Ai Ogura claims maiden MotoGP pole at Brno with new all-time lap record

Ai Ogura shattered the all-time lap record at Brno during qualifying for the 2026 Czech Grand Prix to seal his first-ever MotoGP pole position.

The Japanese star paced his Trackhouse Aprilia RS-GP26 to a scorching lap of 1:51.139 that put him more than two tenths of a second clear of VR46 Ducati’s Fabio Di Giannantonio with Francesco Bagnaia just another 0.033 seconds behind in third.

After the first runs in Q2, it was Di Giannantonio on provisional pole ahead of LCR rookie Diogo Moreira and Ogura, but more red sectors were lighting up the timesheets as riders began their second attempts.

Bagnaia later scorched round to shave a quarter of a second off Diggia’s previous best, while factory Ducati teammate Marc Marquez came up short by half a tenth before his lap was deleted for exceeding track limits.

However, with just two minutes to go Ogura obliterated the all-time lap record at Brno which ultimately stood as the benchmark, becoming the first Japanese rider to claim pole position since Takaaki Nakagami at the 2020 Teruel Grand Prix.

Di Giannantonio was next to put in a fast lap but he couldn’t depose Ogura’s unmatchable lap, slotting into second place as he just edged Francesco Bagnaia down to third.

Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi could only muster fourth on the factory Aprilia, followed by Marquez in fifth as Diogo Moreira impressed in sixth on the best Honda.

Raul Fernandez rebounded from an appendicitis scare to slot the second Trackhouse Aprilia into seventh, just ahead of KTM’s Pedro Acosta, while VR46’s Franco Morbidelli took P8 having come through Q1.

As Ai Ogura claims maiden MotoGP pole at Brno, Aprilia stablemate Jorge Martin struggled for pace despite advancing to Q2 and could only manage tenth, adding to his double long lap penalty woes.

2026 Czech MotoGP schedule Brno: Start time, how to watch

Full 2026 Czech MotoGP Qualifying Results