JORGE MARTIN TAKES AUSTRIAN GP POLE AS PEDRO ACOSTA CRASHES OUT OF SPRINT LEAD

Jorge Martin snatched pole position for the 2026 Austrian MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring, edging Marc Marquez by just 0.015s in a qualifying session that underlined how finely balanced the championship fight has become. With the riders level on points heading into the weekend, Martin’s early pole of the year—his third—was a crucial statement as he looked to wrest back the lead from Marquez.

Martin’s pole-winning lap came in at 1m 27.917s, putting Aprilia at the top of the timesheets for the first time this weekend. Marquez responded immediately on the factory Ducati, finishing second with a 1m 27.932s effort. Pedro Acosta completed the front-row lockout in third, just 0.071s off pole with a best of 1m 27.988s. The gap between first and third was only 0.086s, and the closeness carried through the rest of the top ten.

The early rhythm of Q2 was set by KTM’s Acosta, who looked set to take over top spot before being held up behind Martin in the final sector. On his second tour, Acosta found a 1m 28.328s to go first, briefly ahead of Marquez, who had gone top with a 1m 28.475s. With around four minutes remaining in the 15-minute session, Martin fitted a new soft rear tyre and shuffled Acosta back to a 1m 28.223s. He then improved again to 1m 27.917s as the chequered flag fell, leaving Marquez to miss out by the narrowest of margins.

Behind the front row, the second wave of contenders formed another tight cluster. Marco Bezzecchi was fourth (+0.249s), while Ai Ogura took fifth (+0.533s). Alex Marquez rounded out the top six (+0.556s), with Francesco Bagnaia seventh (+0.610s) and Fabio Di Giannantonio eighth (+0.695s). Johann Zarco finished ninth (+0.715s) and Fabio Quartararo tenth (+0.706s). Brad Binder and Fermin Aldeguer completed the top 12.

Qualifying was also shaped by the conditions and tyre decisions around the damp circuit. After overnight rain left wet patches, most riders stayed in the pits at the start of Saturday’s FP2. As the session progressed, the grid leaned toward Michelin’s soft-rear tyre as the best option for the cooler running.

Marquez’s momentum had already been disrupted earlier in the weekend. He failed to complete any laps on the softer compound during Friday’s practice sessions, suggesting he was not fully set up for the key moments when qualifying arrived. In FP2, he then crashed in the closing stages after losing the front as he entered Turn 1, though he was able to get the Ducati back to the pits with help from trackside marshals for a bump start.

The Q1 phase delivered its own drama for riders fighting to reach Q2. For those outside the top ten from Friday, Q1 decided the final two places in Q2. Diogo Moreira and Johann Zarco immediately put themselves in contention by taking the top two spots on their first laps, with Raul Fernandez and Pol Espargaro later moving through to secure the remaining qualifying positions.

With the grid now set, Martin will lead the Spielberg Sprint and the Austrian Grand Prix from pole, with Marquez alongside him and Acosta completing the front row. The Sprint is scheduled for 3pm local time (2pm UK), with the rest of the field following in a qualifying order that featured a front-row gap of only 0.071s between second and third and a pole lap just under 1m 28s.

Martin described the effort as a maximal push, saying: “I was trying my best!” He added that he had been stuck behind Marquez and “couldn't brake strong,” so he “decided to go alone,” then “pushed like crazy - everything was under control, but for sure on the limit.” He was also pleased with the progress after Friday, when he was only fifth, calling it a “big step” to overcome Marquez and Acosta.

Marquez, who celebrated his second place “almost like a victory,” explained that on Friday he had been struggling in time attack, but “today we improved,” and he knew it would be hard to be on the front row. He also pointed to the importance of tyre changes, saying: “We know that things change a lot between a new tyre and used tyre here. So the Sprint race will be one thing, but then especially the main race will be another, and starting in the front row is always important.”

Acosta, meanwhile, was pleased to secure his first front row since Balaton Park and to do it in front of home support. “Super happy. Normally we struggle a lot in qualifying, and being front row in a home GP is quite nice,” he said, adding that the team had worked hard and that he wanted to see “what is going on in the Sprint race,” noting that they “normally… start more in the back.”

The Sprint itself delivered a dramatic swing. Martin won the 14-lap race after Pedro Acosta crashed from a safe lead with just three laps remaining. At the start, Martin kept the lead ahead of Marquez, Bezzecchi and Acosta, but the early phase turned chaotic: Marquez braked too late into the following chicane, went inside Martin and forced the Aprilia rider wide, dropping him back to fifth. A lap later, Acosta took over the front after Marquez missed the apex.

After three rounds, Acosta led by about a second over Marc Marquez, Bezzecchi, Alex Marquez, Ai Ogura, Martin and Pecco Bagnaia. In lap five, Raul Fernandez and Diogo Moreira were handed long-lap penalties for jumping the start. Martin then made his move: he passed Bezzecchi in lap seven to go third, and soon after he repaid Marquez at Turn 1 by braking inside and sending the seven-time champion off the ideal line.

The decisive moment came in lap 11, when Acosta crashed with a 2.5-second advantage, having entered the chicane too fast. Martin led from Marquez and Bezzecchi, and the top three stayed unchanged to the flag. The remaining points were taken by Ogura, Alex Marquez, Bagnaia, Zarco, Aldeguer and Binder.

The final Sprint classification had Martin first, Marquez second and Bezzecchi third, followed by Ogura, Alex Marquez, Bagnaia, Zarco, Aldeguer, Binder and Di Giannantonio.

With his 20th Sprint win, Martin reclaimed the championship lead, moving three points clear of Marquez heading into Sunday’s grand prix—Martin on 285 points and Marquez on 282. Acosta’s late exit left him sixth in the world championship, behind the returning Ai Ogura, with both riders listed on 209 points.

Ahead of Sunday’s 28-lap Austrian Grand Prix, Martin heads into the race on pole and having regained the title lead from Marquez. Crash.net’s preview also confirmed the front-row pairing and that there are currently no penalties for the race. The Austrian GP starts at 2pm local time (1pm UK), with the grid led by Martin, Marquez and Acosta.