Aprilia's Jorge Martin claimed pole position for the 2026 Austrian MotoGP in Saturday qualifying, finishing ahead of Marc Marquez, with Marco Bezzecchi — the rider mentored by Valentino Rossi — down in fourth.
The session began with Bezzecchi setting the early benchmark at 1m28.919s, pursued by Pedro Acosta and Fabio Quartararo. On the second run Acosta went quickest at 1m28.328s, promoting Marc Marquez to second and Alex Marquez to third before the riders pitted for fresh tires and setup changes.
The decisive blow came late: with roughly three minutes left, Martin hooked up a lap that beat Marquez's time, then tightened his grip on pole with a 1m27.917s on his next tour. Meanwhile Alex Marquez crashed at the first corner and took no further part, ending up sixth, while Acosta ran slightly wide through the final corners on his last attempt and stayed third.
The top order held to the flag: Martin first, Marc Marquez second, Acosta third, followed by Bezzecchi, Ai Ogura, Alex Marquez, Francesco Bagnaia, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Quartararo, Johann Zarco, Brad Binder and Fermin Aldeguer.