Aprilia Racing closes out Friday in Montmeló with two RS-GPs in the top 10

May 16, 2026 Michael Le Pard News

Published May 16, 2026 by Michael Le Pard

martin

MARCO BEZZECCHI SEVENTH AND RAÚL FERNÁNDEZ FOURTH TO GO THROUGH TO Q2, JORGE MARTÍN WILL HAVE TO BATTLE  IN Q1
The first day of practice on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya ended with a mixed balance for Aprilia Racing. Marco Bezzecchi began his Friday with fifth place in FP1, only to finish the practice session seventh – a result which puts him straight through to Q2.

It was an uphill battle for Jorge Martín in his home GP. In FP1 the Spanish rider crashed on turn 12 as he was lying first, fortunately without any serious consequences. Despite this, he finished the session second. His practice session was also marred by a crash in the final moments during a time-attack which prevented him from improving his time. Martín finished seventeenth, so his Saturday will be spent battling for a spot in Q1.

Also worth a mention is the performance by Trackhouse MotoGP Team’s Raúl Fernández, fourth at the end of the practice session to go straight through to Q2 along with Marco Bezzecchi.
It was definitely a positive day. The goal was to go straight through to Q2 and I’m pleased that I managed to do that. As for the race pace, I was rather competitive. I might have expected a bit more in the time-attack, and I still need to improve in terms of riding on certain points of the track, but overall, it was a positive day.
It was a turbulent day, but that is how our sport is. There are days when things do go the way you would want and you have to grit your teeth. Today was one of those days. In any case, we have a good team and a clear direction in which to go. In the afternoon, I was really at the limit and, although had limited time to make any changes, I still tried to give one hundred percent.
It was a positive day for Marco. We managed to sort the RS-GP26 in the two sessions to make him feel comfortable. However, there are still a few aspects to work out on a track where setup will be fundamental and with grip conditions that change throughout the weekend. It’s a pity, on the other hand, about Jorge who had a good feeling in the morning, but was compromised by the crashes which kept him from repeating the performance in the afternoon.

2027 Newest Bike Reviews

2027 Motorcycle Model Review Guides