The Spanish fans had flocked to the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and were delighted to see Acosta set the fastest time in Practice. Álex Márquez, who had finished first in FP1, was close behind in second. It was a rollercoaster day full of surprises, heartbreak, elation and prayers that they rain wouldn’t come. We’ve rounded up all of the action from the first day of the 2026 Catalan GP weekend.
Free Practice 1
It was a chilly morning at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, and it was KTM’s Pedro Acosta who kicked things off early, showing good pace and setting a time of 1:40.388. His time was soon beaten, as Jorge Martín slipped by to the top of the table, setting a 1:40.331. It was a relatively quiet and calm start to the FP1 session. Martín improved on his own time with around half an hour left in the session. There was also some chopping and changing of the order throughout the field – although nothing particularly remarkable to snatch anyone’s attention.
Things finally started to heat up with 20 minutes remaining on the clock, with Martín still at the top of the table. However, as he made his way through Turn 12, disaster struck. The front end of his Aprilia slipped out from under him, and he skidded off the track and into the gravel. As Martín got to his feet, he was clearly in some discomfort, but managed to make his way back to the paddock and back out for the practice starts.
Around the same time, Acosta crashed at Turn 2. He was followed at the same spot just a few moments later by teammate Brad Binder. As FP1 reached the closing stages, Álex Márquez switched onto a fresh medium rear tyre. This proved to be a brilliant move, posting a time of 1:39.950 on his final lap. At the end of FP1, it was Márquez, Martín and Fabio Di Giannantonio in the top three. Acosta, Bezzecchi finished fourth and fifth respectively, whilst Bastianini, Aldeguer, Miller, Morbidelli and Zarco rounded out the top 10.
Practice
By the time the Practice session rolled around, there were some seriously dark clouds in the Catalunya sky. Rain was very much a real threat, and riders wasted no time in getting out on track. It was reported that Jorge Martín was suffering from a minor concussion after his FP1 crash. The Aprilia rider’s pace wasn’t up to par, and a late second crash of the day came at Turn 2, ending his hopes of making it to Q2.
Marco Bezzecchi, who has to work hard to stay ahead in the championship this weekend, topped the timings 15 minutes into the session with a 1:39.062. He remained at the top for the majority of the session, but with around 16 minutes left on the clock, a new challenger emerged. KTM’s Brad Binder made a surprising jump to the top with a 1:38.970, brushing off his crash earlier in the session. The celebration was short-lived however, as teammate Acosta was having none of it and set a time of 1:38.710.
Álex Márquez finished second fastest, knocking Binder down to third, whilst Raúl Fernández managed to snag fourth for Trackhouse. Johann Zarco managed a respectable fifth, ahead of Di Giannantonio, whilst Bezzecchi was shuffled down the order into seventh. Joan Mir held on to eighth, despite a crash in the closing stages, with Jack Miller and Fabio Quartararo rounding out the top 10 in a brilliant result for the two Yamaha teams.
Saturday Promises Plenty Of Action
Martín’s crash means that the Spaniard will make his first Q1 appearance of the 2026 season, having finished 17th. With Marc Márquez absent due to injury, it was a poor day for Ducati as Pecco Bagnaia only managed 12th. Le Mans podium finisher Ai Ogura will also have to fight his way out of Q1. An early crash somewhat ruined the remainder of his session, and he finished 13th. Returning KTM rider Maverick Viñales may only have finished 20th, but it could still be considered a good day. He finished just 1.001 seconds off the pace at the end of the session.
Saturday’s qualifying sessions are set to bring thrills, spills and plenty of excitement. The top 10 riders from today’s Practice session were separated by just 0.269 seconds. This is the closest it has ever been in a MotoGP Practice session. There’ll undoubtedly be some tight battles in the Sprint too, especially if Martín manages to make it through to Q2. It’s going to be one mighty weekend in Catalunya, and we’re ready for it.
Feature image courtesy of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | Rob Gray (Polarity Photo)