Marco Bezzecchi will start the 2026 Qatar MotoGP Sprint from pole position, with Marc Marquez alongside him in second. Fabio Di Giannantonio completes the front row, putting the title contenders in an immediate strategic battle before Sunday’s Grand Prix even begins.

Marquez needs to score more points than Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin on Sunday to secure the 2026 championship. In Qatar, he must outscore Bezzecchi by eight points, or by seven if a Ducati rider wins the Grand Prix. Bezzecchi’s qualifying advantage therefore gives the Sprint significance of its own, with Marquez starting directly behind the Aprilia rider.

Martin has the more difficult task from 11th, his worst qualifying position of the season. He lines up on row four between Enea Bastianini and Brad Binder. Raul Fernandez, Francesco Bagnaia and Ai Ogura occupy row two, while Johann Zarco, Pedro Acosta and Fermin Aldeguer make up row three. The Sprint begins at 7:00pm local time, or 4:00pm UK time.

Full starting grid

  • 1. Marco Bezzecchi, 2. Marc Marquez, 3. Fabio Di Giannantonio
  • 4. Raul Fernandez, 5. Francesco Bagnaia, 6. Ai Ogura
  • 7. Johann Zarco, 8. Pedro Acosta, 9. Fermin Aldeguer
  • 10. Enea Bastianini, 11. Jorge Martin, 12. Brad Binder
  • 13. Franco Morbidelli, 14. Luca Marini, 15. Iker Lecuona
  • 16. Diogo Moreira, 17. Jake Dixon, 18. Maverick Viñales

Jake Dixon starts 17th in his first MotoGP races since 2021. The grid has been reduced to 18 riders because Yamaha is not taking part in the Qatar weekend due to existing company-wide travel restrictions. No starting penalties are listed, so the qualifying order remains unchanged for the Sprint.