

Miller’s encouraging morning feeling did not translate into a successful afternoon time attack. The Australian said back-to-back setup comparisons had clarified the direction to follow, with slow-corner behaviour a particular focus.

Jack Miller

“Pretty tricky Friday. We tried a few different things and the back-to-back comparison gave us a much clearer idea of the direction we want to take for tomorrow. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to put a proper lap together with the new tyres, so the final position doesn’t really show where we are. But we’ve got a much clearer idea now of what we need to do with the bike, and I think we can make another step tomorrow.”

Razgatlioglu reported improved braking confidence as he learnt the circuit on a MotoGP bike, but identified picking the Yamaha up and accelerating out of corners as areas where he was still losing ground.

MotoGP qualifying begins at 1850 AEST on Saturday, with the 14-lap Sprint scheduled for 2300 AEST.

Red Bull Ring MotoGP Friday Practice Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	P. Acosta	KTM	1m28.381	315.7
2	F. Aldeguer	Duc	+0.127	311.6
3	A. Ogura	Apr	+0.187	315.7
4	M. Marquez	Duc	+0.204	311.6
5	J. Martin	Apr	+0.222	314.4
6	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	+0.252	314.4
7	B. Binder	KTM	+0.269	315.7
8	A. Marquez	Duc	+0.321	315.7
9	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	+0.430	317.1
10	F. Quartararo	Yam	+0.436	307.6
11	L. Marini	Hon	+0.440	313.0
12	J. Zarco	Hon	+0.484	317.1
13	D. Moreira	Hon	+0.558	314.4
14	E. Bastianini	KTM	+0.680	318.5
15	P. Espargaro	KTM	+0.710	311.6
16	A. Rins	Yam	+0.720	310.3
17	F. Morbidelli	Duc	+0.810	313.0
18	F. Bagnaia	Duc	+0.885	313.0
19	R. Fernandez	Apr	+0.949	311.6
20	T. Nakagami	Hon	+1.215	315.7
21	J. Miller	Yam	+1.568	310.3
22	T. Razgatlioglu	Yam	+1.601	306.3

2026 MotoGP Championship Standings

Pos	Rider	Points
1	M. Marquez	274
2	J. Martin	274
3	M. Bezzecchi	241
4	F. Di Giannantonio	223
5	P. Acosta	209
6	A. Ogura	203
7	R. Fernandez	199
8	A. Marquez	153
9	F. Bagnaia	143
10	F. Aldeguer	105
11	L. Marini	96
12	E. Bastianini	92
13	B. Binder	83
14	D. Moreira	64
15	F. Quartararo	61
16	F. Morbidelli	56
17	J. Zarco	36
18	J. Mir	33
19	J. Miller	28
20	A. Rins	24
21	T. Razgatlioglu	18
22	M. Viñales	10
23	I. Lecuona	9
24	A. Fernandez	6
25	P. Espargaro	5

---

Moto2

Filip Salac rewrote the Moto2 lap record at the Red Bull Ring with a 1m32.402s to lead Friday Practice, while Senna Agius secured direct passage to Q2 in 12th.

The Australian closed his session with an unusual display of consistency: his final two laps were both 1m33.028s, identical to the thousandth. That left him 0.626 seconds from Salac and 0.135 seconds inside the top-14 cut.

There was another detail worth noting in the timing sheets. Agius recorded the lowest maximum speed in the 27-rider afternoon field at 254.4 km/h, against Tony Arbolino’s session-high 261.8 km/h. His five highest speed readings were all 254.4 km/h. Those figures do not isolate the effects of Senna’s stature, gearing, corner exit or slipstream, but they provide useful context for his lap time.

With his 2027 MotoGP move to Tech3 confirmed, Agius is looking to turn the speed that delivered pole at Misano into a clean race after being caught in the first-corner crash there. Friday’s position gives him a direct shot at the leading grid places on Saturday.

Salac leads a tightly packed front group

Salac’s record came on lap 15 of 18, immediately after a 1m32.598s. Ivan Ortola finished just under a tenth behind, with Daniel Holgado third, a further tenth back.

Arbolino backed up his morning session-topping performance with fourth in Practice, followed by Izan Guevara, David Alonso and Alex Escrig. Guevara’s Boscoscuro and Escrig’s Forward ensured three different chassis manufacturers featured in the top seven.

Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez was eighth, but only 0.359 seconds from the fastest time. His final three laps were all in the 1m32s, suggesting more substance to the afternoon than the position alone might imply.

Guevara, who trails Gonzalez by 47.5 championship points, briefly held the lap record himself with a 1m32.755s early in the session before improving to a 1m32.638s on his final lap. The Pramac rider reported some chatter but was encouraged by both his rhythm and his confidence compared with Misano.

Izan Guevara

“I feel more confident today than I did last week. We were able to put together a fast lap despite having some difficulties, and that gives me confidence for tomorrow. I think we can fight for the front row. If we are not there, second or third row is still okay, but the goal is to keep working, enjoy the weekend, and try to correct the small things that we are still missing.”

Celestino Vietti, Alonso Lopez and Mario Aji occupied ninth through 11th ahead of Agius. Daniel Muñoz and Jose Antonio Rueda claimed the remaining direct Q2 places, with Rueda’s final-lap improvement leaving Alberto Ferrandez outside the cut by 0.057 seconds.

Injuries end Veijer and Piqueras weekends

Collin Veijer and Angel Piqueras were ruled out following separate Turn 6 crashes in FP1. Veijer fractured his left collarbone only days after finishing second at Misano, while Piqueras sustained a small fracture in his right hand. Both were set to return to Spain for surgery.

Misano’s other podium finisher, Barry Baltus, also had a difficult Friday. A late fall at Turn 2a denied the Belgian an opportunity to improve into the top 14, leaving him 23rd and facing Q1.

Joe Roberts and Aron Canet were 16th and 17th, while Sergio Garcia’s afternoon was compromised by a technical issue that prevented his planned tyre change. He finished 24th.

Moto2 qualifying begins at 2140 AEST on Saturday.

Moto2 Friday Practice Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	F. Salac	Kal	1m32.402	258.9
2	I. Ortola	Kal	+0.097	258.0
3	D. Holgado	Kal	+0.198	258.9
4	T. Arbolino	Kal	+0.223	261.8
5	I. Guevara	Bos	+0.236	260.8
6	D. Alonso	Kal	+0.254	260.8
7	A. Escrig	For	+0.272	259.9
8	M. Gonzalez	Kal	+0.359	258.9
9	C. Vietti	Bos	+0.393	260.8
10	A. Lopez	Kal	+0.545	257.1
11	M. Aji	Kal	+0.567	258.0
12	S. Agius	Kal	+0.626	254.4
13	D. Muñoz	Kal	+0.750	258.0
14	J. Rueda	Kal	+0.761	258.9
15	A. Ferrandez	Bos	+0.818	258.9
16	J. Roberts	Kal	+0.900	258.9
17	A. Canet	Bos	+0.947	259.9
18	X. Zurutuza	For	+1.054	260.8
19	L. Lunetta	Bos	+1.128	258.9
20	A. Sasaki	Kal	+1.264	260.8
21	D. Öncü	Bos	+1.266	259.9
22	T. Furusato	Kal	+1.275	260.8
23	B. Baltus	Kal	+1.285	256.2
24	S. Garcia	Kal	+1.369	258.0
25	Z. vd Goorbergh	Kal	+1.400	259.9
26	M. Ramirez	For	+1.401	258.0
27	A. Huertas	Kal	+1.405	256.2

Moto2 Championship Standings

Pos	Rider	Points
1	M. Gonzalez	232.5
2	I. Guevara	185
3	I. Ortola	157.5
4	S. Agius	149
5	D. Alonso	139
6	D. Holgado	137
7	C. Vietti	123
8	F. Salac	108
9	A. Lopez	100.5
10	C. Veijer	75.5
11	D. Muñoz	63
12	A. Escrig	63
13	T. Arbolino	53.5
14	B. Baltus	52
15	J. Roberts	43
16	A. Huertas	37
17	D. Öncü	31.5
18	J. Rueda	27
19	A. Sasaki	19
20	A. Ferrandez	17.5
21	L. Lunetta	17
22	T. Furusato	15
23	A. Canet	14.5
24	Z. vd Goorbergh	12
25	S. Garcia	11
26	A. Piqueras	4
27	M. Aji	3

---

Moto3

Joel Kelso led the Honda contingent into Q2 on Friday at the Red Bull Ring, but KTM’s strength was impossible to miss: every one of the 11 riders ahead of the Australian was aboard KTM machinery.

Kelso’s 1m40.483s placed him 12th, 0.815 seconds from pacesetter David Almansa. He was just five thousandths behind Adrian Cruces and nine thousandths ahead of fellow Honda rider Casey O’Gorman, with Adrian Fernandez taking the last direct Q2 position.

The margin was tight, but the outcome keeps Kelso clear of a potentially awkward Q1 featuring returning race winner David Muñoz, last year’s Austrian polesitter Valentin Perrone and championship top-five contender Marco Morelli.

It also builds on Kelso’s seventh at Misano, where he was again the leading Honda. The next challenge is finding enough pace to move closer to the podium contenders.

Almansa quick from the outset

David Almansa topped both sessions and finished Practice with a 1m39.668s, just 29 thousandths outside Maximo Quiles’ existing lap record. The championship leader was second, 0.195 seconds behind, and the only other rider with a valid lap below 1m40s.

Almansa’s speed was established well before the final attacks. His opening run included four valid laps in the 1m39s, including a 1m39.765s that would itself have been enough to top the final classification.

He achieved that without heading the speed trap. Almansa’s maximum of 218.8 km/h matched Kelso’s, while Ryusei Yamanaka recorded the session’s highest speed at 224.2 km/h. Straight-line speed alone was clearly not deciding the order.

Friday continued Almansa’s strong form, but Sunday remains the real test. He arrived 107 points behind Quiles after losing the Misano victory by just 0.021 seconds when the Aspar rider passed him on the run to the flag.

Alvaro Carpe finished third, just over half a second from Almansa, followed by Matteo Bertelle and Brian Uriarte. Bertelle recovered from a late Turn 3 fall to record his fastest lap on his final tour.

Hakim Danish was sixth despite also suffering a late crash, ahead of Joel Esteban, Rico Salmela, Scott Ogden, Yamanaka and Cruces.

KTM has a title within reach

That sweep of the top 11 came at an appropriate moment for KTM. The Austrian manufacturer arrived with a 173-point lead over Honda in the Moto3 Constructors’ World Championship and can secure its eighth title in the class on Sunday if that advantage grows to at least 175 points.

Friday’s order suggests Honda has a substantial task ahead, although only the race will determine whether KTM can complete the job at home.

David Muñoz returned from injury in 15th, missing direct Q2 qualification by 0.041 seconds. Guido Pini was 16th, followed by Perrone, Veda Pratama and Morelli, ensuring there will be several familiar front-running names contesting Q1.

Moto3 Practice Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	D. Almansa	KTM	1m39.668	218.8
2	M. Quiles	KTM	+0.195	220.1
3	A. Carpe	KTM	+0.503	222.2
4	M. Bertelle	KTM	+0.522	220.1
5	B. Uriarte	KTM	+0.610	216.2
6	H. Danish	KTM	+0.621	221.5
7	J. Esteban	KTM	+0.648	222.9
8	R. Salmela	KTM	+0.722	223.6
9	S. Ogden	KTM	+0.725	220.8
10	R. Yamanaka	KTM	+0.752	224.2
11	A. Cruces	KTM	+0.810	222.9
12	J. Kelso	Hon	+0.815	218.8
13	C. O’Gorman	Hon	+0.824	220.8
14	A. Fernandez	Hon	+0.863	218.1
15	D. Muñoz	KTM	+0.904	223.6
16	G. Pini	Hon	+0.994	219.5
17	V. Perrone	KTM	+1.084	221.5
18	V. Pratama	Hon	+1.105	218.1
19	M. Morelli	KTM	+1.232	221.5
20	J. Rios	Hon	+1.368	220.1
21	Z. Mitani	Hon	+1.546	220.8
22	R. Moodley	KTM	+1.724	222.2
23	E. O’Shea	Hon	+1.798	220.8
24	M. Uriarte	KTM	+1.803	221.5
25	L. Rammerstorfer	Hon	+1.998	217.5
26	N. Carraro	Hon	+3.121	218.8

Moto3 Championship Standings

Pos	Rider	Points
1	M. Quiles	281
2	D. Almansa	174
3	A. Carpe	159
4	B. Uriarte	154
5	M. Morelli	138
6	V. Perrone	114
7	V. Pratama	97
8	H. Danish	94
9	M. Bertelle	84
10	R. Salmela	70
11	A. Cruces	64
12	J. Kelso	62
13	G. Pini	59
14	A. Fernandez	59
15	J. Esteban	59
16	C. O’Gorman	59
17	D. Muñoz	52
18	E. O’Shea	52
19	J. Rios	49
20	S. Ogden	29
21	R. Yamanaka	25
22	D. Gonzalez	7
23	M. Uriarte	6
24	C. Buchanan	5
25	L. Rammerstorfer	4
26	Z. Mitani	2
27	R. Moodley	1
28	K. Singhapong	1
29	N. Carraro	0
30	L. Abruzzo	0
31	E. Gutierrez	0

2026 MotoGP Calendar

Rnd	Date	Event	Circuit
1	01 Mar	Thai	Chang International Circuit
2	22 Mar	Brazil*	Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna
3	29 Mar	US	Circuit of the Americas
4	26 Apr	Spain**	Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto
5	10 May	France	Le Mans
6	17 May	Catalonia	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
7	31 May	Italy	Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello
8	07 Jun	Hungary	Balaton Park Circuit
9	21 Jun	Czech	Automotodrom Brno
10	28 Jun	Netherlands	TT Circuit Assen
11	12 Jul	Germany	Sachsenring
12	09 Aug	GB	Silverstone Circuit
13	30 Aug	Aragon	MotorLand Aragon
14	13 Sep	San Marino	Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
15	20 Sep	Austria	Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
16	04 Oct	Japan	Mobility Resort Motegi
17	11 Oct	Indonesia	Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit
18	25 Oct	Australia	Phillip Island
19	01 Nov	Malaysia	Petronas Sepang International Circuit
20	08 Nov	Qatar	Lusail International Circuit
21	22 Nov	Portugal	Autodromo Internacional do Algarve
22	29 Nov	Valencia	Circuit Ricardo Tormo

RelatedPosts

Fergus Cameron dies aged 76: Remembering a Phillip Island stalwart

September 17, 2026

Red Bull Ring awaits: Marquez versus Aprilia, Acosta chasing home glory for KTM

September 17, 2026