Marquez topped Motegi FP1, Martin 0.099 back
NXTbets Pro | Published On: October 2, 2026
Motegi FP1 sets the order
Marc Marquez set the pace in Free Practice 1 at Motegi, and he did it with a lap that stood above the rest from the start of the session. Marquez’s 1:44.073 put him first in the opening practice run, while Jorge Martin stayed close enough to keep the session tight at the top. Martin finished second, 0.099 seconds back, and that gap kept the front of the sheet under pressure even as the track changed around them.
Marco Bezzecchi took third, giving himself a strong place in the early order as the field got its first real read on the circuit. Alex Marquez followed in fourth. Johann Zarco finished fifth and led the Honda riders, a useful marker for the manufacturer in the opening session. Fabio Quartararo was sixth and headed the Yamaha riders, while Francesco Bagnaia landed eighth and Pedro Acosta placed 10th.
The top end of the session showed how close the first useful laps had become once riders settled in. Marquez still found the cleanest speed, Martin stayed within a tenth, and the rest of the leading group stacked up in quick succession behind them. That left the front rows of the timesheet with little separation and gave the opening practice a sharp edge, even before the track fully came into its best condition.
Motegi conditions change
The session began in damp, greasy conditions, which made the opening laps cautious and gave riders little room for error. Those conditions shaped the first part of Free Practice 1 and forced the field to work through a surface that offered limited grip. Motegi’s newly laid asphalt added another layer to the challenge, and riders got their first meaningful running on it during the session.
As the track dried in the sunshine, the pace built. The shift changed the feel of the session and opened the door for faster laps once the surface started to come in. That progression mattered because the field did not just chase raw speed, it also had to learn how the new asphalt responded as the moisture disappeared. The early dampness and later drying phase made the practice a more complete test than a simple time attack.
That made the first session more than a set of stopwatch figures. Riders had to judge traction, braking and corner entry on a surface that evolved lap by lap. The times at the top reflected that adjustment. Marquez put down the benchmark, but the story of the session also centered on who adapted fastest as Motegi’s conditions moved from slick and uncertain to much more usable.
Nakagami injury and replacement
Takaaki Nakagami’s session ended badly when he suffered a heavy highside at Turn 11 during Free Practice 1. The crash left him with a fractured left collarbone, and he was declared unfit for the rest of the weekend. That injury removed one rider from the remaining action and put a hard stop to his Motegi run before the event could build any further.
Honda replacement Somkiat Chantra stepped in and finished 14th, a steady result in a session that carried extra weight because of the changing conditions and the newly laid asphalt. Maverick Viñales also returned to MotoGP with Tech3 KTM and finished 18th, giving him a return to the series during the opening practice. Those results rounded out a session that mixed pace at the front with important returns and a serious setback elsewhere in the field.
The opening practice at Motegi left several clear markers. The conditions changed from damp and greasy to dry enough for meaningful pace, while the new surface gave riders their first real look at what Motegi would ask of them for the rest of the weekend.
