Fabio Di Giannantonio tops first Jerez MotoGP practice, Jorge Martin crashes post FP1

Fabio Di Giannantonio went fastest in the first Jerez MotoGP practice, while Jorge Martin suffered a dramatic crash shortly after the chequered flag.

Di Giannantonio set a late lap of 1:36.954 to lead a VR46 Ducati 1-2 ahead of teammate Franco Morbidelli as the premier series marked a return to European soil after a three-week break.

From the moment the lights went out at 10:45 local time, the paddock buzzed with activity as all 23 riders hit the track promptly, many opting for long runs early on to gather data on tire degradation over the demanding layout featuring 13 turns including the fast Dry Sack kink and the uphill Turn 10 restart.

Alex Marquez on the Gresini Ducati quickly emerged as the early pacesetter, posting a 1’37.332 to establish a benchmark that held for much of the session.

However, the real fireworks ignited in the final 10 minutes as fresh medium rear tires flooded the timing screens, and

Fabio Di Giannantonio unleashed his killer lap with under four minutes remaining, threading the needle through the technical Turn 11-12 chicane with surgical precision to become the only rider to dip into the 1’36s.

Franco Morbidelli shadowed just 0.288s adrift to complete a VR46 Ducati 1-2, while Alex Marquez clung to third, 0.378s back, on old rubber.

Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi was the best of the Aprilias in fourth as Marc Marquez rounded out the top five, the eight-time world champion reporting improved physical form post-injury.

Trackhouse Aprilia’s Raul Fernandez held sixth followed by Pramac’s Jack Miller in seventh, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta and Honda LCR’s Johann Zarco slotting into eighth and ninth, respectively.

Yet the session’s dramatic close saw Jorge Martin crash at Turn 3 on his out-lap during practice starts post-chequered flag in similar fashion to his Austin Sprint celebration crash.

Martin, who delivered a solid top-10 showing in the session, walked away unscathed but was later slapped with a three-place grid penalty for an unrelated incident with Alex Marquez.

Full 2026 Jerez MotoGP FP1 Results

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