MotoGP starting grid as Marco Bezzecchi scores Thailand GP pole and Francesco Bagnaia 13th

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Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia will start the first race of the 2026 MotoGP season on pole position, after topping qualifying for the Thailand Grand Prix in Buriram on Saturday.

But qualifying in Buriram was not a happy affair for one side of the factory Ducati garage, as two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia started his 2026 campaign with a Q1 exit. A flurry of late flying laps failed to help the Italian advance, having struggled to turn the GP26.

Bagnaia has struggled more than any Ducati ace in Buriram with the tyres that Michelin has provided for the season-opening Thai GP. In contrast, the Aprilia RS-GP has suited the tyres, which Bezzecchi made the most of to score pole position and dominate the weekend so far.

Marco Bezzecchi scores the first pole position of 2026 at the Thailand Grand Prix!

Will he convert pole into victory, or will someone else win in Buriram?

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Marco Bezzecchi scores pole position for the 2026 Thailand Grand Prix in Buriram

Aprilia rider Bezzecchi set a new all-time lap record in practice in Buriram this Friday, and he immediately led the way from the start in Q2 on Saturday. The Italian began his session with a 1:28.914, as Jorge Martin even made it an Aprilia one-two atop the leaderboards early on.

READ MORE: All you need to know about the 2026 MotoGP season from calendar to riders

Bezzecchi quickly lowered the benchmark further to a 1:28.652, while Trackhouse pilot Raul Fernandez utilised having to progress through Q1 to make it an Aprilia RS-GP one-two-three in the early stages. KTM pilot Pedro Acosta was the best non-Aprilia rider after the first runs.

Fernandez even jumped ahead of Martin as the final runs began, but the Spaniard was soon outdone by reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez. The Ducati rider had not found pace easy to come by during his first run, but he dug deep to get within 0.035s of Bezzecchi’s lap.

Bezzecchi did not intend to rest on his laurels and kept pushing in the closing stages, but he pushed the limits just too much inside the final minute and crashed. He fell at the final turn after trying to force a tighter angle, but the front tyre refused to play ball with his attempts.

Raul Fernandez set the pace during Q1 in Buriram, as Francesco Bagnaia bowed out

Francesco Bagnaia bows out in Q1 at the 2026 Thailand Grand Prix!

Is Pecco Bagnaia facing another season of woe at Ducati?

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Ducati star Bagnaia had to go through Q1 in Buriram after going the wrong way with his set-up amid the mixed conditions that greeted the field in the timed practice session this Friday. The Italian struggled with braking and corner entry in practice, which the wind emphasised.

Bagnaia wasted no time before showing the way in Q1 with a quick lap from the get-go. But the Italian’s effort aboard the GP26 was not enough to prevent Trackhouse racer Fernandez and Franco Morbidelli of VR46 from displacing the two-time champion atop the timesheets.

Fernandez laid down a huge marker with nine minutes remaining in Q1, as he set a 1:28.784 aboard his satellite Aprilia RS-GP. The Spaniard’s effort opened a 0.306s margin at the top of the board to Morbidelli and 0.564s advantage over Bagnaia, ahead of the final time attacks.

With a Q1 exit potentially on the cards at the first round of the 2026 campaign, Bagnaia was among the first riders to return to the circuit. But while he found time in the first sector over Fernandez’s lap, Bagnaia struggled to maintain his pace throughout the remainder of his lap.

Errors also began to creep in for Bagnaia, as he struggled to keep his Ducati on the track the harder and harder that he pushed through the turns. Bagnaia struggled to turn on the GP26 when carrying the maximum lean angle and eventually finished Q1 with the third-best time.

Full qualifying results for the 2026 MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix