Fabio di Giannantonio set a new MotoGP lap record of 1:50.406 during Friday’s practice at Lusail International Circuit in Qatar, edging out Marc Marquez’s previous all-time mark. Di Giannantonio credited setup tweaks that improved braking and corner entry, according to Motorcycle Sports, while Marquez recovered from a chain failure to finish second.
Lusail International Circuit, Qatar — Marc Marquez will start Sunday’s Grand Prix from the front row after qualifying second, but his path to the MotoGP title runs through a rival he acknowledged has superior race pace.
Di Giannantonio’s record lap eclipsed Marquez’s 2025 all-time mark of 1:50.499.
Marquez, who trails championship leader Jorge Martin, secured the second grid slot behind pole-sitter Marco Bezzecchi, according to Crash.Net. Martin, Marquez’s closest title challenger, qualified 11th after finishing seventh in Friday practice with a time of 1:51.041, according to Roadracing World. Martin sat out most of the Malaysian Grand Prix.
The championship math is straightforward: Marquez must gain 30 points over Martin this weekend, and eight points on Bezzecchi, or seven if the Ducati rider wins the Grand Prix, according to Crash.Net.
Bezzecchi, riding for Aprilia, set two laps good enough for pole and was on course to lower his new lap record further until a small mistake, according to Crash.Net. The Italian’s advantage appears greater on the medium rear tyre, which was chosen for both races last season, according to the report. Michelin said the soft rear is also an option for Saturday’s Sprint.
Marquez conceded Bezzecchi holds a significant edge on used tyres.
“We know that Marco has another pace this weekend, he’s super-fast,” Marquez said, according to Crash.Net.
Di Giannantonio, who set the new lap record of 1:50.406 in Friday practice, acknowledged the Aprilia’s strength over a race distance.
“I think Aprilias have something more than us on the pace, honestly, but we start from the front row, so we need to fight,” di Giannantonio said, according to Crash.Net.
Di Giannantonio’s record lap eclipsed Marquez’s 2025 all-time mark of 1:50.499, according to Roadracing World. The Italian led the 18-rider field, with Marquez second at 1:50.548 and Bezzecchi third at 1:50.666. Francesco Bagnaia finished fourth at 1:50.792, with Raul Fernandez fifth at 1:51.014, according to Roadracing World.
Despite the record time, di Giannantonio was only 12th through the speed trap, with a top speed 5.5 km/h slower than Iker Lecuona’s identical GP26 machine, according to Motorcycle Sports. He attributed the improvement to setup tweaks that enhanced braking and corner entry rather than pure speed.
“Bittersweet feeling, honestly,” di Giannantonio said, adding “we saw that we could have done some mistakes here and there in the last GPs,” according to Motorcycle Sports. He noted his morning pace was “clearly off the pace, two seconds off Marc and a lot of people” before the afternoon turnaround.
Marquez’s Friday session included a mechanical setback. He suffered a chain failure on his GP26 with a little under 30 minutes remaining in practice, according to Roadracing World. He returned to the track with 18 minutes left and reclaimed the top spot with a 1:50.925 before being overtaken. A final flying lap improvement was not enough, leaving him 0.142 seconds adrift of di Giannantonio.
The rest of the field faces a significant gap. Pedro Acosta finished 14th and was forced into Q1, while Maverick Viñales suffered a technical issue on his way to 15th, according to Roadracing World. The entire Friday field was covered by less than two seconds.
Di Giannantonio said his focus remains on Saturday’s qualifying and the Sprint.
“First of all, we need to do a proper qualifying,” he said, adding “I never struggle here for race pace,” according to Motorcycle Sports.
Bezzecchi said of his qualifying performance: “I wanted to start in the front row, and the pole position is even better, so very happy,” according to Crash.Net.
Sprint Saturday action begins at 12:30 local time (UTC +3), according to Roadracing World.
