Puig’s new role confirmed
Alberto Puig will take up a new role as a Honda Racing Corporation Advisor from 2027. Honda insist the move was voluntary as HRC reorganize its MotoGP organization. Trackhouse Aprilia’s Davide Brivio will arrive as a commercial advisor, while another name is expected to take over Puig’s current role as Team Manager.
“I just want to say Alberto is a really great person,” said Luca Marini. “He’s a great character, even if from the media you cannot feel this. He’s a really one man who speaks directly and there are not so many people in this paddock like him.”
Joan Mir added, “One point that I value a lot from a team manager is transparency. I had moments where Alberto had to calm me, saying, “Joan, hey, you are super-fast, be careful, you have to finish, ,” or, “Joan, now is the time, if you have to crash, let’s do it.” And I live a lot of different phases with Alberto, and always he has been impeccable.” Neil Morrison
Turn 12 causes concerns
The Circuit of Barcelona-Catalunya’s Turn 12 was the focus of Friday after Jorge Martin’s FP1 crash, in which he quickly followed his bike into the air fence at speed.
The current title contender invoked Luis Salom, who tragically lost his life at Turn 13 here in 2016, and called for improvements to be made to the track. “I think that it’s really dangerous to crash there,” he said. “I don’t really like to say it, but it reminds me a lot about Luis Salom. When I was crashing, I thought about him straight away.
“Luckily, the bike turned so I went into the fairing and not the handlebars or other pieces. For sure, it’s a place where they need to improve because it’s really dangerous.” Neil Morrison
Acosta’s Le Mans reaction explained
It says a lot about modern MotoGP that Fabio Di Giannantoni’s last lap pass on Pedro Acosta caused controversy. Rider rivalries are so rare that Acosta’s comment afterward – “no one overtakes me while looking at me, I’ll remember that” – was championed on the series’ social media channels.
Five days on and Acosta was keen to move on. “It is what it is. I’m not interested any more in this. It’s stupid to talk about this when we were fighting for fourth. This is the not the result I’m looking for,” he said.
Di Giannantonio meanwhile found humor in some of the reaction. “Honestly, at home I laughed a lot about all the memes and things that appeared. I just tried to do my best overtake as always. I was controlling until the line if he was going to cut back, that’s it.
Then if he’s angry for this, I’m sorry for him, but it’s racing. I was trying to take my position.” Neil Morrison
Friday MotoGP
Just 0.269s covered the field as all five manufacturers and eight teams booked places in Q2 after a frantic Friday chase led by Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). The Spaniard put KTM on top, ahead of Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and teammate Brad Binder, while Le Mans winner Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) was left in Q1 after a late crash dropped him to 17th.
The session began with riders building speed and dialing in their setups, with Aprilia initially setting the pace. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) led Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), the Japanese rookie continuing his strong form after his maiden podium. Ogura’s run was interrupted by a harmless Turn 2 crash that forced him onto his spare bike for the remainder of Practice.
As the pace intensified, Bezzecchi ran wide at Turn 4 while Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) crashed at Turn 5. Binder then fired in the first 1’38 lap of the weekend before Acosta went even faster, leading a KTM surge with Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) also inside the top three.
The final ten minutes brought constant changes. Alex Marquez, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) all moved into the leading group, while Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) climbed into Q2 contention. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Martin were among the big names still under pressure heading into the closing laps.
Martin’s hopes ended with another Turn 2 fall, consigning him to Q1. Bagnaia briefly secured a top-10 spot, only to be pushed out by Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).
Nobody could match Acosta at the chequered flag, the KTM star finishing ahead of Alex Marquez and Binder. Fernandez claimed fourth ahead of Zarco, Di Giannantonio and Bezzecchi, while Mir crashed late despite ending eighth. Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and Quartararo completed the Q2 places as Bastianini, Bagnaia, Ogura and Martin were left to regroup.
2026 Catalunya MotoGP Results—Friday MotoGP
| 1 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | 1’38.710s |
| 2 | Alex Marquez | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP26) | +0.018s |
| 3 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.070s |
| 4 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP26) | +0.078s |
| 5 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Castrol Honda LCR (RC213V) | +0.079s |
| 6 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Pertamina VR46 Ducati (GP26) | +0.109s |
| 7 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP26) | +0.121s |
| 8 | Joan Mir | SPA | Honda HRC Castrol (RC213V) | +0.136s |
| 9 | Jack Miller | AUS | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.201s |
| 10 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.269s |
Friday Moto2
Celestino Vietti (Beta Tools SpeedRS Team) completed a perfect Friday in Barcelona by topping both FP1 and Practice, although the margins at the front remained incredibly close. Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) secured second and Alonso Lopez (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) third, with both riders finishing within a tenth of Vietti’s benchmark 1:41.611. Meanwhile, technical trouble for David Alonso (CFMOTO Impluse Aspar Team) left the Colombian facing another trip through Q1.
Issues struck immediately for Alonso as his Kalex-Triumph stopped on the way out of pit lane at the start of the session. Despite repeated attempts to restart the machine, the #80 was unable to post a meaningful lap until the final stages. He eventually ended the session down in 26th, 1.7s adrift of Vietti after a frustrating afternoon.
On the opposite side of the Aspar garage, Daniel Holgado enjoyed a far smoother session, finishing fourth and just a couple of tenths from the pace. French GP winner Izan Guevara (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) rounded out the top five.
Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) spent much of Practice outside the top 20 before improving late on to climb to seventh, just behind fellow Spaniard Alex Escrig (KLINT Racing Team) in sixth.
Alonso won’t be the only notable rider in Q1. Barry Baltus (REDS Fantic Racing) also missed out after crashing at Turn 5 late in the session, while French GP podium finisher Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – Bordoy – MSI) could only manage 16th on Friday.
2026 Catalunya MotoGP Results—Friday Moto2
| 1 | Celestino Vietti | ITA | Beta Tools SpeedRS Team (Boscoscuro) | 1m 41.611s |
| 2 | Senna Agius | AUS | LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) | +0.014s |
| 3 | Alonso Lopez | SPA | ITALJET Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) | +0.026s |
| 4 | Daniel Holgado | SPA | CFMOTO Impulse Aspar Team (Kalex) | +0.204s |
| 5 | Izan Guevara | SPA | BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 (Boscoscuro) | +0.216s |
| 6 | Alex Escrig | SPA | KLINT Racing Team (Forward) | +0.348s |
| 7 | Manuel Gonzalez | SPA | LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) | +0.400s |
| 8 | Filip Salac | CZE | OnlyFans American Racing Team (Kalex) | +0.462s |
| 9 | Collin Veijer | NED | Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) | +0.477s |
| 10 | Ayumu Sasaki | JPN | Momoven Idrofoglia RW Racing Team (Kalex) | +0.493s |
Friday Moto3
It had been ten years since a Malaysian rider last topped a Moto3 session, but Hakin Danish (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI) ended Friday with a clean sweep after leading both FP1 and Practice. The Malaysian heads into Saturday as the rider to beat in a Moto3 field full of surprises.
Danish controlled the pace throughout the day and made the most of clear track conditions in the afternoon to fire in a 1’46.943, the only lap of the class in the 1’46s. His effort put him at the head of a KTM 1-2, with Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) finishing second, while Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) claimed top Honda honours after arriving in Barcelona on the back of consecutive podiums at Jerez and Le Mans.
2025 polesitter David Almansa (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) followed in fourth, while Valentin Perrone recovered from a quieter morning to secure fifth. Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP-MTA) ended the day sixth, with Championship leader Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) seventh.
Several big names were left facing Q1. David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) briefly moved into the top ten on his final lap, only to lose the time because of yellow flags. Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) also missed out after crashing for the second Practice session in succession, while Guido Pini (Leopard Racing) was forced into Q1 for the third round in a row.
2026 Catalunya MotoGP Results—Friday Moto3
| 1 | Hakim Danish | MAL | AEON Credit- MT Helmets – MSI (KTM) | 1m 46.943s |
| 2 | Brian Uriarte | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | +0.099s |
| 3 | Adrian Fernandez | SPA | Leopard Racing (Honda) | +0.203s |
| 4 | David Almansa | SPA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (KTM) | +0.419s |
| 5 | Valentin Perrone | ARG | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (KTM) | +0.558s |
| 6 | Matteo Bertelle | ITA | LEVEL UP – MTA (KTM) | +0.656s |
| 7 | Maximo Quiles | SPA | CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team (KTM) | +0.693s |
| 8 | Ryusei Yamanaka | JPN | AEON Credit- MT Helmets – MSI (KTM) | +0.725s |
| 9 | Marco Morelli | ARG | CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team (KTM) | +0.734s |
| 10 | Jesus Rios | SPA | Rivacold Snipers Team (Honda) | +0.746s |
