Motogp: Bezzecchi holds off Marquez by 0.035s to take Buriram pole

Marco Bezzecchi kept his Buriram momentum and will start the opening round of the 2026 motogp season from pole position, but only after a dramatic closing run that ended with a crash at the final corner and a slim 0. 035s margin to Marc Marquez.

Bezzecchi edges Marquez by 0. 035s

Bezzecchi posted a 1: 28. 652 in Q2 to claim pole, with Marc Marquez timed at 1: 28. 687 — a 0. 035s gap that settled the shootout. In the closing minutes Marquez slammed three red sectors and pushed hard before losing a little margin in Sector 4, leaving him second on the grid. Bezzecchi, pushing to increase his advantage, then lost the front at Turn 12 and "hit the deck" at the final corner, but his lap stood.

Q2 drama and the front row

Raul Fernandez, the Q1 table-topper for the Trackhouse MotoGP Team, made it onto the front row in P3 after a 1: 28. 784 in the opening set of flying laps. That result left the front row made up of two Aprilias and one Ducati.

During Q2, episodes shifted the provisional order multiple times: Bezzecchi earlier put in a 1: 28. 914 while teammate Jorge Martin sat just 0. 087s behind, Pedro Acosta managed a 1: 29. 063 for P4 during one phase, and Fabio Di Giannantonio later improved into P4, which pushed Martin down to P5. Alex Marquez and others filled out the second row as the final runs unfolded.

Friday practice, a lap record claim and run-ins in mixed conditions

Bezzecchi had already topped Friday running, producing a standout lap that one account listed as a new Buriram best. That same practice was rain-affected, with grip varying sector to sector. In one summary of Friday, Marc Marquez looked ill at ease and at one point risked missing the top 10, but ultimately was second-fastest in that session, 0. 421s behind Bezzecchi. The practice order cited Di Giannantonio third, Pedro Acosta fourth and Jorge Martin fifth.

One timing entry referenced a best lap of 1m 28. 526s for Bezzecchi and another entry gave a Friday best as 1m58. 526s; these figures appear in session listings alongside the Q2 times.

Bagnaia consigned to Q1 and the Sprint grid

Francesco Bagnaia slipped into Q1 after a tough qualifying opening, failing to convert a mid-session run and making a mistake on the exit of Turn 8 while 0. 001s off Fernandez’s time. The double World Champion will start both the Tissot Sprint and the Grand Prix from P13. Franco Morbidelli crashed at Turn 3 in qualifying but still managed to keep his place in Q2.

Who advanced and who must fight through Q1

• Advancing to Q2: Bezzecchi, M Marquez, Di Giannantonio, Acosta, Martin, A Marquez, Mir, Binder, Ogura, Zarco
• Will contest Q1: Marini, Vinales, Morbidelli, Fernandez, Bagnaia, Quartararo, Bastianini, Moreira, Miller, Rins, Razgatlioglu, Pirro

Notable details from the sessions: Ai Ogura suffered a crash on his final outlap in practice yet still booked a top-10 spot; Alex Marquez was baulked by Michele Pirro, the stand-in for the injured Fermin Aldeguer at Gresini, and that incident drew a post-session investigation; Bagnaia sat 15th in one practice listing, six hundredths ahead of Fabio Quartararo in that same report.

What’s next

Bezzecchi will lead the grid into the Tissot Sprint before the Grand Prix at Buriram, with Marquez and Fernandez alongside on the front rows. Teams will now turn their focus to race setup and recovery after the qualifying incidents, with the Tissot Sprint and the season-opening Grand Prix to follow on race day.