MotoGP Qatar 2026, FP1: Márquez ahead of Bezzecchi, Martín fifth

Marc Márquez opens the Qatar weekend as the leader in FP1 at Lusail. The Ducati rider laps in 1'52"278 and leaves Marco Bezzecchi 0"110 behind, in a session run in 33 degrees in the air and 39 on the track, under the sun and on a circuit still covered in sand, according to Motorsport.com España. For the Spaniard it is the first session of his possible title-clinching weekend: at Lusail he has the first chance to seal the World Championship as early as Sunday.

Behind them, Fabio Di Giannantonio sets the third-fastest time, while Pedro Acosta finishes fourth before stopping with a technical problem on his KTM, as reported by MotoGP.com. Márquez sets the benchmark without changing tyres and Bezzecchi stays close for almost the entire session, but in the end the championship leader keeps the top spot. The first Friday session shows that the battle remains tight in the opening laps of the weekend.

Martín keeps the title battle open

The name that weighs most heavily in the title race is however also that of Jorge Martín. The Aprilia rider passes the medical examination at the circuit before the start and gets the all-clear to race the entire Grand Prix, 13 days after the crash in the Sprint Race at Phillip Island and the fracture of the distal radius in his right forearm. On track he finishes fifth at 0"734 from Márquez, after completing 16 laps and with a better response than at Sepang.

The Spaniard on the Aprilia remains competitive in direction changes, but in the hardest braking zones he is still paying for the injury to his right hand, the braking hand, as Paolo Bonora explained according to Motorsport.com España. Mundo Deportivo also notes that if Martín scores 8 points over the whole weekend, that would not be enough for Márquez to clinch the title. Friday at Lusail therefore leaves the World Championship still open.