Marc Marquez snatched pole position for the 2026 Hungarian MotoGP from Pedro Acosta in a dramatic last-minute qualifying battle at Balaton Park, setting the stage for Sunday’s 23-lap grand prix.
The reigning world champion recorded an official lap time of 1:36.785 which also shattered the existing track record after overcoming an early crash that threatened to derail his entire weekend.
Acosta dominated much of qualifying but fell short by just five-thousandths of a second and will start from second, while Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer completes the front row in third position after making the most of chassis updates for his GP25 machine.
Row two of the grid is headed by Ducati’s top rider in the championship standings, Fabio Di Giannantonio, who fell briefly at the start of qualifying but recovered to secure fourth ahead of Francesco Bagnaia, who battled through Q1 to claim fifth.
Aprilia title leader Marco Bezzecchi wraps up the second row in sixth, followed by stablemates Raul Fernandez and Jorge Martin in seventh and eighth, with the leading Honda of Luca Marini completing the third row.
Ai Ogura and Honda LCR rookie Diogo Moreira will lineup on the fourth row alongside Pramac’s Jack Miller, who was the only Yamaha to make Q2.
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Full 2026 Hungarian MotoGP starting grid and Qualifying Results
| Pos | Rider | Team | Time/Diff |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Marc Marquez | Ducati Lenovo | 1:36.785s |
| 2 | Pedro Acosta | Red Bull KTM | +0.053s |
| 3 | Fermin Aldeguer | BK8 Gresini Ducati | +0.340s |
| 4 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Pertamina VR46 Ducati | +0.447s |
| 5 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati Lenovo | +0.532s |
| 6 | Marco Bezzecchi | Aprilia Racing | +0.643s |
| 7 | Raul Fernandez | Trackhouse Aprilia | +0.763s |
| 8 | Jorge Martin | Aprilia Racing | +0.789s |
| 9 | Luca Marini | Honda HRC Castrol | +0.820s |
| 10 | Ai Ogura | Trackhouse Aprilia | +0.844s |
| 11 | Diogo Moreira | Pro Honda LCR | +1.065s |
| 12 | Jack Miller | Pramac Yamaha | +1.456s |
| 13 | Joan Mir | Honda HRC Castrol | 1:37.756s |
| 14 | Enea Bastianini | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | 1:37.815s |
| 15 | Fabio Quartararo | Monster Yamaha | 1:37.965s |
| 16 | Iker Lecuona | BK8 Gresini Ducati | 1:38.024s |
| 17 | Brad Binder | Red Bull KTM | 1:38.068s |
| 18 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | Pramac Yamaha | 1:38.074s |
| 19 | Franco Morbidelli | Pertamina VR46 Ducati | 1:38.234s |
| 20 | Alex Rins | Monster Yamaha | 1:38.469s |
| 21 | Maverick Viñales | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | 1:38.469s |
| 22 | Cal Crutchlow | Castrol Honda LCR | 1:39.284s |
