2026 Brazilian MotoGP News—Friday
Track ready, but only just
The Autódromo Internacional de Goiânia – Ayrton Senna made its return to the MotoGP World Championship, but only just. After substantial flooding around the 14-turn track in the lead up to the GP, Friday’s sessions were delayed by an hour as officials attempted to dry the surface.
The 2.3-mile track, which has 14 turns, was well received by most of the riders. The facilities, however, left a lot to be desired. Construction was still very much ongoing to the car park and other parts of the facility, while toilets were limited and raw sewage was running through certain points.
There was even the surprising sight of prisoners from a local jail in the Goias region working on the track on Thursday in yellow jumpsuits. It’s believed the prisoners were not incarcerated for serious crimes.
Goiânia gets rider’s approval
Coming in at 2.3 miles, the Autódromo Internacional de Goiânia – Ayrton Senna is the second shortest on the calendar, behind the Sachsenring. It promises to be the shortest in terms of lap time, with a dry lap believed to take 1m 17s (Sachsenring’s lap record is 1m 19s).
Sunday’s race will also be the highest in terms of laps (31) since 2013’s American GP at Laguna Seca (32 laps). Despite that, the layout quickly gained the approval of the MotoGP contingent. Despite the rain and dirtiness of the surface, grip was good. “It has very good grip in every situation,” confirmed Luca Marini.
“The track is super nice,” said Marc Marquez. “Some long right corners that are not good for my riding style, but they are nice.”
Aldeguer set for VR46 switch
Fermin Aldeguer made his 2026 debut on Friday after recovering from a broken left femur sustained in early January. And, according to Spanish publication AS, he will switch from the Gresini team to VR46 Ducati in 2027.
Friday was only the third time Aldeguer had ridden a bike in 2026. “The first one was 8th of January when I got the injury. And then last week (was the second).” It was also the first occasion he had sat aboard a MotoGP machine since last November.
Aldeguer had an option to extend his stay with Ducati for two more years. Despite interest from other manufacturers, he opted to stay with the Bologna factory and will move to its number two team. Gresini has yet to agree a deal to stay with Ducati beyond this year.
Asked about the move for Aldeguer, VR46 Team Manager Pablo Nieto said, “He can be one of the choices we have for the future. Why not?”
Friday MotoGP
It was dry, but for how long? There was no hanging about at the start of MotoGP Practice in Brazil with a looming threat of rain, and the slick tyre time attacks were slammed in right at the top of the session. Damp patches and a light drizzle made conditions far from ideal, and it caught out a few riders in the early running.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crashed very soon into the session at Turn 4, with Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and home hero Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) also suffering similar incidents at the same corner while the heavy rain steered clear.
Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) and Marc Marquez were doing the early running at the timesheet summit, before Zarco pounced to go P1 with a 1:21.257. It was a real battle to get into the top 10 in the opening half an hour, with rookie Razgatlioglu arguably impressing the most. The Turk climbed to P3 behind Zarco and Marc Marquez, ahead of Martin and World Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), and then the downpour came.
With around 30 minutes of Practice left, heavier rain sprinkled the Autodromo Internacional de Goiania – Ayrton Senna, and that meant anyone needing an improvement would be left disappointed – including Bezzecchi, who was sitting in P20 when the wet weather arrived.
The Italian was the first rider back out on track in the final 10 minutes once the weather had eased somewhat, and the Thai GP winner was lapping on slick tyres too in an attempt to try and scramble his way into the top 10. However, as expected, an improvement wasn’t coming. After running wide on the entry into Turn 10, Bezzecchi pulled back into the box and it looked like that was all she wrote in terms of the automatic Q2 places. And the same can be said for Thailand’s double podium finisher Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) – the #25 was outside the top 20 on a disappointing day for half of the RS-GP fleet.
So behind the top three of Zarco, Marc Marquez and Razgatlioglu, we have Martin and Acosta, with Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) completing the top six. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) makes it two Yamahas inside the top 10 in P7, the Frenchman will be pleased with that, and chapeau to eighth place Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP). No pre-season testing. Still needing crutches to get around. And he sticks his Ducati in P8 in very tricky conditions. Impressive.
The 2025 Rookie of the Year sails into Q2 ahead of ninth place Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), with Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) the final rider who will sleep a little easier tonight knowing they’re safely into the pole position shootout in Goiania.
2026 Brazilian MotoGP Results—Friday MotoGP
| 1 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Castrol Honda LCR (RC213V) | 1’21.257s |
| 2 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Ducati Lenovo (GP26) | +0.125s |
| 3 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | TUR | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.308s |
| 4 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP26) | +0.309s |
| 5 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.493s |
| 6 | Alex Marquez | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP26) | +0.538s |
| 7 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.568s |
| 8 | Fermin Aldeguer | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP25) | +0.625s |
| 9 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP26) | +0.710s |
| 10 | Ai Ogura | JPN | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP26) | +0.810s |
Friday Moto2
Battle lines have been drawn on our groundbreaking opening day at Goiânia in Moto2 with Tony Arbolino (REDS Fantic Racing) leading the way and a pack of surprises. Behind him, Buriram winner Manuel Gonzalez (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) completed the top three in what turned out to be a Friday that featured all four seasons. A wet but drying morning followed by wind, spots of rain but overall dry running in the afternoon, Goiania’s unpredictability was mirrored by the weather.
An array of fresh names and faces made it into Q2 straight away but it was Arbolino who surprised the most by topping the day’s running. The Italian led the combined times courtesy of the afternoon’s Practice being the only dry track time but nonetheless, made the most of the evolving conditions to lead the Moto2 charge. Championship leader Gonzalez was right behind him, 0.170s off the #14 whilst it was Alonso who rounded out the top three.
Onto the surprises and it’s fair to say that Angel Piqueras (QJ MOTOR – PONT GRUP – MSI) was a headline-grabber in fourth as he took top rookie honours whilst Mario Aji (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) was fifth, repeating his efforts from Friday afternoon in Thailand. Celestino Vietti (HDR SpeedRS Team) rounded out the top six but suffered a late technical issue.
Notable names not in the top 14 such as Senna Agius (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) who was 16th, Aron Canet (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) in 18th and Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) in 20th, with the Spaniard struggling on day one in Goiania after his podium from Buriram. There was a late crash for Zonta Van den Goorbergh crash at Turn 13.
2026 Brazilian MotoGP Results—Friday Moto2
| 1 | Tony Arbolino | ITA | REDS Fantic Racing (Kalex) | 1: 23.709s |
| 2 | Manuel Gonzalez | SPA | LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) | +0.170s |
| 3 | David Alonso | COL | CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team (Kalex) | +0.366s |
| 4 | Angel Piqueras | SPA | QJMOTOR – PONT GRUP – MSI (Kalex) | +0.479s |
| 5 | Mario Aji | INA | Idemitsu Honda Team Asia (Kalex) | +0.561s |
| 6 | Celestino Vietti | ITA | HDR SpeedRS Team (Boscoscuro) | +0.562s |
| 7 | Daniel Munoz | SPA | Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) | +0.588s |
| 8 | Izan Guevara | SPA | BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 (Boscoscuro) | +0.666s |
| 9 | Collin Veijer | NED | Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) | +0.735s |
| 10 | Alonso Lopez | SPA | ITALJET Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) | +0.743s |
Friday Moto3
David Almansa (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) went quickest in Friday Practice at the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Brazil, but it’s just 0.050 covering the top three at the end of both the day and session. Second goes to New Zealand’s Cormac Buchanan (CODE Motorsports), just 0.003 off the top, with Indonesian rookie Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia) 0.047 further back in third.
Almansa’s 1:30.260 to go quickest in the afternoon is down from a 1:32.812 set by rookie Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in FP1, with conditions improved by the time practice rolled around for it to be officially classed as dry. Uriarte was nearly four tenths clear at the top in the morning and P7 in the afternoon.
Joel Kelso (MLav Racing), rookie Rico Salmela (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Joel Esteban (LEVEL UP – MTA) trailed Pratama in the afternoon overall, slotting in ahead of Uriarte in P7. Marco Morelli (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), Leo Rammerstorfer (SIC58 Squadra Corse) and Casey O’Gorman (SIC58 Squadra Corse) completed the top ten, with some of the less experienced riders finding plenty of space to shine at a track that’s brand new for all on the grid.
2026 Brazilian MotoGP Results—Friday Moto3
| 1 | David Almansa | SPA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (KTM) | 1:30.260s |
| 2 | Cormac Buchanan | NZL | CODE Motorsports (KTM) | +0.003s |
| 3 | Veda Pratama | INA | Honda Team Asia (Honda) | +0.050s |
| 4 | Joel Kelso | AUS | GRYD – MLav Racing (Honda) | +0.111s |
| 5 | Rico Salmela | FIN | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (KTM) | +0.221s |
| 6 | Joel Esteban | SPA | LEVEL UP – MTA (KTM) | +0.300s |
| 7 | Brian Uriarte | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | +0.341s |
| 8 | Marco Morelli | ARG | CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team (KTM) | +0.510s |
| 9 | Leo Rammerstorfer | AUT | SIC58 Squadra Corse (Honda) | +0.537s |
| 10 | Casey O’Gorman | IRL | SIC58 Squadra Corse (Honda) | +0.683s |
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