Q1, Aragon: Pecco Bagnaia sets fastest time; rookie Moreira through to Q2 despite a crash

Virtually the entire top of the MotoGP standings had secured direct entry into the premier class’s second qualifying session during Friday’s one-hour free practice. Championship leader Martin, Bezzecchi, the Marquez brothers, Di Giannantonio, Raúl Fernández and Pedro Acosta – they all watched from the sidelines during Q1. Not so Francesco Bagnaia. The Ducati factory rider struggled once again with his bike, with the two-time world champion finishing 13th in qualifying.

The entire Yamaha quartet, led by Fabio Quartararo, also started in the Q1 session. Honda was represented by Marini, Mir and Moreira, whilst, of all people, returnee Johann Zarco had gone straight through. KTM also had three riders in Q1 – Binder, Bastianini and Pol Espargaro, who, as on previous occasions, is standing in for the injured Maverick Viñales.

There was hope at Ducati Lenovo ahead of the start of the 15-minute session, as Pecco Bagnaia had halved the gap to the front in the previous session and finished FP2 in fifth place. Highly motivated rookie Diogo Moreira. The Honda LCR youngster had consistently been in the top 10 on Friday, but then narrowly missed out on Q2. Excitingly, in qualifying, the riders in positions 11 to 20 were all within 0.8 seconds of each other.

The first indicative time under a clear blue sky at MotorLand Aragon came from the Honda camp. Luca Marini was the first to cross the line in 1:46.2 mins. Just behind him was KTM rider Binder, followed by Bagnaia ahead of Moreira and his brand-mate Mir.

In the second timed lap on the soft Michelin slicks, Bagnaia then became the first rider to break the 1:46 mark. Seconds later, the Italian was relegated to second place by the Moto2 champion, with the Brazilian clocking 1:45.841. Notably, Pol Espargaro was listed in P6 after his initial push, ahead of Mir, Bastianini and Quartararo.

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Aragon: Qualifying Moto2

MotoGP World Championship

29.08.2026 - 13:40

Diogo Moreira löste das Q2-Ticket trotz Sturz

Foto: Gold & Goose

With four minutes to go before the chequered flag, everything was at stake for the Q2 places and the remaining grid positions. Bagnaia went on the attack and improved his time to 1:45.820 – a best time for the two-time world champion. Moreira learnt the hard way, crashing in Turn 2 on his out lap and now facing an anxious wait. However, none of his rivals managed to overtake the rookie. Moreira scraped through in second place.

Yamaha rider Jack Miller came closest to him. Binder, Mir and Bastianini finished Q1 in 4th, 5th and 6th respectively. Luca Marini dropped back to 8th place behind Quartararo. Stand-in rider Espargaro will start 20th, ahead of Toprak Razgatlioglu.