2026 Hungarian MotoGP, Balaton Park - Friday Practice Results

KTM’s Pedro Acosta rules Friday practice for the 2026 Hungarian MotoGP by almost half-a-second at Balaton Park.

While Pedro Acosta was a contender throughout the second half of the session, Fabio di Giannantonio leapt from 15th to second in the final minute for VR46 Ducati.

Fermin Aldeguer split Trackhouse riders Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura for fourth.

Aprilia’s World Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi took sixth ahead of Marc Marquez, who set a fearsome pace on the used medium rear tyre and later lost a flying lap when his shaking Desmosedici sent him through the gravel.

Rookie Diogo Moreira was the top Honda in eighth, ahead of Jorge Martin and the leading Yamaha of Jack Miller.

Pecco Bagnaia jumped from 20th to seventh in the closing minutes, despite a big rear slide, but was pushed back to 14th and will need to take part in Saturday’s Qualifying 1.

Aldeguer had been fastest in the early stages of the hour, on a soft rear, ahead of Bezzecchi and Marquez on the medium.

Acosta then became the first to launch a time attack, just before the midway stage of the hour.

Marquez, fastest in an FP1 session for the first time since the same event last year, debuted some new rear Ducati aero this afternoon.

Ominously for his rivals, the reigning champion remained on old medium rubber as he moved into second behind Acosta before the late time attacks.

Gresini stand-in Iker Lecuona held a top ten place heading into the final minutes, when he was demoted to 17th.

Brad Binder suffered a late fall.

* Rookie

Official Balaton Park MotoGP Records:

• Best lap: Marc Marquez, Ducati, 1m 36.518s (2025)
• Fastest race lap: Marc Marquez, Ducati, 1m 37.699s (2025)

Free Practice 1:

Marc Marquez - who dismissed his victory chances on Thursday - starts the Balaton Park MotoGP weekend on top of the timesheets in Free Practice 1.

Last year’s runner-up Pedro Acosta led the early stages before the defending winner moved ahead.

Ducati's reigning champion Marquez, recovering from shoulder surgery, finished with a 0.169s advantage over Trackhouse Aprilia’s Raul Fernandez with Acosta in third for KTM.

Marquez kept the same tyres throughout the 45 minutes.

Luca Marini was the top Honda in eighth, just ahead of world championship leader Marco Bezzecchi in ninth. Aprilia team-mate and title rival Jorge Martin was twelfth.

Toprak Razgatlioglu clipped the back of Ai Ogura in the opening minutes, before rising as high as fourth at a track he enjoys after dominating in WorldSBK last season. 

Razgatlioglu finished FP1 in tenth, as the top Yamaha rider.
 

Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco remain absent due to injuries sustained in Catalunya last month.

Despite retiring at half-distance with a muscle tear in Mugello, Cal Crutchlow is replacing Zarco for a second weekend at LCR Honda, while Gresini has called up WorldSBK rider Iker Lecuona for a Ducati MotoGP debut.

Lecuona was a full-time MotoGP rider with Tech3 KTM in 2020 and 2021, taking a best result of sixth, but didn’t score during seven replacement MotoGP appearances for Honda.

Unlike Crutchlow, Lecuona knows the Balaton Park circuit from WorldSBK, where he is currently second to Aruba.it Ducati team-mate Nicolo Bulega.

* Rookie

Official Balaton Park MotoGP Records:

• Best lap: Marc Marquez, Ducati, 1m 36.518s (2025)
• Fastest race lap: Marc Marquez, Ducati, 1m 37.699s (2025)