2026 MotoGP Round 2 Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying: Di Giannantonio takes pole amid repeated crashes

       MotoGP Brazilian Grand Prix qualifying concluded at Goiânia’s Ayrton Senna circuit on 21 March 2026. Despite dry conditions, repeated crashes disrupted the riders’ attacks. VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio progressed from Q1 and seized his opportunity in a chaotic Q2, recording 1:17.410 to claim his second career MotoGP pole position.

       The incidents began soon after Q2 started. Factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia fell at Turn 10, championship leader Pedro Acosta lost control at Turn 4, and Marc Márquez also crashed at the same corner. All three had to return to the pits for their spare bikes. The early sequence of accidents changed the situation abruptly, and Di Giannantonio used the opening to set a fast lap on his Ducati and take provisional pole, with Márquez second.

       At the end of the first runs, Jorge Martín was third and his Aprilia teammate Marco Bezzecchi fifth. On the second runs, Di Giannantonio improved slightly to 1:17.410 but remained under pressure from several riders in the final minutes. Martín had the pace to challenge for the fastest lap, but crashed at Turn 6 with three minutes remaining. The resulting yellow flags ended the final attacks of most riders.

       Di Giannantonio also crashed at Turn 4 late in the session, adding another twist, but nobody could beat the time he had already set and he retained pole. Bezzecchi rose to second at the end, missing pole by 0.070 seconds. His Q1 time had been 0.002 seconds faster than Di Giannantonio’s pole lap, but he could not reproduce it in Q2. Marc Márquez qualified third, while Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo produced an impressive late lap to take fourth.

       Despite his crash, Martín remained fifth, ahead of Trackhouse Aprilia’s Ai Ogura. Gresini teammates Fermín Aldeguer and Álex Márquez qualified seventh and eighth, while Acosta could manage only ninth on the factory KTM after his earlier fall. LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco, Bagnaia and Pramac Yamaha’s Toprak Razgatlıoğlu occupied tenth through twelfth, filling the fourth row.

       In Q1, Bezzecchi had topped the session with a 1:17.408, with Di Giannantonio following him through to Q2. Honda rider Joan Mir was third and missed out. Home LCR rider Diogo Moreira had briefly held a time good enough to progress during his first run, but a mistake on his second flying lap prevented an improvement and left him fourth in Q1. Jack Miller and Luca Marini crashed in Q1 and qualified eighteenth and nineteenth overall respectively. Numerous riders lost control at different corners throughout qualifying, with Turn 4 proving a particular trouble spot.