Spielberg, Austria, September 18, 2026: Pedro Acosta gave KTM fans exactly what they wanted at the Red Bull Ring, topping Friday Practice at the Austrian MotoGP with a dominant performance for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing. Acosta completed a clean sweep across Friday’s sessions, setting the fastest time of 1:28.381 to put himself at the top of the timesheets ahead of Fermin Aldeguer and returning rider Ai Ogura.

Acosta’s strong showing comes as the KTM rider continues his pursuit of a maiden MotoGP victory, with the Austrian manufacturer’s home Grand Prix getting off to an ideal start.

Aldeguer, riding for BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP, finished second, while Ogura made an impressive return to action with third for the SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team. Championship leader Marc Marquez was fourth, followed by Jorge Martin in fifth.

The top 10 was completed by Fabio Di Giannantonio, Brad Binder, Alex Marquez, Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Quartararo.

Acosta Sets the Pace at KTM’s Home Race

Acosta carried his strong FP1 form into Friday afternoon’s Practice session and quickly established himself as the rider to beat.

After 20 minutes, the KTM rider was already the only competitor inside the 1:28s. He continued to improve throughout the session, initially setting a 1:28.507 before lowering the benchmark to 1:28.381.

The pace was particularly impressive as Acosta opened up an advantage of more than half a second over his nearest rivals at one stage.

As riders switched to fresh tyres and began their final time attacks, several challengers moved closer to the KTM rider. However, none could match Acosta’s final benchmark.

Aldeguer and Ogura Impress

Fermin Aldeguer produced one of the strongest performances of the session to finish second, while Ai Ogura marked his return to MotoGP action with an impressive third place.

Ogura had missed the recent action since Silverstone but immediately showed strong pace at the Red Bull Ring. Jorge Martin also moved strongly up the order during the session before eventually settling for fifth.

Marc Marquez initially struggled to find his way into the top 10 and was only 11th with less than 15 minutes remaining. The championship leader then fitted fresh tyres and immediately moved into second before eventually finishing fourth.

Alex Marquez Escapes Injury After Strange Crash

The session was briefly interrupted by a red flag after Alex Marquez crashed at Turn 1.

The Gresini rider appeared to suffer a small wheelie on the exit of the corner. When the front tyre touched back down, the bike suddenly folded away, sending Marquez off the side.

The 2025 MotoGP championship runner-up was fortunately unhurt and was able to return to the track on his second bike following the restart. He eventually recovered to finish eighth and secure a place directly into Q2.

Bagnaia Struggles as Quartararo Makes Q2

While Acosta and KTM enjoyed a strong Friday, Francesco Bagnaia had a difficult session.

The Ducati Lenovo Team rider could manage only 18th place, leaving him facing Q1 on Saturday.

Luca Marini was also narrowly outside the automatic Q2 positions. He missed out by just 0.004 seconds and will join Johann Zarco and Diogo Moreira in Q1.

Fabio Quartararo, meanwhile, secured 10th place and made it directly into Q2 for the first time since Barcelona.

MotoGP Austrian GP Friday Practice Results

1. Pedro Acosta – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1:28.381
2. Fermin Aldeguer – BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP
3. Ai Ogura – SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team
4. Marc Marquez – Ducati Lenovo Team
5. Jorge Martin – Aprilia Racing
6. Fabio Di Giannantonio – Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team
7. Brad Binder – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
8. Alex Marquez – BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP
9. Marco Bezzecchi – Aprilia Racing
10. Fabio Quartararo – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
11. Francesco Bagnaia – Ducati Lenovo Team

With Friday complete, attention now turns to qualifying and the Tissot Sprint on Saturday at the Red Bull Ring. Track action resumes at 08:40 local time, with Acosta heading into the weekend’s most important sessions as the rider to beat after a commanding opening day.