Márquez crashes then storms to pole at Hungarian MotoGP, his 76th in the premier class

A crash and a comeback

Marc Márquez secured the 76th MotoGP pole position of his career (104th across all classes) at the Hungarian Grand Prix, despite crashing at turn one just three minutes into the second qualifying session. The Ducati Lenovo rider lost the front of his Desmosedici GP26 but the engine did not cut out, allowing him to lift the bike and continue without returning to the pits.

I made a rookie mistake with that crash at the first corner. Yesterday I managed my energy to have more today and I gave everything in qualifying because I know pole position on this track is worth half the race.

The lap that sealed it

After the fall, Márquez initially posted an eleventh-place time of 1:38.750 on his first flying attempt. He stayed out for one more lap and improved to 1:37.467, slotting into second behind Pedro Acosta. With just over a minute and a half remaining, the nine-time world champion switched to his second bike and delivered a 1:36.785 to claim the top spot. Acosta, who had led much of the session with times of 1:37.888 and 1:36.791, finished second, 0.053 seconds adrift.

An all-Spanish front row

Fermín Aldeguer (Ducati Gresini) took third, completing a front row made up entirely of Spanish riders. The second row is an all-Italian affair: Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati VR46) qualified fourth, reigning champion Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) fifth after progressing through Q1, and championship leader Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) sixth. Luca Marini (Honda) impressed with ninth place, while Franco Morbidelli (Ducati) struggled to nineteenth.

Racing while still recovering

Márquez is competing only two weeks after returning from a double operation on his right foot and right shoulder, performed roughly three weeks ago. He still walks with an orthopaedic boot and has acknowledged he lacks full strength on his right side, which prevented him from saving the front-end slide that caused his qualifying crash.

It's clear that, in my condition, I have to spend my cards where it matters most. Then we'll survive in Sunday's long race.

He suggested he may need to enter an "eco mode" during the race to manage his energy levels.

Sprint and race outlook

The pole gives Márquez the prime grid slot for both Saturday's sprint race (15:00 CEST) and Sunday's full-length Grand Prix (14:00 CEST). He won both races at Balaton Park last season and holds the outright circuit record at 1:36.518. Acosta, his closest challenger on single-lap pace, remained cautious:

Marc showed important rhythm, we'll have to see what happens.