MotoGP, Thailand: first pole for Bezzecchi, M. Marquez second

Buriram (Thailand), Feb. 28 (LaPresse) – Marco Bezzecchi on an Aprilia with a time of 1:28.652 will start from pole position in the PT Thailand Grand Prix, which opens the 2026 MotoGP championship. In Thailand, the 27-year-old from Romagna will lead the grid ahead of Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) by 35 thousandths of a second and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), who had further improved his time and finished third. The Rimini rider of the Aprilia Racing team was about to improve further in the final moments but fell while positioning his RS-GP in the last corner of the Asian circuit. This was number 72’s second crash on Saturday morning in Buriram (he also had a mishap in FP2). Fifth was his teammate Jorge Martin, overtaken also by Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), who finished fourth. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) closes the second row. Thirteenth was Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), who did not pass Q1. For Bezzecchi, this is his tenth pole position in the premier class, the third consecutive after the two obtained in Portimao and Valencia in the last GPs of the previous season, where he finished on top of the podium on both Sundays.