Catalan GP – Qualifying: Pedro Acosta on pole, the French drivers in contention

Fastest rider on Friday, pole sitter on Saturday, will Sunday's Catalan Grand Prix finally crown Pedro Acosta, still searching for his first victory? MotoGP The KTM rider is certainly showing no signs of slowing down in Barcelona, ​​where he gave the factory team of the Oranges their first pole position since 2020, thanks to a time of 1:38.068 which relegates the Ducatis of Franco Morbidelli and Álex Márquez to two tenths behind.

While the Shark of Mazarron is basking in happiness, the situation is far less rosy at Aprilia. Both riders for the factory team, who are also championship leaders, are absent from the front rows. Jorge Martín, despite managing to get through Q1 despite a crash – his third of the weekend – only managed the 9th fastest time in Q2. It's even worse for his teammate Marco Bezzecchi, who arrives in Barcelona with a slight lead over him in the championship. The number 72 crashed at turn 2 at the end of the session and could do no better than 12th.

that was @ValeYellow46's reaction to Bezzecchi's crash 🤦‍♂️#CatalanGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/d5OaBhqike

- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) May 16, 2026

On the French side, however, there's plenty to celebrate. Amidst the chaos of qualifying in Catalonia, Johann Zarco took advantage to place his Honda in 5th position. He struggled more on a Yamaha that suffered from a lack of grip in Barcelona. fabio quartararo secured an excellent 7th place on the starting grid.

Favorites caught out in Q1

The Ducati factory team's run of 10 races without a podium finish is likely to continue. Pecco Bagnaia, the sole representative of the Reds following Marc Márquez's withdrawal, missed Q2 by 51 thousandths of a second. He will therefore start 13th in the weekend's races. Enea Bastianini and Fermín Aldeguer join him on the fifth row. 

Ai Ogura also suffered a major setback. The Japanese rider, who secured his first MotoGP podium last week at Le Mans, qualified only 18th on the starting grid.

Starting 20th on the grid, rookie Diogo Moreira recorded the worst result of his short MotoGP career. Only Augusto Fernandez – a Yamaha wildcard in Catalonia – and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu – who made a mistake in Q1 – will start behind him. 

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