Motegi (Japan) (AFP) – Jorge Martín reinforced his candidacy for the MotoGP title this Saturday by conquering pole position for the Japanese Grand Prix with a lap record in Motegi, ahead of his main rival, Marc Márquez, and Pedro Acosta, in an entirely Spanish front row.

First modification: 03/10/2026 - 06:04

The Aprilia rider set a new lap record for the circuit by stopping the clock at 1:42.371, enough to secure his second consecutive pole after the one he achieved in Austria.

Martín, who leads the championship with a 12-point advantage over Márquez, beat the current world champion by 0.110 seconds, while Acosta, winner of the Austrian Grand Prix, was just 0.122 seconds behind the best time.

The classification thus repeated a completely Spanish front row and confirmed the dominance of the three drivers in a key weekend for the fight for the title.

"I didn't expect to fight for pole position. Maybe for the front row, but I was able to do a great lap, honestly," said Martín.

"I feel like we have great potential. The pace is really good," added the Aprilia rider, who had shown a discreet performance during the initial sessions before finding better sensations in qualifying.

Márquez also rode at record pace, although he made some mistakes and went off track during the session.

"Too many mistakes," he acknowledged. "But it's okay. I'm happy. Getting out of the front row was the main goal."

The Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) will start from fourth position, followed by the Spanish Álex Márquez and the Italian Fabio Di Giannantonio, both on Ducati.

The third row will be made up of Enea Bastianini (KTM), Raúl Fernández (Aprilia) and Diogo Moreira (Honda), while the Japanese Ai Ogura, one of the main local hopes, will start from the fourth row.

The sprint race will be held later on Saturday, while the Japanese Grand Prix will be held on Sunday.

© 2026 AFP

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