Pedro Acosta was the fastest rider on Friday (15) during the free practice sessions for the Catalonia GP, the sixth round of the 2026 MotoGP season. In the last of the two sessions held that day at the Circuit de Barcelona, Spain, the KTM rider recorded his best lap time of 1min38s710, securing a direct spot in the final qualifying round this Saturday.
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The second position went to Álex Márquez, a Ducati rider from Gresini who finished just 0.018 seconds behind Acosta’s time. Brad Binder, with the other official KTM on the grid, was the third fastest of the day, followed by Raúl Fernández, fourth with an Aprilia from Trackhouse. The group of the top five on Friday and the second activity of the weekend also included Johann Zarco, with a Honda from LCR.
Fabio Di Giannantonio, a VR46 rider and Ducati satellite team member, recorded the sixth best time of the day, finishing just ahead of Marco Bezzecchi, seventh on the timesheet with Aprilia and the championship leader. Joan Mir, with a Honda, was eighth, while Jack Miller, with a Yamaha from Pramac, recorded the ninth time. The top ten list was completed by Fabio Quartararo, with a Yamaha from the official team.
The session had some disappointments. Francesco Bagnaia was only 12th with Ducati, just ahead of Ai Ogura, a Trackhouse rider who ended up 13th. Jorge Martín, coming off a win in France with Aprilia, recorded only the 17th time. Meanwhile, Diogo Moreira, the only Brazilian on the grid, was 14th with a Honda from LCR. All will advance to the first qualifying round.
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The session saw some crashes. The first was suffered by Ai Ogura, who lost control of the Aprilia prepared by Trackhouse at turn 2 of the Catalan circuit, with 28 minutes remaining in the session. Then, with 16 minutes left, Álex Rins fell at turn 5 with the Yamaha bike. In the final moments, Joan Mir slipped with the Honda at turn 11, followed shortly by Jorge Martín at turn 2 with the Aprilia.
MotoGP continues its schedule in Barcelona this Saturday (16), starting with a free practice at 5:10 AM, followed by qualifying at 5:50 AM. The Sprint takes place the same day, starting at 10:00 AM. The Catalonia GP will be held on Sunday, starting at 9:00 AM.
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