Ai Ogura will start on pole for the first time in his MotoGP career at the Monster Energy Grand Prix of Czechia. The Japanese rider broke the all-time lap record once again with his qualifying lap time of 1:51.139. Joining them on the front row in the Tissot Sprint and Sunday’s race will be Fabio Di Giannantonio and Francesco Bagnaia. Read on for the MotoGP qualifying results at the Czech GP below.
Martín and Morbidelli Move Through to Q2
Jorge Martín was ready to battle it out in Q1 for one of the last two remaining spots in Q2. The #89 was the first out of the pit, with empty tarmac in front and a stream of riders following behind. But the Aprilia Racing rider had some heavy competition, including returning BK8 Gresini Racing rider Álex Márquez. Lap times rolled in at the end of the first run in the 15-minute session, with Martin delivering the second fastest lap of the weekend at the Automotodrom Brno.
As the minutes counted down, the conditions heated up, and so did the battle for the top two spots. Riders were back in for a brief respite before making it out for the final runs of the session. Fabio Quartararo was the first to return, while everyone else bided their time. With a little over five minutes of Q1 remaining, all riders made it out for their final runs. For Brad Binder, it was his last chance to set a legal lap time.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu followed behind Martín closely around the Automotodrom Brno circuit. Meanwhile, Franco Morbidelli pulled out of his time attack, putting his provisional advancing spot at risk. Maverick Viñales looked like the rider to knock the Italian down the order. However, the #12 was just off Morbidelli’s time by the smallest margins.
Ogura Breaks Another Record and Secures Pole
Martín and Morbidelli joined the rest of the riders competing for a front-row start in Q2. After a stellar performance in Friday’s Practice, Ogura looked set to back that up. But the Japanese rider came up short in the first run, falling just behind rookie Diogo Moreira and above his Trackhouse MotoGP teammate, Raúl Fernández. But they were all pushed down the order by Di Giannantonio.
Marc Márquez was technically the first to go fastest in the session. However, the reigning champion’s time was deleted due to a track limits infringement. That put a little extra pressure on the Ducati Lenovo Team rider as everyone prepared for their final time attacks.
Bagnaia and Fernández lit up the first sectors in red. Bagnaia set the fastest lap time of the session, with M.Márquez coming up to provisional P2. But they weren’t there long when Ogura set a blistering lap time of 1:51.139.
With a minute to go, it was time for the last flying laps. M.Márquez started but then chose to abort and cruise around the track instead. And it seemed like everyone else had the same idea. As the checkered flag closed the session, no time came close to Ogura. This makes him the first Japanese polesitter since the 2020 Teruel GP.
MotoGP Czech GP Polesitter
Things to Consider for the Rest of the Weekend
There’s still a lot of action to come at Automotodrom Brno, namely the Tissot Sprint later on and the feature race to bring the weekend to a close. Everyone is aware that Martín has a double-long-lap penalty to serve for causing the first-corner incident at the Hungarian GP. However, there is now another incident under investigation for riding slow on line during Q1. This heavily impacted Enea Bastianini and his efforts during the session, which was clear in the #23 rider’s reaction.
If a penalty is handed out, it will not be served until Sunday. If we look to the front of the grid, we now have the sixth polesitter of the 2026 MotoGP season in Ogura. There’s a lot of history already being made this weekend. Make sure to come back as we bring you the remaining coverage of the Czech GP!