11.07.2026
MotoGP 2026 - Round 11 of 22, Sachsenring – Qualification and Sprint
The swirling Sachsenring layout was the sunny and warm stage for the eleventh-round of 2026 MotoGP. Red Bull KTM’s Pedro Acosta managed an 8th place finish in the Sprint on Saturday afternoon in Germany. Elsewhere, the KTM GP Academy watched Brian Uriarte steer his Red Bull KTM Ajo RC4 to a first career Pole Position in Moto3™.
Highlights and key moments from Sachsenring:
- Pedro Acosta gains two places to classify 8th in the Sprint at Sachsenring after making Q2 and qualifying in 10th
- Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini also make progress from their grid slots to take 12th and 14th after the 15-lap chase
- A first Pole Position in Moto3 for Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brian Uriarte as Alvaro Carpe sits in the middle of the second row in P5 and Rico Salmela seals P6 for Sunday’s Grand Prix
MotoGP has called the tight, narrow 3.6km Sachsenring layout ‘home’ since 1998 and will continue to compete in the Saxony area of Germany until 2031. The 28th edition of a Grand Prix at the site started in warm and bright conditions and with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo Pedro Acosta and Brad Binder as well as Red Bull KTM Tech3 pair Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales hunting direct Q2 entry on Friday afternoon. Acosta made the cut and both Bastianini and Binder came close in P11 and P12 as a very competitive top 17 were split by less than one second.
On Saturday the attention remained on Pedro. Brad, Enea and Maverick took 16th, 17th and 20th after Q1. The Spaniard, who recently underwent surgery on his right wrist to fix carpal tunnel syndrome, pushed until the last seconds of the 15-minute lap-record-breaking Q2 session and was 10th from 12 riders divided by a tight 0.7 of a second.
The Sprint rounded Sachsenring for 15 laps and was a static and cagey contest. Acosta rallied hard to stalk and pass Fabio Quartararo, and the move was enough to gain P8 and ensure a 2-point return. Further back Binder and Bastianini completed their own journeys as overtaking proved to be a challenge. 12th for the South African and 14th for the Italian, as Viñales tried to rise from the back of the pack with his weaker left shoulder but only reached 19th.
The Grand Prix will feature 30 laps, one of the highest quantities of the season, and will begin at 14.00 CEST tomorrow.
Pedro Acosta, 10th in qualification, 8th in the Sprint: “I’m super-happy with my hand; I feel the fingers, the hand and everything is on-point. We are struggling with the front tire at the moment. We start OK but then cannot keep the pace. It is what it is. I made a mistake with Fabio to pass him so I had to wait another lap but I had confidence in the last corner. It could have been a better day and I think we can make a step tomorrow.”
Brad Binder, 16th in qualification, 12th in the Sprint: “I thought I had much more in qualifying. I couldn’t go any quicker. I didn’t have a good start in the Sprint. I managed to pass a couple of guys and that was it. Massive understeer…but I think a lot of people are dealing with this and the left side of the tire overheats. I need to deal a bit better with that tomorrow and I’m hoping the guys can me a bit of help making the front stick.”
Enea Bastianini, 17th in qualification, 14th in the Sprint: “Yesterday we were much closer than today. We could not improve. We have a lot of understeer and that was the problem especially in the race. To be honest I don’t know how I didn’t crash. Things got better after some laps but we were suffering in the beginning. This is not one of my favorite tracks but this is not an excuse.”
Maverick Viñales, 20th in qualification, 19th in the Sprint: “I struggled today and we need to understand why and keep working. I want to give feedback to the team and I have really low front grip here. I’m not turning and it’s making me slow. We have good information from the Sprint today so we’ll try to improve for tomorrow.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “It’s nice to have different tracks like Sachsenring but this weekend we need to work more on our competitiveness. It is so close and we will try to make the correct changes and the correct analysis for tomorrow to improve in the areas we need. I would not say we are always stronger on Sundays compared to Saturdays but the different tires and the different strategies for the GP can be ways for us to make a difference with our competitors. After a promising beginning of the year we expected more in terms of results from recent races and arriving to the summer break will give us more time to analyze. One positive thing so far this weekend is that Pedro had a short recovery time from his surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome and it’s not bothering him here in Germany. We’ll push again tomorrow.”
Grand Prix of Germany photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying MotoGP Grand Prix of Germany
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 1:19.041
2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +0.061
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA) Ducati +0.147
10. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.699
16. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:20.184 (Q1)
17. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:20.370 (Q1)
20. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:20.781 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Grand Prix of Germany
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 20:12.978
2. Alex Marquez (ESP) Ducati +0.368
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA) Ducati +0.813
8. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +8.968
12. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +14.111
14. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +15.398
19. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +31.185
KTM GP Academy
Moto3 provided rookies Brian Uriarte and Rico Salmela with their first taste of GP action at the Sachsenring, even if the Spaniard and Fin brought Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup experience to their bid for prime Moto3 grid space. It was Uriarte who ruled Q2 qualifying on Saturday. Brian clocked a lap that narrowly displaced Marco Morelli for his first Pole Position. Red Bull KTM Ajo teammate Alvaro Carpe was only a quarter of a second adrift and earned P5. The Spaniard was followed by a rapid Salmela in P6 while Valentin Perrone rode to P19 and couldn’t squeeze out of Q1.
Brian Uriarte: “Everything is very close! Really happy to get the first pole position in Moto3: the race is tomorrow but we’ll enjoy this today. The bike was pretty good but I think the lap was not the best. Anyway, pole position and we have a bit of an advantage for tomorrow.”
Moto2 proved tricky for Red Bull KTM Ajo youngsters Collin Veijer and Jose Antonio Rueda on Friday as the Dutchman and Spaniard found speed to sit mid-pack after the two sessions. On Saturday the lap-times remained close and the slightest of errors meant the difference between the first rows of the grid and the last. Through Q2 Veijer and Rueda attacked the chrono and made improvements. They ended the 15-minute session confirming two top ten positions for the 25-lap distance on Sunday. Collin ranked P9 and will set-off from the third row. Jose Antonio was just behind in P10.
Round five of seven for the 2026 Red Bull Rookies Cup (the ninth and tenth outing of the season) landed in Sachsenring. The current batch of Grand Prix hopefuls lapped the circuit 19 times for the first race on Saturday afternoon. Ryota Ogiwara emerged successful from an eight-rider charge to the finish line. The Japanese will be eying more success on Sunday afternoon.
Results Qualifying Moto3 Grand Prix of Germany
1. Brian Uriarte (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:24.880
2. Marco Morelli (ARG) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.024
3. Hakim Danish (MAL), KTM 2:04.069 +0.029
4. Maximo Quiles (ESP), CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.222
5. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.267
6. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.381
19. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:26.058 (Q1)
Results Qualifying Moto2 Grand Prix of Germany
1. Ivan Ortola (ESP) 1:21.493
2. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) +0.038
3. Izan Guevara (ESP) +0.178
4. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.227
8. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.385
9. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.410
11. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.456
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