Moto2: Arbolino leads Friday sessions at Red Bull Ring
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 19, 2026
Moto2 Arbolino pace
Tony Arbolino set the pace in both Moto2 sessions at the Red Bull Ring, starting the day with a 1:33.074 lap in FP1 before returning on top of FP2 with a 1:41.066. In the opening session, David Alonso kept the pressure on and finished second, just 0.042 seconds behind Arbolino, and Izan Guevara took third. The session also turned rough for several riders. Angel Piqueras, Adrian Huertas and Collin Veijer all had heavy crashes in FP1, then walked away afterward. That left Arbolino’s speed as the clear headline from the first run, with Alonso close enough to keep the session competitive and the rest of the front group chasing time rather than traffic or rhythm.
FP2 brought different conditions and a different kind of challenge. The track was wet but drying, and only 13 riders set a lap time. Arbolino still handled it best. Xabi Zurutuza took second with a 1:41.867 on wet tires, and Aron Canet, Deniz Oncu, Dani Munoz and Marcos Ramirez completed the top six. The session also left several big names without a time. Filip Salac, Ivan Ortola, Guevara and Alonso all failed to record one. That made Arbolino’s double-topping effort stand out even more. He delivered the benchmark in FP1 and then backed it up when the surface stayed slippery and the field shrank. For Moto2, the day belonged to the rider who adapted quickest to every version of the track.
MotoGP Acosta pace
Pedro Acosta set the tone in MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring, and he did it twice. He opened with the fastest lap in FP1, a 1:29.851, then came back in afternoon practice and lowered the mark to 1:28.381. KTM had a strong opening session around him. Pol Espargaro took second to give the team a 1-2 finish, while Jorge Martin placed third, Marc Marquez fourth and Johann Zarco fifth. The spread at the sharp end was tight. The top 16 riders in FP1 were separated by less than one second, which kept every lap under pressure and left little room for error. Acosta handled that squeeze better than anyone. He kept his margin at the front and made the Red Bull Ring look like a circuit where he could control the pace from the start.
Afternoon practice brought more movement behind Acosta, and the session changed quickly after a late crash by Alex Marquez brought out a red flag. Even with that interruption, Marquez still finished eighth. Fermin Aldeguer and Ai Ogura slotted in behind Acosta at the top, while Marc Marquez finished fourth and Jorge Martin was fifth again. The biggest gains and losses came farther down the order. Francesco Bagnaia finished 18th and was sent to Q1 for the fifth straight weekend. Fabio Quartararo finished 10th and earned direct Q2 entry for the first time since Barcelona. That result gave Quartararo a useful step forward, while Bagnaia faced more work in qualifying. The afternoon order showed how quickly the field can shift when the laps get faster and the track rewards clean runs.
Moto3 Uriarte pace
Brian Uriarte set the standard in wet Moto3 FP2 and did it in a session that never fully dried. He led the way with a 1:47.740 lap at the Red Bull Ring, and Joel Esteban and Leo Rammerstorfer followed behind him. The conditions kept the riders guessing from the start. The track began wet and stayed that way, which made outright pace harder to find and put a premium on control and consistency. Uriarte found both. His lap put him on top of the session and gave him the benchmark in a class where the weather kept every run from settling into a normal rhythm. Esteban and Rammerstorfer held the next two spots, but the surface never gave anyone the chance to build a fully dry run or settle the order with pure speed. Uriarte managed the conditions best and left the wet session with the sharpest time in Moto3.
