JapaneseGP: Alex Marquez Shatters Motegi Lap Record

Alex Marquez produced a stunning late lap to smash the all-time Motegi lap record and top combined practice for the Japanese Grand Prix, setting a blistering 1:42.811 that denied Pedro Acosta a third straight session victory and left home hero Ai Ogura facing an early Saturday trip through Q1.

The BK8 Gresini Racing rider's benchmark, set on his 24th lap of the day, shattered the previous all-time mark of 1:44.412 set by Francesco Bagnaia, improving on it by over a second and a half and underlining just how much quicker Mobility Resort Motegi's resurfaced 4,801-metre layout is running in 2026.

Friday's running got off to a stuttering start, with only a handful of laps completed before a red flag was thrown after Ogura's Aprilia suffered an engine failure at the exit of pit lane, triggering a brief clean-up operation. Once the track reopened, Marco Bezzecchi set the early pace ahead of Acosta and Marc Marquez through the first 25 minutes, with conditions holding dry throughout under 23-degree air temperatures and a track surface reaching 34 degrees.

As the session progressed, the timesheets were in constant flux. Several championship heavyweights, including double-session winner Bagnaia, points leader Jorge Martin and Fabio Di Giannantonio, found themselves shuffled outside the provisional top ten as riders chased improving grip. Martin briefly climbed to second behind Marc Marquez before Acosta reclaimed top spot, and with roughly 17 minutes remaining it was Fermin Aldeguer who grabbed a fleeting lead atop the order.

With ten minutes on the clock, the leaderboard reshuffled again as Johann Zarco slotted into fifth behind Honda stablemate Diogo Moreira, while Enea Bastianini moved into seventh and Fabio Quartararo rounded out the provisional top ten for Yamaha. Bagnaia briefly salvaged ninth, but the quickening track surface meant no lap held its position for long.

The closing stages turned frantic, with Ogura, Bagnaia, Aldeguer and Di Giannantonio all needing significant improvement to safeguard direct passage into Q2. Yellow flags at the final corner followed a crash for Zarco, who walked away unhurt, compressing the time left for the chasing pack. Moments later Moreira also went down at Turn 5, similarly unscathed, though Di Giannantonio made the most of the late window, hauling his Ducati up to sixth by the flag.

Marquez's benchmark lap came on fresh medium-front, soft-rear rubber during his fifth and final run of the day, a tyre combination that also underpinned Acosta's effort. The Ducati rider's final flyer clocked an average speed of 168.1 km/h and was over a second clear of his previous best from the same run, with a trap speed of 317.6 km/h through the speed trap.

Acosta's response was immediate but ultimately just short, his own final-run lap on an identical medium-soft tyre combination landing just 0.076 seconds adrift to keep the gap to his compatriot razor-thin. Reigning world champion Marc Marquez completed an all-Spanish top three, his best lap arriving 0.024 seconds behind Acosta despite a session troubled by track-limits deletions and only ten laps validated from his 24 completed.

Remarkably, exactly one-tenth of a second covered the top three riders after Friday's running, with Bezzecchi a further tenth back in fourth and Bastianini rounding out the top five to give KTM two bikes inside the leading group.

The session delivered a cruel outcome for Ogura in front of his home crowd. Despite recovering from his early mechanical issue to post a respectable 1:43.579, the Trackhouse rider could only manage 15th, confirming his place in Saturday's Q1 shootout alongside Aldeguer, who slipped to 11th, along with Bagnaia in 16th and Luca Marini in 17th.

Championship leader Martin, by contrast, did enough to secure direct passage into Q2, his 1:43.275 good enough for eighth position and a crucial tenth-of-a-second buffer over the automatic cutoff. Moreira and Zarco also held firm inside the top ten despite their late offs, finishing ninth and tenth respectively to round out the direct Q2 qualifiers.

Friday's session wrapped up with a pair of lighter moments. Alex Rins brought his Monster Energy Yamaha to a halt after running out of fuel, while Jack Miller provided one of the day's enduring images, pulling a stoppie into Turn 11 with a crew member riding pillion as the Australian's session came to a playful close.

FULL FRIDAY COMBINED TIMES (TOP 10 AND REACHING TO Q2)

Heading to Q1: Fermin Aldeguer (11th, 1:43.389), Brad Binder (12th), Raul Fernandez (13th), Franco Morbidelli (14th), Ai Ogura (15th), Francesco Bagnaia (16th), Luca Marini (17th), Jack Miller (18th), Somkiat Chantra (19th), Alex Rins (20th), Toprak Razgatlioglu (21st) and Maverick Viñales (22nd).

Credit Photo : MotoGP