Marc Márquez heads straight into Q2 at the Grand Prix of the United States, leading an action-packed session. The Ducati Lenovo Team rider faced strong competition at COTA and had to navigate constant yellow-flag conditions throughout the session. Find all the MotoGP Practice results of the US GP below.
Early Weekend Withdrawal and Crash Chaos
After crashing in the earlier Free Practice 1 session at 192km/h, Márquez looked for a cleaner ride for the all-important Practice session. The reigning world champion was out on track as a stream of riders exited the pit lane. Unfortunately for Maverick Viñales, a shoulder injury sustained at the Sachsenring in 2025 continues to cause the rider pain and has withdrawn from the weekend. The #12 will undergo surgery to remove a loose screw in his left shoulder.
That leaves one rider for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 team, Enea Bastianini. But eyes were on the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing team as their Buriram pace returned, particularly Pedro Acosta after going fastest in the morning session. The #37 quickly came to the top of the timeboard with a lap of 2:02.310.
Yellow flags came out early as Fabio Di Giannantonio and Jorge Martín crashed at Turn 11 and Turn 12, respectively. Bastianini also fell victim to a Turn 12 crash, making it three crashes in under seven minutes at the start of an hour-long Practice session.
But there was more to come with less than a quarter of the session complete. Franco Morbidelli was the fourth rider to come down, this time at Turn 1. Shortly after Acosta and Ai Ogura both crashed at Turn 18, the latter being on a flying lap at the time. The Japanese rider was investigated for coming down under yellow-flag conditions. However, no further action was taken.
A Slightly Calmer Mid-Section of the Session
With all the yellow flags and crashes, it was difficult to get in a competitive time attack. Francesco Bagnaia was on top with a 2:02.191, with Acosta in second and Álex Márquez in third. As riders came back out for their second runs, it seemed like things had calmed down. That was until Toprak Razgatlıoğlu slid out of Turn 11, making the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP rider the seventh to fall.
Marco Bezzecchi finally got an opportunity to put in a flying lap to come up into the top three on the leaderboard. The #72 backed it up to climb another spot, while Acosta lost time in Sectors 3 and 4. However, with fresh rubber on the Trackhouse MotoGP Team machines, Raúl Fernández and Ogura set blitzing laps to move to the top of the timesheet.
The eighth rider to fall was Á.Márquez at Turn 1. The #73 quickly made their way off track and back to the BK8 Gresini Racing garage. Meanwhile, his older brother, M.Márquez, went straight to the top with a 2:02.066.
The Final Chance at Q2 Advancement
With one third of the session remaining, it was now or never for riders to put in their final time attacks. Di Giannantonio pulled himself back into the top ten and set the first 2:01s lap of the session.
However, Bezzecchi, Luca Marini, and Bastianini met the challenge head-on, all of them filling out the top three. Acosta quickly set a flying lap to split Bezzecchi and Marini. M.Márquez quickly knocked everyone down to take the top spot, but Di Giannantonio took the leading position a moment later.
As Bezzecchi went out for his final run, an unidentified part from underneath the Aprilia Racing machine fell off. Whatever it was, it didn’t seem to hinder the Italian’s chances as he continued to set the pace.
But it was a mad dash for the rest of the grid as the top ten order continued to change. Brad Binder was the final crash of the session, the ninth rider to do so. But it didn’t impact final time attacks as M.Márquez held on to the top spot with the first 2:00s lap of the weekend, proving why he is the ‘King of COTA’.
Going into Super Sprint Saturday
There is an action-packed Saturday to look forward to, with one final Free Practice followed by qualifying and the Tissot Sprint. While we’ve had impressive results from most constructors, one continues to struggle. Both Yamaha teams fell behind the pace, with Fabio Quartararo the top performer in P14. Something big would have to change for them to have any opportunity of being competitive this weekend at COTA. But the real question is: who will we see in pole position? It’s set to be an epic weekend in Texas.