Q2, Motegi: Spaniards dominate in Japan – Almansa takes pole with record-breaking pace

Following a very eventful opening day at Motegi with numerous crashes – with Quiles, Almansa and Carpe, a large proportion of the Moto3 elite ended up in the gravel, Almansa no fewer than three times – the situation had calmed down by Saturday morning during FP2. Intact rider David Almansa appeared unfazed by the heavy gravel shower, finishing the session with the fastest time. Close behind him was Maximo Quiles. Alvaro Carpe was a fair way off in third. Despite being only a few tenths of a second behind, Leo Rammerstorfer failed to qualify for Q2 in free practice.

Ahead of the final shootout, the Austrian had to prove himself in Q1. The Honda rider, who will return to the Moto3 World Championship in 2027 – but this time for MTA and on a KTM – was 1.2 seconds off the fastest time – which meant 25th on the grid for Sunday’s Grand Prix.

The top four from the first session came as no great surprise. Guido Pini, the winner of the US Grand Prix, came out on top. Joining him, much to the delight of the Japanese fans, were rookie Zen Mitani, his Honda team-mate Jesus Rios and the Finnish hopeful Rico Salmela.

Startplatz 2 für KTM-Ajo-Pilot Brian Uriarte

Foto: Gold & Goose

Conditions were stable and favourable as the 18 youngsters accelerated around the 4.8 km GP circuit at the Mobility Resort: an air temperature of 23 degrees with only light cloud cover. Super-rookie Brian Uriarte demonstrated just how good they were. The Ajo rider clocked 1:54.647 minutes on his first flying lap – a new lap record.

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Motegi: Sprintrennen MotoGP

MotoGP World Championship

03.10.2026 - 07:25

But less than two minutes later, the honour passed to the German Intact team. Almansa was a mere 0.004 seconds faster. He was followed by two more Spaniards, Carpe and WM-Quiles, powered by KTM technology from Austria. Three more RC4 riders followed – Salmela, Bertelle and Morelli – and only then did Adrian Fernandez come through on the first Moto3 Honda. Whilst Honda Asia’s rising star Veda Pratama crashed out, most of the youngsters returned to the pits for a brief stop.

Exciting: just as most riders were heading back out onto the track, David Almansa was already back in attack mode – the feisty Spaniard, who will be racing for Intact GP in Moto2 in 2027, had improved the fastest time by five hundredths of a second. But his compatriots weren’t about to admit defeat. Brian Uriarte was well on course for the fastest time, but then crashed at Turn 5. Just a minute later, the second Ajo bike also skidded through the gravel, but Carpe managed to avoid a crash and set off on a final lap.

Alvaro Carpe stellte seine KTM auf Startplatz 3

Foto: Gold & Goose

Shortly afterwards, Carpe flew past the light barrier with the fastest sector time. The Moto2 rider-to-be managed to knock Quiles out of the front row and secure third place. David Almansa was in a league of his own. His time of 1:54.572 was enough to secure the astonishing ninth pole position of his career. The number 22 rider will start ahead of Uriarte and Carpe on Sunday.

Marco Morelli, who had made his mark in free practice, was unable to quite keep up with the leaders in Q2. The second Intact rider also put in a convincing performance. In his second qualifying session following a long injury lay-off, David Munoz secured sixth on the grid.