David Alonso was the fastest rider of the session that determined the 14 riders who advanced directly to Q2 for the Japanese Grand Prix, the 16th round of the 2026 Moto2 season. In the session held in the early hours of Friday (2) at the Motegi circuit, the Aspar rider clocked a best lap of 1:47.508, the fastest time of the day.
The second position went to the championship leader Manuel González, who, aboard an Intact GP bike, was edged by Alonso by 0.033 seconds. Izán Guevara, of Pramac, posted the third-fastest time of the session, followed by Tony Arbolino, fourth with Fantic Racing. The group of the five fastest also included Daniel Holgado, from Aspar.
Filip Salač, on an American Racing Team motorcycle, ended the session with the sixth-best time, ahead of Adrian Huertas, seventh with Italtrans. Alonso López, the rider for Gresini, was the eighth-fastest, finishing ahead of Ayumu Sasaki, ninth with RW Racing. Senna Agius, from Intact GP, completed the top 10.
The list of riders who will go directly to pole position in Motegi also includes Iván Ortolá, who finished 11th with MSI, Deniz Oncu, 12th with Marc VDS, José Antonio Rueda, 13th on a bike from Ajo, and David Muñoz, who completes the group of qualifiers after finishing 14th with Italtrans on the Japanese circuit.
The Moto2 schedule in Motegi continues later on Friday, starting at 21:25 local time, when the final free practice of the weekend will be held. Qualifying is scheduled for 01:40 on Saturday. The Japan Grand Prix of the intermediate class in the MotoGP World Championship is set for the early hours of Sunday, starting at 12:15 a.m.
