MotoGP FP1 results as Fabio Di Giannantonio sets the pace at the Spanish Grand Prix

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Fabio Di Giannantonio set the fastest lap around Jerez during FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix on Friday, as VR46 registered a one-two as MotoGP returned from its April break.

The premier class paddock has gathered at Jerez this week, a full month since the last race. MotoGP postponing the Qatar Grand Prix until November due to the situation in the Middle East created a four-week gap from the United States Grand Prix at COTA to the Spanish GP.

Just 21 full-time riders are taking part at the Spanish GP, as Maverick Vinales of KTM Tech3 is not competing at Jerez owing to his ongoing shoulder injury. KTM test rider Pol Espargaro is also dealing with an injury, so could not race after Vinales withdrew from the Spanish GP.

Yamaha and Aprilia have test riders taking part at the Spanish GP this weekend, however, as Augusto Fernandez continues the development of the former’s V4-engined YZR-M1 and the latter helps his Italian squad to refine their RS-GP while they still benefit from concessions.

Ducati rider Marc Marquez saw his ongoing recovery from a shoulder injury affect his early results this year, as well. But the Spaniard arrived at Jerez claiming he now feels in a “good way to perform”, and he quickly settled into a fast rhythm along with his fellow Ducati aces.

Is another pole position on the cards for Fabio Di Giannantonio this weekend at the Spanish Grand Prix?

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Fabio Di Giannantonio sets the pace, as Alex Marquez tested Ducati’s new rear wing during FP1 at Jerez

Gresini rider Alex Marquez immediately took to the circuit to test Ducati’s new rear wing on his Desmosedici GP26 in the early stages of FP1 at Jerez this Friday. The 30-year-old also set the early pace with a 1:37.332 to pip his brother Marc ahead of Di Giannantonio of VR46.

In contrast, Aprilia racer Marco Bezzecchi – who won each of the first three Grands Prix this season – took time to build into FP1 at the Spanish GP. The early 2026 championship leader jumped up to second place, just 0.015s shy of Alex Marquez’s benchmark, after 30 minutes.

Apart from Bezzecchi, few riders made large improvements to their lap times during the first half of the opening practice session at the 2026 Spanish GP. Most riders opted to stay in the garages for a lot of the session, before they all flocked to the track in the final eight minutes.

Ducati ace Francesco Bagnaia was among the few riders to make large gains in the early part of the session. The two-time riders’ champion climbed from P16 to P4 in the timesheet after half an hour, shortly after he had also run wide at Turn 6 trying to push on his Ducati GP26.

The Ducati GP25 has also shown signs of promise at Jerez for VR46 rider Franco Morbidelli. Last year’s Desmosedici has not yielded many positives for Morbidelli this year, but he took P4 inside the final three minutes after teammate Di Giannantonio on the GP26 went fastest.

Morbidelli even made it a VR46 one-two in FP1 at the Spanish Grand Prix as the chequered flag fell on Friday. The Italian continued to find more speed aboard his Ducati GP25 to finish the session only slower than his teammate Di Giannantonio on the GP26, albeit by 0.288s.

Late lap times also saw the Pramac pair of Toprak Razgatlioglu and Jack Miller start to show some speed on the Yamaha M1 around Jerez. After having to switch onto his second bike in the middle of the session, Razgatlioglu rose to P12 before Miller went even better to get P7.

The drama even continued after the chequered flag fell to finish FP1 at the 2026 Spanish GP, as Jorge Martin of Aprilia crashed on his way back around Jerez to carry out a practice start. Martin lost the front going through Turn 3, and he took a fast slide through the gravel trap.

Full 2026 MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix FP1 timesheet at Jerez