Alex Marquez Sets the Pace in Opening Practice at Mobility Resort Motegi

Alex Marquez led the opening practice session for the 2026 Japanese Grand Prix at Mobility Resort Motegi on Friday, October 2, setting a benchmark lap time of 1 minute 42.811 seconds. The Ducati rider outpaced Pedro Acosta and his brother Marc Marquez during an afternoon session that saw temporary red flags following an engine failure on Ai Ogura’s machine.

Mechanical Issue Halts Practice Session

The practice session was briefly halted roughly nine minutes after getting underway when Ai Ogura’s motorcycle suffered a mechanical issue that produced smoke on the circuit. Marshals deployed the red flag to pause track activities while crews cleared debris and oil from the racing line at the Japanese venue. Once the circuit was cleared and racing resumed, the times dropped steadily as riders cycled through different setup adjustments ahead of the weekend.

Ban ”Carcass” Keras Tantangan Marquez di Motegi — Photo: Kompas.id

Alex Marquez Sets Fastest Lap of the Day

Marco Bezzecchi initially set the pace for Aprilia after the restart with a lap of 1 minute 43.742 seconds before KTM’s Pedro Acosta lowered the benchmark to 1 minute 43.589 seconds at the halfway mark. Fermin Aldeguer briefly vaulted to the top with a 1 minute 43.586 lap, before six-time premier-class champion Marc Marquez moved into provisional first place with a 1 minute 43.138 effort. Bezzecchi reclaimed the top spot at 1 minute 43.029 seconds before Alex Marquez delivered the fastest lap of the day in the closing minutes.

The top 22 riders completed the opening practice session with the following order:

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1. Alex Marquez
2. Pedro Acosta
3. Marc Marquez
4. Marco Bezzecchi
5. Enea Bastianini
6. Fabio Di Giannantonio
7. Fabio Quartararo
8. Jorge Martin
9. Diogo Moreira
10. Johann Zarco
11. Fermin Aldeguer
12. Brad Binder
13. Raul Fernandez
14. Franco Morbidelli
15. Ai Ogura
16. Francesco Bagnaia
17. Luca Marini
18. Jack Miller
19. Somkiat Chantra
20. Alex Rins
21. Toprak Razgatlioglu
22. Maverick Vinales

Championship Context and Technical Challenges at Motegi

The 16th round of the 2026 MotoGP season arrives with championship implications at the sharp end of the standings. Jorge Martin leads the riders’ championship with Aprilia, holding a 12-point advantage over Marc Marquez, who sits second overall with 294 points. Ahead of the weekend, technical concerns centered on tire allocation, with Michelin supplying hard-compound carcass tyres similar to those used earlier in the season at Austria. Michelin’s Piero Taramasso noted that the stiffer rear casing was selected to handle the heavy acceleration and braking demands of Motegi’s stop-and-go layout and to provide extra security on the circuit’s asphalt.

Track action continues at Mobility Resort Motegi with the second free practice and qualifying sessions scheduled for Saturday, October 3, leading into the afternoon Sprint race.