2026 Japanese MotoGP News—Friday
Viñales is back – and keen to continue
Maverick Viñales made his return to MotoGP action after a four-race absence when he desperately worked to recover his troublesome left shoulder.
The Catalan is aiming to gradually build up his confidence and finished Friday in 22nd out of 22 riders. Curiously, Viñales is on the look out for opportunities for 2027, even if he failed to secure a spot on the MotoGP grid full-time.
“I’m not done yet here,” he said. “I have many objectives to achieve. Obviously, there is no more space. Unfortunately, with the move of KTM, they left me out and it was too
late. I could not have any chance, but you never know in the future. Here, many things happen, maybe a door can open. My first objective is to recover, to be fully in shape that I can push at the maximum, and then we’ll see. I am not ready to give up.”
Nakagami out
After a stirring 13th place in Austria, where he successfully deputized for Joan Mir, Takaaki Nakagami was ruled out of his home grand Prix wildcard appearance after breaking his collarbone in a crash at the start of FP1.
A light shower of rain coupled with the new track surface failing to show up damp spots contributed to the Japanese rider’s fall. While disappointing to miss Honda’s home Grand Prix, Nakagami’s injury is a disaster for the two months ahead, when the factory was hoping its test rider could perform extensive work on its 2027 850cc machine.
“He broke the collarbone in not a really nice way,” said Alberto Puig. “It was the first lap. It was a little bit wet. Taka can only be unlucky. It’s a pity – not only because it’s his home GP, for him, as a rider, as a person. Regarding our project, Taka is a crucial person in our development so this was not expected. He will need four or five weeks to recover—that is, if the operation goes well. Aleix is also in the program. He’s not 100% fit also. But he’ll try to do his best also. It’s not the perfect scenario but we have to go with what we have.”
Miller causes Rins to “s**t my pants”
Jack Miller gave fellow Yamaha rider Alex Rins a scare at the close of Practice when he attempted some hijinks with the Spaniard on the back of his bike.
Rins’ Yamaha M1 had come to a stop at the end of the session and Miller was only too happy to give him a ride back to the box. Only thing was, the Australian tried to get his knee down with his pillion aboard, as well as perform a massive stoppie. “I s**t my pants,” said Rins after.
“I was hoping he was going to have his knee down, but then I looked at it back and I thought, “Ah, fuck.” He didn’t have footpegs,” said Miller. “I was a bit nervous when I was doing the stoppie. It came up remarkably well, and I was like, ‘Oh, fuck, but by that time I’d sort of slowed down too much.’ It looked good, had some people laugh, that’s what we’re here for.”
Friday MotoGP
Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) stole the headlines at Motegi on Friday, setting a new lap record to top Practice ahead of Austrian GP winner Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and reigning World Champion Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team).
The session was barely underway when a red flag appeared after Ai Ogura’s (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) bike suffered a blow-up at pitlane exit. After a brief cleanup, Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) led Acosta and Marc Marquez, but the order changed constantly as the session progressed.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) initially found themselves outside the top 10, but the improving track surface produced a flurry of red sectors. Marc Marquez moved to the top before Acosta and then Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) briefly took over.
Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) and teammate Diogo Moreira surprised with strong late-session pace, while Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) also moved into the top 10. Zarco crashed at the final corner with four minutes remaining, followed shortly afterward by Moreira at Turn 5. Both riders were okay.
With the pressure mounting, Di Giannantonio improved to sixth, while Alex Marquez delivered the decisive lap. His 1:42.811 established a new Motegi lap record and put him 0.076 seconds clear of Acosta, with Marc Marquez just 0.024 seconds further back. Bezzecchi was fourth, followed by Bastianini, Di Giannantonio, Quartararo, Martin, Moreira and Zarco.
Ogura endured a difficult home session, finishing 15th and facing Q1, while Aldeguer was 11th, Bagnaia 16th and Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) 17th.
The session ended with a memorable Yamaha taxi ride. Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) ran out of fuel, leaving Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) to provide a lift back to the pits, complete with a stoppie into Turn 11.
2026 Japanese MotoGP Results—Friday MotoGP
| 1 | Alex Marquez | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP26) | 1:42.811s |
| 2 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.076s |
| 3 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Ducati Lenovo (GP26) | +0.100s |
| 4 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP26) | +0.218s |
| 5 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +0.349s |
| 6 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Pertamina VR46 Ducati (GP26) | +0.386s |
| 7 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.419s |
| 8 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP26) | +0.464s |
| 9 | Diogo Moreira | BRA | Pro Honda LCR (RC213V)* | +0.495s |
| 10 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Castrol Honda LCR (RC213V) | +0.574s |
Friday Moto2
David Alonso (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team) set the pace in Moto2 Practice at Motegi, establishing a new class lap record with a 1:47.508. The Colombian edged Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) by 0.033 seconds, with championship leader Izan Guevara (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2) another 0.027s back in third.
Guevara bounced back from a frustrating FP1, where a stone penetrated his radiator, to set the early benchmark in the afternoon. His time remained competitive until the closing stages, when Alonso and Gonzalez moved ahead. Tony Arbolino (RED Fantic Racing) also showed strong pace to finish fourth despite crashing during the session.
2025 Motegi winner Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team) ended the day fifth, giving Aspar two riders inside the top five. Filip Salač (OnlyFans American Racing Team), fresh from his runner-up finish at the Austrian GP, was sixth and just 0.156s off Alonso’s record-setting pace.
Adrian Huertas (Italtrans Racing Team) was seventh, followed by Alonso Lopez (ITALJET Gresini Moto2), while home hero Ayumu Sasaki (Momoven Idrofoglia RW Racing Team) secured ninth and a direct passage into Q2.
Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) completed the top 10, setting up a competitive Saturday as the Moto2 field heads into qualifying.
2026 Japanese MotoGP Results—Friday Moto2
| 1 | David Alonso | COL | CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team (Kalex) | 1′ 47.508s |
| 2 | Manuel Gonzalez | SPA | LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) | +0.033s |
| 3 | Izan Guevara | SPA | BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 (Boscoscuro) | +0.060s |
| 4 | Tony Arbolino | ITA | REDS Fantic Racing (Kalex) | +0.093s |
| 5 | Daniel Holgado | SPA | CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team (Kalex) | +0.151s |
| 6 | Filip Salac | CZE | OnlyFans American Racing Team (Kalex) | +0.156s |
| 7 | Adrian Huertas | SPA | Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) | +0.422s |
| 8 | Alonso Lopez | SPA | ITALJET Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) | +0.431s |
| 9 | Ayumu Sasaki | JPN | Momoven Idrofoglia RW Racing Team (Kalex) | +0.478s |
| 10 | Senna Agius | AUS | LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) | +0.510s |
Friday Moto3
Marco Morelli (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) topped a dramatic Moto3 Practice session at Motegi, setting a 1:55.280 on his final flying lap to claim his first-ever Moto3 session victory and secure a place in Q2.
Ryusei Yamanaka (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI) enjoyed a strong home round opener in second, with Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) third. Uriarte’s teammate Alvaro Carpe was fourth despite a highside at Turn 8 that sent him to the medical centre.
Championship designate Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) recovered from a Turn 3 crash to finish sixth, while David Muñoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) was seventh after falling at Turn 7. Teammate David Almansa also crashed at the same corner and suffered three falls during the session, finishing 10th.
Valentin Perrone, Veda Pratama and Matteo Bertelle completed the top 10.
Hakim Danish suffered another huge highside at the final corner, while Scott Ogden also crashed late and missed out on Q2.
2026 Japanese MotoGP Results—Friday Moto3
| 1 | Marco Morelli | ARG | CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team (KTM) | 1:55.280s |
| 2 | Ryusei Yamanaka | JPN | AEON Credit- MT Helmets – MSI (KTM) | +0.016s |
| 3 | Brian Uriarte | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | +0.084s |
| 4 | Alvaro Carpe | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | +0.113s |
| 5 | Valentin Perrone | ARG | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (KTM) | +0.132s |
| 6 | Maximo Quiles | SPA | CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team (KTM) | +0.229s |
| 7 | David Munoz | SPA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (KTM) | +0.281s |
| 8 | Veda Pratama | INA | Honda Team Asia (Honda) | +0.317s |
| 9 | Matteo Bertelle | ITA | LEVEL UP – MTA (KTM) | +0.336s |
| 10 | David Almansa | SPA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (KTM) | +0.350s |
