06.06.2026
MotoGP 2026 - Round 08 of 22, Balaton Park – Qualification and Sprint
Pedro Acosta banked 2nd position in the eighth MotoGP Sprint of the 2026 campaign today at a sunny Balaton Park as the series laid rubber at the Hungarian venue for only the second time. Enea Bastianini also cut through the pack to 8th for Sprint points for what was the second consecutive weekend of Grand Prix speed.
Highlights and key moments from Balaton Park:
- A third Sprint podium result of the season for Pedro Acosta who started the 13-lap Sprint from P2 on the grid and was just a fraction of a second from Pole Position
- Enea Bastianini produces a feisty Sprint performance to surge from P14 to P8 and collect two points for his Saturday efforts
- Moto3™ front row slot for Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brian Uriarte as Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Valentin Perrone qualifies P4 and Rico Salmela achieves a career-best qualification with P6
Balaton Park swung open the gates on the 4.1km, flat and twisty layout to MotoGP for the second year in a row. Located between Budapest and Lake Balaton, the course offered a contrast to the speedy flowing trajectory of Mugello the previous weekend.
Pedro Acosta, who claimed a podium finish on the Red Bull KTM RC16 at the same site last summer, posted times to rank in the top three from Friday morning. He then gunned to P1 in Practice with the only lap in the 1min 36 bracket. On Saturday Pedro topped Q2 after the first run and was shaded to Pole Position by just 0.053 of a second. Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Enea Bastianini headed Q1 in the formative stages of the session but eventually ranked 14th on the grid with Brad Binder in 17th and Maverick Viñales in 20th.
The Sprint lasted for 13 laps in the afternoon. Acosta moved into 2nd in the first corner and could not close on leader Marc Marquez but was comfortably ahead of 3rd position as the laps counted down. His Sprint medal was the first since P2 in Catalunya. Bastianini’s flight from the fourth row was impressive. The Italian cut a path to the top eight and deflected the attention of the riders around him. Brad Binder and Maverick Viñales finished the Sprint in P16 and P19 respectively.
The Grand Prix and the full 26 lap distance gets underway at 14.00 CEST on Sunday.
Pedro Acosta, 2nd in qualification, 2nd in the Sprint: “An amazing pace from the beginning. I did not make a great start and everyone was struggling today in a tricky Turn 1. We have to be happy. We’re back on the podium and we just have to try and improve for tomorrow.”
Enea Bastianini, 14th in qualification, 8th in the Sprint: “I’m not really happy about qualifying. My potential was a bit higher but all weekend I’ve made mistakes in the heavy braking areas. In the afternoon, we improved a bit in the Sprint. In Turn 1 I was really competitive and could overtake some riders. My pace wasn’t so bad. I suffered a lot with front edge grip like we did in the last two or three rounds. We’ll try and improve this for tomorrow.”
Brad Binder, 17th in qualification, 16th in the Sprint: “I had a great launch off the line but went too wide into Turn 1 and gave up something like five seconds. I went backwards on that first lap. After that I tried my best to get rolling but I had massive understeer and was struggling to keep the front up. I really hope we can find something for tomorrow to make the front stick.”
Maverick Viñales, 21st in qualification, 19th in the Sprint: “My shoulder strength needs to improve but it’s also not too bad. I just need to understand how to ride the bike because I cannot find a strong point to make the lap-time. There is work to do. I didn’t disengage the front start device in the Sprint so it meant a tough few corners but then I was able to see some advantages and disadvantages of our set-up that would have been tricky in the group. We’re working hard to understand how to get faster because I cannot ride on the limit at the moment and we need a bit more patience.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “Another Sprint podium for Pedro and we have to be happy, especially after a challenging weekend in Mugello. It’s a really good result, and also shows the good pace for tomorrow’s longer race. Since yesterday we could see this track and the conditions suit Pedro and our target is to be one position higher on Sunday. An unfortunate race for Brad and because of that first lap with group traffic. It’s tough in this category to get back through. We hope he will also have a better chance tomorrow.”
Grand Prix of Hungary photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying MotoGP Grand Prix of Hungary
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 1:36.785
2. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.053
3. Fermin Aldeguer (ESP) Ducati +0.340
14. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:37.815 (Q1)
17. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:38.068 (Q1)
21. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:38.469 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Grand Prix of Hungary
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 21:22.047
2. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +1.548
3. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia +2.722
8. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +7.587
16. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +16.376
19. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +19.490
KTM GP Academy
Moto3 pushed eight riders together with just 0.9 of a second the difference between the group. The Red Bull KTM Ajo and Red Bull KTM Tech3 teams and KTM GP Academy riders were in the mix, with Brian Uriarte and Rico Salmela trying to get to grips with the turns and flicks of Balaton for the first time. Salmela impressed through Practice on Friday with top ten speed. It was then Uriarte who picked up through the Q1 and Q2 sessions on Saturday. The final grid line-up for the 20-lap distance has the young Spaniard on the front row in P3 followed by Perrone, who battled for the win at Balaton last summer in P4. Salmela consolidated his positive feelings around the Hungarian asphalt with an encouraging P6 and the final space on the second row. Carpe, who had a top ten finish at Balaton in 2025, did not log a lap-time in Q2 due to yellow flags and a track limits cancellation and will start in P18.
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Collin Veijer was again a protagonist near the top of the Moto2™ time sheets. The Dutchman emerged from Practice on Friday with the 6th quickest effort while Jose Antonio Rueda’s first attempt at the track in the intermediate category saw the Spaniard raise his pace. On Saturday Veijer pushed for the second row and just missed out. His P7 was only 0.2 of a second from Pole! Rueda made Q2 successfully and ended with 14th on the grid – the fifth row –with a view towards 22 intense laps of Balaton on Sunday.
Results Qualifying Moto3 Grand Prix of Hungary
1. David Almansa (ESP), KTM 1:45.686
2. Maximo Quiles (ESP), CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.064
3. Brian Uriarte (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.637
4. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.685
6. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.789
7. Marco Morelli (ARG) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.855
18. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:47.022
Results Qualifying Moto2 Grand Prix of Hungary
1. Izan Guevara (ESP) 1:40.280
2. Filip Salac (CZE) +0.024
3. Senna Agius (AUS) +0.035
6. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.190
7. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.246
9. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.277
14. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.644
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