MotoGP Japan Grand Prix Starting Grid Revealed

October 2, 2026

MotoGP determined on the night of Friday (the 2nd) the starting grid for the Japan Grand Prix, the 16th round of the 2026 season, held at the Motegi circuit. In the final phase of qualifying, Jorge Martín clocked a best lap of 1:42.371, broke the circuit record, and secured pole position for both Saturday’s Sprint and Sunday’s main race.

The second position on the grid belonged to Marc Márquez, the Ducati rider who was overtaken by Martín by 0.110s. The two are the leaders of the championship, with the Aprilia rider 12 points ahead. Pedro Acosta, winner in Austria, starts third on KTM, while Marco Bezzecchi, on Aprilia, begins fourth, with Álex Márquez, riding for Gresini, in fifth.

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Unique Brazilian on the MotoGP grid for the 2026 season, Diogo Moreira delivered a solid qualifying. The LCR rider stood as Honda’s best representative and secured ninth on the starting grid for the weekend’s two races. The rider of bike number 11 also did not need to go through the first qualifying round, as he had already been inside the top-10 in the second practice session of the weekend.

The Motegi Sprint will take place this Saturday, starting at 3:00, while the Japan MotoGP Grand Prix is set to start at 2:00 on Sunday.

Here’s how the starting grid for the Japanese GP looks:

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1st – Jorge Martín (ESP/Aprilia)
2nd – Marc Márquez (ESP/Ducati)
3rd – Pedro Acosta (ESP/KTM)
4th – Marco Bezzecchi (ITA/Aprilia)
5th – Álex Márquez (ESP/Gresini-Ducati)
6th – Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA/VR46-Ducati)
7th – Enea Bastianini (ESP/Tech3-KTM)
8th – Raúl Fernández (ESP/TrackHouse-Aprilia)
9th – Diogo Moreira (BRA/LCR-Honda)
10th – Johann Zarco (FRA/LCR-Honda)
11th – Ai Ogura (JAP/TrackHouse-Aprilia)
12th – Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha)

13th – Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati)
14th – Franco Morbidelli (ITA/VR46-Ducati)
15th – Somkiat Chantra (IND/Honda)
16th – Luca Marini (ITA/Honda)
17th – Brad Binder (AFS/KTM)
18th – Fermín Aldeguer (ESP/Gresini-Ducati)
19th – Maverick Viñales (ESP/Tech3-KTM)
20th – Jack Miller (AUS/Pramac-Yamaha)
21st – Álex Rins (ESP/Yamaha)
22nd – Toprak Razgatlıoğlu (TUR/Pramac-Yamaha)

Jake Thompson

I'm Jake Thompson, a motorsport journalist born and raised in North Carolina, where NASCAR weekends were basically family holidays. I’ve been covering everything from Formula 1 to rally raids for over a decade, blending sharp analysis with a fan’s heart. For me, writing about racing isn’t just a job — it’s the best seat in the house.