VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio secured pole for the 2026 MotoGP Brazilian Grand Prix, a session marked by multiple crashes, including one involving Francesco Bagnaia.
Marco Bezzecchi was forced to come through Q1 after struggling in Friday’s rain-hit practice session, but he quickly found his pace. The Aprilia rider set an early benchmark in Q1 and continued to look sharp into the second part of qualifying.
Di Giannantonio, who also advanced from Q1, made the most of the additional track time to claim pole position for Brazil’s first MotoGP race since 1992. His lap of 1:17.410 was just enough to edge out Bezzecchi by 0.070 seconds, with the Italian posting a best time of 1:17.480.
Fabio Di Giannantonio grabs pole position for 2026 MotoGP Brazilian Grand Prix
Bagnaia got caught out in the early part of Q2, with the Ducati rider crashing at Turn 9. He pushed too hard through the left-hand kink and found himself in the gravel trap.
KTM’s Pedro Acosta also found trouble soon after, tucking the front at Turn 4. Marc Marquez then had a similar issue at T4, pushing too hard on his Ducati GP26 and ending up in the gravel as well.
Marquez had already set a time before his crash, which put him second behind Di Giannantonio by just 0.071s. But Bezzecchi soon moved ahead of Marquez as the session went on.
Aleix Espargaro was another faller, with crashes piling up during a session where Goiania showed little forgiveness for mistakes.
The closing stages saw Jorge Martin show strong pace on his Aprilia RS-GP, moving up to P4. However, he crashed late in the session, adding his name to an ever-growing list of incidents that included Di Giannantonio soon after.
Towards qualifying’s end, Fabio Quartararo began finding rhythm on his Yamaha M1. The 2021 champion climbed into fourth place during the final seconds of Q2.
Toprak Razgatlioglu featured in Q2 for Pramac after placing third fastest during Friday’s rain-hit practice but couldn’t overcome Yamaha’s limitations and finished P12 overall.
Marco Bezzecchi gets through Q1 as KTM riders have a tough session in Goiania
Bezzecchi set the fastest time in Q1, just ahead of Di Giannantonio by 0.123 seconds, with both riders earning spots in the second qualifying session. It wasn’t a perfect run from Bezzecchi, but his pace was more than enough to lead the session.
Joan Mir and rookie Diogo Moreira came close to advancing but fell short by 0.179s and 0.281s respectively, leaving Johann Zarco as the only Honda rider to make it into Q2.
Moreira’s dirt track style helped him find some early speed, but a mistake at the Turn 10-11 chicane cost him and Mir valuable lap time.
Luca Marini had a rare off day, following up a practice crash with another early fall at Turn 4 during Q1. Known for his consistency, Marini struggled with Goiania’s tricky conditions just like many others.
Jack Miller also had a rough session, finishing near the bottom of the timesheet after crashing late in Q1. The Pramac rider lost the front end of his Yamaha M1 in Turn 1 but was unharmed despite tumbling through the gravel.
The only riders to fare worse than Miller were Marini and all three KTM RC16 riders – Maverick Vinales, Brad Binder, and Enea Bastianini – who couldn’t get comfortable with Goiania’s challenging conditions.
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