That is how you turn a weekend around. According to The Race, MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin (Aprilia) completely flipped the script at Motegi, snatching pole position from title rival Marc Marquez (Ducati) in a thrilling qualifying session. It was an absolute statement from the championship leader, who had languished down in eighth-fastest on Friday before finding incredible pace when it mattered most.
Martin sealed the deal by absolutely maximizing the final sector on his second Q2 run. That late surge was enough to jump ahead of Marquez by 0.110s, setting a new Motegi pole record in the process with a time of 1m42.371s. Marquez had looked the favorite after holding provisional pole following the opening runs, but his second outing completely unraveled, capped off by a clumsy trip into the gravel at Turn 3.
The battle right behind them was brilliantly chaotic. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) briefly snatched a front-row spot before Pedro Acosta (KTM) immediately stole it away, using Bezzecchi as a helpful reference on track to secure third, just 0.122s off the pace. Bezzecchi slotted into fourth at +0.159s, while Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) completed a remarkably tight top five covered by a mere 0.175s. Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati), Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM), and Q1 graduate Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia) rounded out the immediate chase.
Further back, things got messy for the LCR team-mates Diogo Moreira and Johann Zarco, who wound up ninth and tenth respectively, though not without drama as Zarco took a crash in Q2. Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia) and Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) completed the Q2 order. Meanwhile, defending Motegi winner Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati) suffered a brutal qualifying session. Yellow flags triggered by a fast Brad Binder (KTM) crash entering the Turns 12-13-14 sequence nearly ruined Fernandez's Q1 run and almost let Bagnaia sneak into Q2 instead. But Fernandez recovered enough time to go again, shoving Bagnaia all the way down to the fifth row in 13th.
That fifth row will also house Ducati stablemate Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati) and Q1 standout Somkiat Chantra (Honda). Chantra, stepping in as Joan Mir's substitute rider at the factory Honda squad, put together a qualifying performance better than any he managed in his full-time 2025 season, comfortably outqualifying team-mate Luca Marini (Honda) in 16th. Further down the order, it was a rough 18th for Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) as he outqualified only the returning Maverick Vinales (Tech3 KTM) and three Yamahas, led by Jack Miller (Pramac Yamaha), Alex Rins (Yamaha), and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pramac Yamaha).
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