25.04.2026
MotoGP 2026 - Round 04 of 22, Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto, Spain – Qualification and Sprint
Brad Binder endured a frantic and exciting flag-to-flag Spanish Grand Prix Sprint at a soaking Circuit de Jerez today. The South African brought his Red Bull KTM Factory Racing RC16 home in 4th place for round four of the season.
Highlights and key moments from Jerez:
- Binder stars for the factory team in a 12-lap contest that started dry and ended with a downpour, forcing riders to swap bikes and take chances across the changeable track
- Enea Bastiani improves his competitiveness by entering Q2, fighting for Sprint points and recovering from a crash to finish 11th on Saturday
- Pedro Acosta was the best Red Bull KTM qualifier on the day with 6th and a spot on the second row. The Spaniard fought to 12th in the Sprint after falling in the wet
- KTM GP Academy bragging rights belonged to Alvaro Carpe again after qualifying in 3rd place in Moto3™ on the Red Bull KTM RC4 for his third front row start of the year as Collin Veijer toasts his first Moto2™ Pole Position
MotoGP gathered at the busy Circuito de Jerez - Angel Nieto for the 40th year in a row and for the first European date on the 2026 schedule. Friday practice took place in overcast, breezy and warm weather but conditions deteriorated for Saturday’s morning qualification.
Pedro Acosta moved through Q1 on Saturday after topping wet Free Practice 2. The Spaniard then used his speed on the damp asphalt to record the 6th best lap in Q2 and earn a view from the second row of the grid. A spell of sunshine dried the track but the clouds threatened more rain. Acosta started the 12-lap Sprint by lunging into the top six but the heavens opened. Pedro continued briefly on slicks and then came into swap bikes (under the Flag-to-Flag rules) but tumbled as the showers hardened. He remounted for P12.
Red Bull KTM Factory Racing teammate Brad Binder tried to force his way into Q2 on Friday and worked to refine his set-up for the faster corners of the Jerez layout. Brad ended the Q1 session with 13th on the grid. Binder attacked hard in the Sprint and sliced through to P8, fighting with his fellow KTM riders. He then persisted as long as possible in the rain before making his bike change at a timely moment that allowed him to be in the running for the podium. Brad was also a victim of the worsening weather. He briefly hit the ground but recovered to guide the #33 machine to P4 for his highest classification of the year to-date.
Enea Bastianini was the lead KTM RC16 rider on Friday by achieving direct Q2 entry in the dry. The Italian was 8th fastest in quali for his best grid slot of the season so far. Enea showed his potential by pushing for a mid-top ten position in the Sprint and only a late slide derailed his hopes. He was able to get going again for 11th. Teammate Maverick Viñales did not travel to Jerez. He continues to recover from corrective surgery on his left shoulder but is optimistic of rejoining MotoGP for round six in France in two weeks.
The 25-lap Grand Prix begins at 14.00 CET time on Sunday with a dry forecast!
Brad Binder, 13th in qualification, 4th in the Sprint: “Happy and heartbroken at the same time. I felt like I timed my pit-entry well but from one lap to the next there was so much water. When I braked in the same place I was like: ‘Oh s**t’. Lost the front, slid off, picked up and carried on. To bail and still finish 4th is pretty good, so happy about that. A bit unfortunate because I would have loved to have won again. Another day.”
Enea Bastianini, 8th in qualification, 11th in the Sprint: “In general, a so-so day. I crashed in the qualifying and damaged the bike but I was still able to be competitive for the Sprint. It was raining a lot in the first sector. Anyway, my lap-times were good and I was on target and that makes me hopeful for tomorrow…if it is dry!”
Pedro Acosta, 6th in qualification, 12th in the Sprint: “I think everyone was playing the same ‘game’ but I don’t think we expected it to rain so hard and it was tricky to know when to change the bike. Anyway, it looks like we found something on the set-up today because we were making a nice race in the dry. Tomorrow we’ll try to make another step.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “Today was challenging because of the weather conditions but it was the same for everyone. Generally, we’re quite happy because all three riders finished the race and there was a top four result for Brad. It’s enough to be positive, and also to look optimistically to tomorrow where it should be dry. Friday was the base for the settings and the development and we’re hoping for a good showing here for the GP distance at Jerez.”
Grand Prix of Spain photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying MotoGP Grand Prix of Spain
1. Marc Marquez (ESP), Ducati 1:48.087
2. Johann Zarco (FRA), Honda +0.140
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA), Ducati +1.010
6. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +1.143
8. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +2.377
13. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:49.278 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Grand Prix of Spain
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 21:25.651
2. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati +3.050
3. Franco Morbidelli (ITA) Ducati +7.493
4. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +8.752
11. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +16.190
12. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +17.985
KTM GP Academy
Moto3 brought all four KTM GP Academy riders onto familiar ground. The compact course has been lapped extensively by most of the field, even by rookies Rico Salmela and Brian Uriarte. Lap-times were tight through Friday and then into the fiercely contested Q2 session on Saturday around a dry track.
Alvaro Carpe’s final ‘flyer’ was sufficient for the front row of the grid and to give the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider a clear view of the start for the third time in four Grands Prix. Alvaro was just half a second from Pole Position. Teammate Brian Uriarte rode to the 5th quickest lap as Red Bull KTM Tech3 duo Valentine Perrone and Salmela placed P12 and P18 respectively after Q2.
Moto2™ was the stage for more promise from Collin Veijer. The Dutchman hovered near the top of the time sheets on Friday. 16 riders were split by just one second by the end of Q2 and Veijer repeatedly battered the chrono, earning his very first Pole Position in his second season in the category. Jose Antonio Rueda continued to find his markers and references in the Moto2 class. The rookie was 25th.
Collin Veijer: “It was amazing, to be honest. I got myself on the front row so I was happy but I knew there might be a bit more, so I went out straight away and tried on my own and that [lap] got cancelled again! I tried another lap and it was enough for Pole Position. I feel very confident for tomorrow. My pace is really good so let’s see. Thanks to everyone at home and for my team for helping me always.”
Results Qualifying Moto3 Grand Prix of Spain
1. Maximo Quiles (ESP), CFMOTO Aspar Team 1:44.070
2. David Muñoz (ESP), KTM +0.375
3. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.585
5. Brian Uriarte (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.979
11. Marco Morelli (ARG) CFMOTO Aspar Team +1.240
12. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +1.253
18. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +1.697
Results Qualifying Moto2 Grand Prix of Spain
1. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:39.101
2. Alex Escrig (ESP) +0.057
3. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) +0.095
6. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.267
7. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.326
25. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:40.691 (Q1)
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