Martin edges Marquez for Austrian Grand Prix pole
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 19, 2026
Martin Takes Pole
Jorge Martin put himself on top of the Austrian Grand Prix field at the Red Bull Ring, taking pole with a lap of 1 minute, 27.917 seconds and edging Marc Marquez by 0.015 seconds in qualifying. The margin was razor thin, but Martin did the job when it mattered most and secured his third pole of the season. Marquez lined up second after coming up just short, and Pedro Acosta joined them near the front in third, 0.071 seconds behind Martin. Marco Bezzecchi took fourth, Ai Ogura followed in fifth and Alex Marquez completed the top six.
Martin’s lap set the tone for the session and left no room for hesitation at the front. The top three separated themselves from the rest by small gaps, which gave the front end of the grid a clear shape heading into the race weekend. Acosta’s third-place run kept him in striking distance of the lead pair, while Bezzecchi and Ogura stayed close enough to remain part of the fight for the early race positions. Alex Marquez, meanwhile, still found a way into the top six after a difficult final segment of qualifying. That front group was defined by speed, but the gains came in tiny pieces. Martin found the best one.
Qualifying Order Tightens
The rest of the qualifying order carried its own drama, even without the same spotlight as the fight for pole. Alex Marquez crashed at Turn 1 on his second run in Q2, a moment that could have thrown off the final shape of the session, but he still held on to sixth on the grid. Francesco Bagnaia also had to work through an earlier stage, advancing from Q1 before placing seventh in the final classification. That left the front seven packed together with very little breathing room and gave the next row of the grid a mix of pace, recovery and survival.
The session kept turning over small changes in position, leaving the field behind Martin crowded and dangerous. The final order showed how quickly a single mistake could shift the race picture, even if the end result still left several riders separated by only a few places. Martin started from the best spot, but the field behind him stayed crowded and dangerous.
Practice Pace Sets Stage
The pace in practice pointed to a fast, tight weekend long before qualifying settled the front row. Pedro Acosta set the tone in FP1 with a best lap of 1 minute, 29.851 seconds, and KTM locked out the top two spots in that session. Pol Espargaro took second in FP1 after an early crash, while Martin finished third after switching to his spare Aprilia because of a technical problem in the opening minutes. Marquez ended FP1 in fourth, which kept him in the mix from the start and foreshadowed the form he would show later in the day.
FP2 brought another shift, with Marc Marquez briefly leading the timesheets before crashing. Martin sat second in that session and Acosta was third, which kept the same main names near the front across both practice runs. Ducati said Marquez’s bike was not badly damaged after the FP2 crash, which allowed the team to leave the session with some reassurance even after the fall. The practice order underlined the depth at the sharp end of the field. Acosta was quick in both FP1 and the broader weekend picture. Martin solved an early technical problem and stayed in range. Marquez had the speed to lead FP2 before his crash interrupted the run. By the time qualifying ended, the story had settled into a familiar shape, with Martin on pole, Marquez close behind and Acosta still firmly in the conversation.
