MotoGP 2026 roars into life as Bezzecchi smashes Chang Circuit lap record; Marc Marquez second
Marco Bezzecchi topped Friday practice for the PT Grand Prix of Thailand 2026 at Buriram’s Chang International Circuit with a record 1:28.526. World champion Marc Marquez was second, while Francesco Bagnaia missed an automatic Q2 spot.
The MotoGP 2026 season opened with its first round, the PT Grand Prix of Thailand, moving into official practice on Friday, February 27, 2026, at Chang International Circuit, Buriram.
Friday’s schedule featured the Practice session for qualifying group allocation—crucial for every rider. Throughout the premier-class MotoGP session, rain clouds hung over the circuit and threatened to break at any moment, forcing all riders to adjust their lap-time strategies.
In the first day’s results, Marco Bezzecchi, the Italian rider for Aprilia Racing, continued his scorching form by topping the timesheets with a 1:28.526 lap—shattering the all-time lap record at Chang International Circuit.
Second place went to Marc Marquez, the current Spanish world champion with the Ducati Lenovo Team, who appeared unable to extract the GP26’s maximum performance, finishing 0.421 seconds behind Bezzecchi. Fabio Di Giannantonio, the Italian rider for Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, was third, 0.484 seconds off the lead.
Rising star Pedro Acosta of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing moved up to fourth, 0.659 seconds behind. The 2024 world champion Jorge Martin, also Spanish and riding for Aprilia Racing, was fifth, 0.703 seconds behind his team-mate. Another Spanish title contender, Alex Marquez of Gresini Racing MotoGP, ended the day sixth, 0.850 seconds adrift.
Japanese machinery—Honda in particular—returned to the leading group, with Spanish rider Joan Mir of Honda HRC Castrol seventh, 0.991 seconds behind the leader. South African rider Brad Binder of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing was eighth, 1.006 seconds back.
Japanese rider Ai Ogura of Trackhouse MotoGP Team, who impressed in testing, maintained strong pace. Despite one crash, he still progressed to Q2 in ninth, 1.053 seconds behind. Veteran French rider Johann Zarco of Castrol Honda LCR was 10th, 1.064 seconds off the top. Meanwhile, two-time Italian world champion Francesco Bagnaia of Ducati struggled and failed to secure an automatic Q2 place, finishing 15th, 1.298 seconds behind.
Yamaha continued to face a tough task. French star Fabio Quartararo of Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP improved his top speed but could do no better than 16th, 1.358 seconds back. Team-mate Alex Rins finished 20th, 1.776 seconds behind.
Among the rookies, Brazilian youngster Diogo Moreira of Pro Honda LCR made a promising debut in 18th, 1.575 seconds off the lead. Toprak Razgatlioglu, a three-time World Superbike Championship title winner riding for Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP, ended the first day 21st, 1.839 seconds behind.
The PT Grand Prix of Thailand 2026 continues with qualifying and the sprint race on Saturday, February 28, with the main race on Sunday, March 1. The event will be broadcast live on True4U Channel 24 and via the TrueVisions NOW app on SPOTV (689).
