BURIRAM, THAILAND – Marco Bezzecchi opened the PT Grand Prix of Thailand 2026 MotoGP weekend with a record lap, leaving reigning champion Marc Marquez clearly behind and putting Francesco Bagnaia under pressure.
Record lap and tricky Friday
The first race weekend of the 2026 MotoGP season in Buriram began on 27 February with the decisive practice session that determined the groups for Q1 and Q2. The session set the course for who would fight directly for pole and who would have to take the longer route through the first qualifying stage.
Dark clouds hung over the Chang International Circuit all afternoon. The looming threat of rain forced riders to compress their time attacks into narrow windows, knowing that a single shower could end any chance of improvement.
Bezzecchi leads as Marquez chases
Italian rider Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia Racing set a new all-time benchmark in Buriram with a 1:28.526 lap. The performance underlined his strong early-season form and positioned him as the man to beat heading into qualifying.
Behind him, Spanish world champion Marc Marquez of the Ducati Lenovo Team finished second, 0.421 seconds off the best time. He appeared unable to fully exploit the potential of the GP26 yet, hinting at room for improvement as the weekend progressed.
Tight front group and strong Spaniards
Fabio Di Giannantonio of the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team took third, losing only 0.484 seconds to Bezzecchi. The Italian underlined his ambitions to compete consistently at the front of the field.
Highly rated talent Pedro Acosta of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing claimed fourth with a deficit of 0.659 seconds. Former Spanish world champion Jorge Martin, now riding for Aprilia, followed in fifth, 0.703 seconds back and unable to quite match teammate Bezzecchi’s pace.
Honda returns to front as Bagnaia struggles
With Joan Mir of Honda HRC Castrol in seventh place, 0.991 seconds off the top, the Japanese manufacturer signalled a return to the leading group on the opening day. Brad Binder delivered a solid showing for Red Bull KTM in eighth, just over one second behind Bezzecchi.
Japanese newcomer Ai Ogura of the Trackhouse MotoGP Team secured a direct Q2 spot in ninth despite a crash, ending the session 1.053 seconds adrift. Veteran Johann Zarco, riding for Castrol Honda LCR, completed the top ten, 1.064 seconds off the best time.
Reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia endured a difficult start, finishing only 15th with a gap of 1.298 seconds. He missed direct Q2 qualification and faced a challenging Saturday with the added risk of traffic and incident in Q1.
Yamaha under pressure and rookie debuts
At Yamaha, the difficult trend of recent seasons persisted despite some encouraging signs. Fabio Quartararo of Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP improved his top speed but could not do better than 16th, 1.358 seconds behind.
His teammate Alex Rins struggled even more, ending the day 20th with a deficit of 1.776 seconds. The results increased the pressure on Yamaha as rivals from Ducati, Aprilia, KTM and Honda showed stronger outright pace.
Among the rookies, Brazilian rider Diogo Moreira of Pro Honda LCR delivered a solid debut in 18th, 1.575 seconds off the front. Triple Superbike world champion Toprak Razgatlioglu, now with Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP, finished 21st, 1.839 seconds back, indicating that more adaptation work lay ahead for the Turkish star.
Focus shifts to qualifying, sprint and race
The PT Grand Prix of Thailand 2026 was set to continue the same day with qualifying and the sprint race. The full-length Grand Prix on 1 March was expected to provide the first comprehensive benchmark of the new season’s competitive order.
Fans in Thailand could follow the action live on True4U channel 24, while international and local viewers also had access via streaming on the TrueVisions NOW app on SPOTV (689). The combination of a record lap, unsettled weather and shaken hierarchy promised an intense and unpredictable start to the 2026 MotoGP campaign.