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Martin makes it look easy as Acosta throws away Austrian Sprint win

Jorge Martin made his charge from eighth look effortless as Pedro Acosta threw away the Austrian Sprint lead. The lap times reveal a closer contest than the gap suggested, setting up a Sunday showdown where tyre life and fuel management could prove decisive. Plus Moto2 and Moto3 qualifying, with Senna Agius and Joel Kelso.

Trev by Trev
September 20, 2026
in MotoGP, Motorcycle News, Motorcycle Racing

MotoGP 2026

Round 15 – Red Bull Ring – Saturday

Jorge Martin made passing some of the best riders in the world look almost routine as he charged from eighth to victory in a thrilling Austrian MotoGP Sprint. Pedro Acosta led until a costly mistake with three laps remaining, but Martin’s extraordinary recovery had already delivered a warning to Ducati and Marc Marquez, and the lap times suggest the KTM’s advantage was less comfortable than it looked.

Marquez finished second ahead of Marco Bezzecchi, with Ai Ogura making it three Aprilias in the first four. Filip Salac and Brian Uriarte secured record-breaking poles in Moto2 and Moto3 respectively, while Senna Agius faces a recovery ride from 15th and Joel Kelso will start seventh as the leading Honda.


MotoGP Sprint Race

MotoGP Sprint — Martin charges back as Acosta crashes

Jorge Martin needed a helping hand to win the Austrian Sprint, but nobody who watched his charge through the field could dismiss this as a victory that simply fell into his lap.

Jorge Martin jumps with both fists raised during the Austrian Sprint podium celebrations.
Jorge Martin celebrates a fourth Sprint victory of 2026 after a remarkable recovery from eighth.

The Aprilia rider made recovering from eighth look ridiculously straightforward. Bagnaia, Ogura, Alex Marquez, Bezzecchi and finally Marc Marquez were picked off with the sort of authority that should have Ducati scratching their heads and poring over data and video overnight. Martin made it look easy.

Pedro Acosta had escaped while Martin and Marquez tangled in the opening exchanges, and for much of the Sprint the KTM looked home and hosed. But the timing sheets tell a more nuanced story: Acosta had a substantial track-position advantage, while Martin was frequently matching or beating his lap times despite working his way through traffic.

Acosta lost the front at Turn 2a on lap 12 of 14, remounted and subsequently retired. Martin completed the job to win by 1.026 seconds over Marquez, with Marco Bezzecchi another 0.649 seconds behind. Martin now leads the championship on 286 points, three ahead of Marquez, while Bezzecchi remains third on 248.

Jorge Martin bites his gold Sprint medal and raises one finger at the Red Bull Ring.
Martin’s 20th career Sprint win puts him three points ahead of Marc Marquez in the championship.

From the holeshot to eighth

MotoGP riders accelerate away at the start of the Austrian Sprint, with spectators behind them.
The field gets away at the Red Bull Ring, with Martin initially converting pole into the lead.

Martin initially converted pole into the lead at Turn 1, but a wide exit gave Marquez the opportunity to attack on the inside approaching the chicane. Neither rider was inclined to concede, and Martin lost his mid-corner speed and drive as Marquez came through.

Jorge Martin runs wide of the pursuing MotoGP pack during the opening corners in Austria.
Martin’s wide exit from Turn 1 gave Marquez an opening as the leading group charged towards the chicane.

Both survived, but Martin was down to eighth by Turn 3. Marquez’s spell in front was even shorter: he ran slightly wide at Turn 3 and Acosta forced his way through. The KTM rider made full use of the opportunity to put his head down while his rivals sorted themselves out.

Pedro Acosta leads Marc Marquez, Marco Bezzecchi and Alex Marquez through a Red Bull Ring corner.
Acosta seized his opportunity while the opening exchanges left Martin with a recovery job.

Martin recovered past Brad Binder before the end of the first lap, then dispatched Francesco Bagnaia on lap three, Ogura on lap four and Alex Marquez on lap five. Bezzecchi was next, at Turn 1 on lap seven, before Martin repeated the move on Marc Marquez one lap later.

Jorge Martin leads Marc Marquez and a closely grouped field through a corner early in the Austrian Sprint.
The early order did not last: Martin would have to work back past both Marquez brothers, Bezzecchi, Ogura and Bagnaia.

Six overtakes had taken Martin from eighth to second before Acosta’s mistake promoted him to the lead. The impression was of a rider who could choose his moment and make it stick, rather than someone having to spend several laps plotting each pass.

Vertical view of Jorge Martin leading Marc Marquez and a tightly packed line of MotoGP riders.
Martin, Marquez, Bezzecchi, Acosta and Ogura in the opening exchanges of an eventful Sprint.

The gap was bigger than the pace difference

Pedro Acosta corners alone on his KTM with a large stretch of empty track behind him.
Acosta’s early escape created a substantial cushion, but Martin’s subsequent lap times were much closer than the gap suggested.

Acosta deserved credit for exploiting the opening. He completed lap one 1.7 seconds ahead of Martin, then added another second on lap two with the fastest lap of the race, a 1m28.603s. Martin was seventh, and already 2.694 seconds behind.

From there, however, Martin was faster than Acosta on seven of the next nine laps. Across laps three to eleven combined, Martin was 0.241 seconds quicker, despite making five of his six recovery passes during that period. Acosta’s early escape had given him a valuable cushion; but he was not faster than Martin.

Martin’s consecutive 1m28.749s, 1m28.770s and 1m28.940s on laps three to five were particularly telling. Only he and Acosta broke 1m29s during the Sprint. Against Marquez, Martin was faster on every lap from three through eleven, gaining 2.754 seconds over that nine-lap stretch.

Jorge Martin leans his Aprilia through a corner beside the Red Bull Ring kerbing.
Martin was faster than Marc Marquez on every lap from three through eleven, despite fighting his way forward.

There were still swings in the contest. Acosta gained seven-tenths on lap eight, when Martin passed Marquez, extending his advantage from 2.123 to 2.822 seconds. Martin then clawed back time on each of the next three laps, cutting that to 2.453 seconds at the end of lap eleven.

Could Martin have caught him? It was not completely out of the question if Acosta’s tyre performance had deteriorated sharply, but the existing rate of closure was insufficient. However, if not for that turn one incident on lap one this could have been a very different fight.

Pedro Acosta rides his KTM past red-and-white trackside barriers at the Red Bull Ring.
Acosta still led by 2.453 seconds at the end of lap eleven. Martin was closing, but needed a much bigger pace advantage to catch him.
Jorge Martin

“I’m very happy with my sprint and the pace I had. I enjoyed a good start, but when Marc passed me, I lost a lot of places. From then on, I tried to stay focused. I was really concentrating and overtook a rider almost every lap. My arm is fine. I struggled more with it today than yesterday, but that’s normal – it’s just fatigue. Just as my neck gets tired, for example, so does my arm.”

Rear view of Jorge Martin leaning his Aprilia over the red-and-white kerbing in Austria.
Martin completed six passes to reach second before Acosta’s fall handed him the lead.

Acosta owns costly mistake

Acosta attributed the crash to losing concentration while checking information on his dashboard and missing his braking point. He had been chasing his second Sprint victory of the season after winning in Thailand, and will have another opportunity on Sunday to secure his first premier-class Grand Prix win.

Pedro Acosta

“To start from the front row at the team’s home GP was nice. In the Sprint I was riding in a really good mode, the pace was good and I was just checking the laps on the dash and how it was with the fueling and I f**ked it up. I lost my braking point and that was it. I lost a bit of focus. Thankfully tomorrow we will have another chance. We will have the same approach. I have nothing to lose.”

For Marquez, second limited the championship damage to three points. He briefly reduced Martin’s advantage late in the race but could not mount a challenge for the win.

Marc Marquez

“Today we achieved the main goal, which was to finish right behind Jorge (Martín) with no other rider in between. The first two laps were intense, then I simply kept my pace and scored the best possible result, as we are struggling a bit here. We need to keep working in order to improve in some specific areas of the track and, if we manage to do so, everything will become a whole lot simpler. Tomorrow’s race will be a long one and we’ll have to be careful with tyre wear.”

Marc Marquez waves while holding his silver Sprint medal on the Austrian podium.
Marquez limited the championship damage to three points with second place in the Sprint.

Aprilia takes the points and the milestones

Martin’s fourth Sprint win of 2026, following Austin, Le Mans and Silverstone, was the 20th of his career. He is now just one short of Marquez’s record of 21. Marquez retains a similarly narrow advantage in Sprint podiums, leading Martin 38 to 37.

Bezzecchi’s third place delivered a fourth consecutive Sprint podium for the first time in his career. He stayed close to Marquez but said he never quite had the feeling required to get into position for an overtake.

Earlier in the day, Bezzecchi received an official warning for failing to demonstrate a clear reduction in speed under yellow flags in marshalling sector two during FP2. It was recorded as his first offence.

Marco Bezzecchi accelerates over the kerbing on his Aprilia with the front wheel raised.
Bezzecchi finished third for his fourth consecutive Sprint podium, having received a yellow-flag warning in FP2.

Ogura continued his impressive return from injury with fourth. The Trackhouse rider passed Alex Marquez on lap 11 and gained another position when Acosta fell, completing an Aprilia 1-3-4. Ogura and Acosta are now tied on 209 championship points, with Ogura taking fifth in the standings on countback.

Aprilia’s success also changed the constructors’ standings. Martin’s win moved the manufacturer onto 422 points, one ahead of Ducati, while the factory squad celebrated its best Austrian Sprint result and Aprilia’s sixth Sprint victory of the season.

Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin spray champagne during the Austrian Sprint celebrations.
Martin and Bezzecchi celebrate first and third as Aprilia moves one point ahead of Ducati in the constructors’ standings.

The morning had already brought a milestone. Martin’s 1m27.917s secured pole by just 0.015 seconds over Marquez, with Acosta only 0.071 seconds away in third. It gave Aprilia four consecutive MotoGP poles for the first time and its eighth pole of the season.

Martin now has four premier-class poles at the Red Bull Ring, more than at any other circuit. Bezzecchi, Ogura and Alex Marquez complete the second row for Sunday’s race.

Aprilia riders and team members pose together celebrating their Austrian Sprint results.
A successful Saturday for Aprilia: pole position, Sprint victory and three bikes in the first four.

Bagnaia improves with Sunday in mind

Alex Marquez finished fifth, 0.695 seconds ahead of Bagnaia, who followed Friday’s 18th in Practice by progressing through Q1, qualifying seventh and taking sixth in the Sprint.

It was Bagnaia’s best qualifying result since Assen and his best Sprint finish since winning at Brno. His tyre choice also made the performance relevant to Sunday: Bagnaia used the medium rear, while the five riders ahead of him raced on the soft.

Francesco Bagnaia

“We’re doing a good job. Today we improved in the time attack, while in the Sprint we mainly worked towards tomorrow’s race by choosing the medium tyre, as we know how important it’ll be to manage tyre wear. I think it was the correct decision. It’s true that we struggled in the opening laps, but then the pace wasn’t so bad. The feeling has improved and now I hope we can make another step forward – with regards to grip and traction on corner exit – ahead of tomorrow.”

Francesco Bagnaia corners on his factory Ducati with another rider following behind.
Bagnaia finished sixth on the medium rear, gathering information for Sunday while the top five used the soft.

Johann Zarco converted tenth on the grid into seventh and top Honda honours, ahead of Fermin Aldeguer and Binder. Zarco passed Binder on lap 11, with Aldeguer also getting ahead of the South African on lap 13 to leave KTM with the final point.

Brad Binder leads Johann Zarco and a group of riders through a Red Bull Ring corner.
Zarco passed Binder on lap eleven and went on to finish seventh; Binder took the final point in ninth.

Binder reported a marked increase in rear-wheel spin after around eight laps, a concern with twice the distance to cover on Sunday. Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the top ten, followed by Enea Bastianini and Fabio Quartararo, the leading Yamaha.

Luca Marini, Pol Espargaro and Takaaki Nakagami finished 13th to 15th. Marini and Espargaro also used the medium rear to gather information for the Grand Prix. Diogo Moreira and Raul Fernandez completed their double Long Lap penalties for jump starts and finished 16th and 19th respectively. Franco Morbidelli joined Acosta on the retirement list after crashing on lap 11.

Fermin Aldeguer leads Brad Binder, Johann Zarco and a line of riders through the Austrian Sprint.
Aldeguer, Binder and Zarco were among those contesting the final Sprint points.

Miller seeks acceleration gains

Jack Miller finished 20th, 26.053 seconds behind Martin, after qualifying 21st. The Australian felt the Yamaha’s handling had improved, but acceleration and electronics remained the priorities for overnight work.

Jack Miller

“The bike itself was behaving better today and it was definitely an improvement compared with yesterday. From a setup point of view, I felt much better on the bike and I could brake late and do what I needed to do. It wasn’t an enjoyable race, to be honest, and we need to understand why we have been struggling with this since Friday. We’re going to have to make some significant changes tonight and try to find a way to improve the acceleration for tomorrow.”

Pramac team-mate Toprak Razgatlioglu finished 17th, just 0.090 seconds ahead of Alex Rins. All four Yamahas finished outside the points.

Sunday promises a very different test

Martin will arrive bursting with confidence, Acosta will be desperate to put right a race he should have won, and Marquez has reason to believe Ducati can be more competitive over the longer distance.

Earlier in the weekend, Marquez had pointed to the Ducati working better over longer runs with the specification of rear Michelin brought to Austria than it did on short runs. That offers encouragement for Sunday, although Saturday’s evidence leaves Ducati with plenty to investigate before it can assume the balance will swing back its way.

Tyre life in the latter stages is shaping as a critical factor. Binder reported increasing wheelspin after around eight laps of the Sprint, while Bagnaia, Marini and Pol Espargaro used the medium rear to gather information for Sunday. Doubling the distance to 28 laps changes the demands considerably.

Fuel range is another major consideration at the Red Bull Ring. Acosta admitted he had been checking his dashboard and fuelling information before missing his braking point, while Ogura highlighted both tyre and fuel management as challenges for Sunday. The numbers underline the problem: the Grand Prix doubles the Sprint distance from 14 to 28 laps, but the maximum fuel allowance rises from 12 to 22 litres — only 83.3 per cent more fuel for 100 per cent more racing. That equates to an 8.3 per cent reduction in the maximum fuel available per racing lap. Actual consumption will vary, but the tighter allowance adds another complication: riders must find a pace that preserves both their tyres and enough fuel to reach the flag.

Nor does this have to be a three-rider contest. Bezzecchi stayed close to Marquez throughout the Sprint, Ogura has returned from injury straight into contention, and Bagnaia’s medium-tyre run gives him useful experience of the longer-race option. Alex Marquez was also within five seconds of the win. Any change in the order as the tyres wear could bring more riders into play.

Martin has delivered the confidence, Acosta the motivation and Ducati the questions. Sunday will tell us who has the answers when the grip begins to disappear.

The 28-lap Grand Prix starts at 1400 local time, or 2200 AEST. The forecast points to dry conditions and a track temperature around 34 degrees.

Red Bull Ring Sprint Race Results

Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
J. Martin
Apr
20m57.387
2
M. Marquez
Duc
+1.026
3
M. Bezzecchi
Apr
+1.675
4
A. Ogura
Apr
+3.495
5
A. Marquez
Duc
+4.447
6
F. Bagnaia
Duc
+5.142
7
J. Zarco
Hon
+5.895
8
F. Aldeguer
Duc
+6.810
9
B. Binder
KTM
+7.233
10
F. Di Giannantonio
Duc
+9.228
11
E. Bastianini
KTM
+11.580
12
F. Quartararo
Yam
+13.050
13
L. Marini
Hon
+15.076
14
P. Espargaro
KTM
+18.373
15
T. Nakagami
Hon
+19.201
16
D. Moreira
Hon
+20.503
17
T. Razgatlioglu
Yam
+20.964
18
A. Rins
Yam
+21.054
19
R. Fernandez
Apr
+22.646
20
J. Miller
Yam
+26.053
Not Classified
DNF
P. Acosta
KTM
+1 lap
DNF
F. Morbidelli
Duc
+4 laps

MotoGP Championship Standings

Pos
Rider
Points
1
J. Martin
286
2
M. Marquez
283
3
M. Bezzecchi
248
4
F. Di Giannantonio
223
5
A. Ogura
209
6
P. Acosta
209
7
R. Fernandez
199
8
A. Marquez
158
9
F. Bagnaia
147
10
F. Aldeguer
107
11
L. Marini
96
12
E. Bastianini
92
13
B. Binder
84
14
D. Moreira
64
15
F. Quartararo
61
16
F. Morbidelli
56
17
J. Zarco
39
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
26
T. Nakagami
0
27
C. Crutchlow
0
28
J. Folger
0
29
L. Savadori
0
30
M. Pirro
0

MotoGP Qualifying

Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
Speed
1
J. Martin
Apr
1m27.917
315.7
2
M. Marquez
Duc
+0.015
313.0
3
P. Acosta
KTM
+0.071
320.0
4
M. Bezzecchi
Apr
+0.249
318.5
5
A. Ogura
Apr
+0.533
324.3
6
A. Marquez
Duc
+0.556
317.1
7
F. Bagnaia
Duc
+0.610
315.7
8
F. Di Giannantonio
Duc
+0.695
315.7
9
F. Quartararo
Yam
+0.706
311.6
10
J. Zarco
Hon
+0.715
317.1
11
B. Binder
KTM
+0.812
320.0
12
F. Aldeguer
Duc
+0.945
311.6
Q1
13
R. Fernandez
Apr
+0.954
311.6
14
P. Espargaro
KTM
+1.055
314.4
15
L. Marini
Hon
+1.193
313.0
16
D. Moreira
Hon
+1.237
314.4
17
E. Bastianini
KTM
+1.248
317.1
18
T. Nakagami
Hon
+1.525
314.4
19
F. Morbidelli
Duc
+1.637
314.4
20
A. Rins
Yam
+1.746
310.3
21
J. Miller
Yam
+1.772
310.3
22
T. Razgatlioglu
Yam
+2.139
309.0

Moto2 Qualifying

Salac breaks record again for pole

Filip Salac backed up his Friday pace with a new Red Bull Ring lap record and his first Moto2 pole since the 2023 Portuguese Grand Prix.

The American Racing rider’s 1m32.381s lowered his own Friday benchmark by 0.021 seconds, putting him 0.121 seconds ahead of championship leader Manuel Gonzalez. Alex Escrig completed the front row on the Forward, only 0.025 seconds behind Gonzalez.

Manuel Gonzalez, Filip Salac and Alex Escrig pose with their helmets after Moto2 qualifying in Austria.
Moto2 front row, left to right: Manuel Gonzalez, polesitter Filip Salac and Alex Escrig.

It was Salac’s second Moto2 pole and made him the 11th different polesitter in the class this season. His timing sheet also showed the pace was repeatable: he followed his pole lap with a 1m32.391s, just ten thousandths slower and still comfortably quick enough for first on the grid.

Gonzalez made his biggest improvement during his second run, progressing from 1m32.865s to 1m32.502s. His final attempt began with his quickest first sector but ultimately fell short of that earlier lap.

Ivan Ortola heads the second row ahead of Izan Guevara and David Alonso. Guevara qualified 0.288 seconds off pole and remains 47.5 points behind Gonzalez in the championship heading into Sunday’s race.

Alonso Lopez edged Q1 graduate Barry Baltus for seventh by a single thousandth, with Jose Antonio Rueda and Daniel Holgado completing the top ten. Rueda’s ninth represents a 20-place qualifying improvement over Misano.

Agius unhurt after early qualifying crash

Senna Agius will start 15th after a heavy crash at Turn 2b ended his Q2 session almost as soon as it had begun. The Australian had only one completed flying lap on the timing sheet, a 1m33.309s that left him 0.928 seconds from pole.

Agius reported poor rear grip from the beginning of the session but escaped injury. He faces a recovery ride from the fifth row.

Senna Agius

“Luckily, I’m okay. Now it’s time to put today behind us and go on the attack tomorrow from 15th on the grid. We’ll give it our all.”

Deniz Oncu, Celestino Vietti and Luca Lunetta occupy the three positions immediately ahead of Agius. Zonta van den Goorbergh, Daniel Munoz and Mario Aji completed the Q2 classification.

Alberto Ferrandez was ruled out of the race after fracturing his right collarbone in a late Q1 crash at Turn 9. The Pramac rider missed Q2 by just 0.020 seconds and was classified 19th, but is returning to Spain for surgery.

No penalties were issued in Moto2 across Saturday’s practice and qualifying sessions.

The 23-lap Moto2 race starts at 1215 local time on Sunday, or 2015 AEST.

Red Bull Ring Moto2 Qualifying Results

Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
Speed
1
F. Salac
Kal
1m32.381
259.9
2
M. Gonzalez
Kal
+0.121
265.6
3
A. Escrig
For
+0.146
257.1
4
I. Ortola
Kal
+0.213
262.7
5
I. Guevara
Bos
+0.288
263.7
6
D. Alonso
Kal
+0.373
262.7
7
A. Lopez
Kal
+0.461
262.7
8
B. Baltus
Kal
+0.462
257.1
9
J. Rueda
Kal
+0.504
261.8
10
D. Holgado
Kal
+0.511
258.0
11
T. Arbolino
Kal
+0.673
261.8
12
D. Öncü
Bos
+0.725
259.9
13
C. Vietti
Bos
+0.738
260.8
14
L. Lunetta
Bos
+0.823
261.8
15
S. Agius
Kal
+0.928
255.3
16
Z. vd Goorbergh
Kal
+0.932
258.0
17
D. Muñoz
Kal
+1.046
258.0
18
M. Aji
Kal
+1.058
256.2
Q1
19
A. Ferrandez
Bos
+0.867
260.8
20
A. Canet
Bos
+0.891
257.1
21
T. Furusato
Kal
+1.037
258.9
22
S. Garcia
Kal
+1.080
258.9
23
J. Roberts
Kal
+1.084
256.2
24
X. Zurutuza
For
+1.105
257.1
25
A. Sasaki
Kal
+1.167
257.1
26
M. Ramirez
For
+1.443
255.3
27
A. Huertas
Kal
+1.898
258.0

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
28
M. Ramirez
0
29
U. Orradre
0
30
J. Navarro
0
31
X. Zurutuza
0
32
D. Foggia
0
33
J. Roulstone
0
34
M. Pawelec
0

Moto3 Qualifying

Uriarte snatches pole – Kelso lead Honda

Brian Uriarte left his best until the final lap to deny David Almansa pole at the Red Bull Ring, setting a new Moto3 lap record of 1m39.544s.

The KTM Ajo rider beat Almansa by 0.064 seconds to claim his second pole of the season and his career. Alvaro Carpe rescued third with a late effort of his own, giving Ajo two bikes on the front row at KTM’s home Grand Prix.

David Almansa, Brian Uriarte and Alvaro Carpe pose with their helmets after Austrian Moto3 qualifying.
Moto3 front row, left to right: David Almansa, polesitter Brian Uriarte and Alvaro Carpe.

Uriarte’s qualifying sheet shows how much depended on that last attempt. He had only two valid flying laps, and his pole effort was 0.664 seconds quicker than his previous legal benchmark.

Brian Uriarte

“A bit shocking. I saw I was 0.1 up on my fast lap and didn’t think I’d be quicker but when I saw [the final time] I exploded. I’m really happy because we have been working hard. Yesterday I was struggling a bit with the pace…so, happy to achieve this Pole.”

Carpe’s escape was even more dramatic. Track-limits deletions left him with just one valid flying lap, but his final 1m39.859s was enough to secure third.

Almansa had stronger evidence of repeatable speed. Running through Q2 without a pit stop, he produced consecutive laps of 1m39.708s, 1m39.714s and 1m39.608s. Pole slipped away, but that consistency leaves him well placed for Sunday.

Championship leader Maximo Quiles qualified fourth, putting the top four riders in the standings into the first four grid positions. Matteo Bertelle and Scott Ogden complete the second row, separated by just ten thousandths.

Ogden will have to serve a Long Lap penalty in Sunday’s race after riding slowly on the racing line at Turn 9 during Q2 and disturbing Carpe. The stewards applied mitigation because of another rider’s actions, with the incident recorded as Ogden’s first offence of the season. He retains sixth on the grid.

Kelso heads the third row

Joel Kelso qualified seventh on the GRYD Racing Honda with a 1m40.511s, leading the Honda contingent behind a KTM sweep of the first six positions.

The Australian had only two valid flying laps, but they were remarkably close: 1m40.511s on his first run and 1m40.514s on his final attempt. Although he could not find an improvement with the second attack, Kelso heads the third row alongside Joel Esteban and David Munoz.

Munoz progressed through Q1 to qualify ninth on his return from injury, narrowly ahead of Rico Salmela. Eddie O’Shea took 11th on the second GRYD machine, giving the team the two highest-placed Hondas.

Valentin Perrone, Casey O’Gorman and Adrian Fernandez followed, while Hakim Danish, Adrian Cruces, Ryusei Yamanaka and Guido Pini rounded out Q2.

Sunday’s Moto3 race starts at 1100 local time, or 1900 AEST.

Red Bull Ring Moto3 Qualifying Results

Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
Speed
1
B. Uriarte
KTM
1m39.544
220.8
2
D. Almansa
KTM
+0.064
222.9
3
A. Carpe
KTM
+0.315
222.2
4
M. Quiles
KTM
+0.437
220.1
5
M. Bertelle
KTM
+0.773
220.8
6
S. Ogden
KTM
+0.783
220.1
7
J. Kelso
Hon
+0.967
218.1
8
J. Esteban
KTM
+1.020
223.6
9
D. Muñoz
KTM
+1.058
220.8
10
R. Salmela
KTM
+1.063
222.9
11
E. O’Shea
Hon
+1.180
219.5
12
V. Perrone
KTM
+1.220
220.1
13
C. O’Gorman
Hon
+1.234
219.5
14
A. Fernandez
Hon
+1.257
220.8
15
H. Danish
KTM
+1.440
219.5
16
A. Cruces
KTM
+1.533
222.2
17
R. Yamanaka
KTM
+1.631
220.8
18
G. Pini
Hon
+1.688
216.2
Q1
19
V. Pratama
Hon
+1.815
218.8
20
L. Rammerstorfer
Hon
+1.878
220.1
21
M. Uriarte
KTM
+1.967
216.2
22
Z. Mitani
Hon
+1.983
220.8
23
M. Morelli
KTM
+2.076
220.1
24
J. Rios
Hon
+2.141
215.5
25
R. Moodley
KTM
+2.179
216.2
26
N. Carraro
Hon
+2.667
216.8

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

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

 

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