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Under the 2026 MotoGP rules, qualifying sets the starting grid for both the Sprint and Sunday’s Grand Prix. Friday’s Practice sends the 10 fastest riders directly to Q2; the two quickest Q1 riders join them. Q2 decides positions 1–12, while riders who do not advance from Q1 fill the places from 13th onward. The Sprint result does not change Sunday’s grid.
How MotoGP qualifying builds the grid
The process uses three sessions. Friday’s Practice session determines which riders go straight to Q2 and which must contest Q1. It is not the same as Saturday’s Free Practice 2.
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- Friday Practice: The 10 fastest riders qualify directly for Q2. Other eligible riders go to Q1. The order in Practice is used to determine entry, not to set the final grid positions.
- Q1: Riders outside the top 10 in Practice compete for the two remaining Q2 places. The two fastest Q1 riders advance. The other Q1 riders are ranked by their Q1 times, starting at 13th place.
- Q2: The 10 direct entrants and two Q1 qualifiers compete for the first 12 grid places. Their fastest Q2 laps determine their order; the fastest earns pole position.
The FIM’s 2026 regulations state that the grid applies to both the MotoGP Sprint and the MotoGP GP race. MotoGP’s qualifying explainer likewise describes Q2 setting the first 12 positions and Q1 setting the remaining places.
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Do Sprint results affect the Sunday Grand Prix grid?
No. Under the 2026 rules, the Sprint and Sunday Grand Prix begin from the same qualifying-derived grid. The Sprint is a separate race: its finishing order does not move a rider up or down the Sunday starting order. Qualifying sets the underlying positions, while penalties or an official grid revision may change the final published lineup.
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What happens if qualifying is cancelled or a rider has no lap time?
The regulations provide fallback procedures so the grid can still be determined when a session cannot produce a normal result.
- Friday Practice is cancelled: FP2 becomes the session used to determine Q1 and Q2 entry. If FP2 cannot run, FP1 results are used. If no Practice sessions take place, Race Direction adjusts the schedule and procedure to the circumstances.
- Q1 or Q2 is cancelled: The affected group’s places are determined from combined fastest Practice times. If Q1 alone is cancelled, the 11th- and 12th-fastest Practice riders advance to Q2.
- A rider records no lap in Q2: That rider starts 12th. If multiple Q2 riders set no time, they are ordered from 12th upward using their Practice times.
- A rider records no lap in Q1: Riders without a Q1 time start at the back, ordered by their Practice times.
- A session is interrupted: If it has run at least half its allocated time, it counts as complete. If it has run for less than half, it is treated as cancelled and the relevant Practice times are used.
- The final grid is revised: FIM regulations allow the published MotoGP grid to be revised after Warm Up, so the official lineup can differ from the positions initially derived from qualifying.
Is the qualifying format changing for 2027?
On 7 October 2026, Spanish sports publisher AS reported that a 2027 weekend format would introduce separate qualifying for the Sprint and Sunday Grand Prix. That is a secondary report; the exact change and its effective rules were not officially confirmed in the sources available here. It should not be treated as a change to the 2026 format.
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