World champion Marc Marquez shook off a heavy crash to dominate qualifying practice for the United States MotoGP Grand Prix on Friday in Austin, Texas.
The Spaniard, who had got back on his feet with difficulty after crashing spectacularly at nearly 200 km/h during the first free practice on Friday morning, rebounded in the afternoon with a lap of 2min 0.927sec -- just off the circuit record.
The Ducati driver, still hampered by the after-effects of the right shoulder injury he suffered in October, led ahead of Aprilia-Trackhouse's Ai Ogura of Japan, who seized second spot with a late run of 2:00.980.
Italy's Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati-VR46) was third quickest in 2:01.114 and Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi -- leading the standings after winning the first two races of the season -- was fourth-fastest in 2:01.127.
No Q1 worries for these riders 😎#USGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/mEMR5pF1Ys
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 27, 2026
Marquez has yet to win a Grand Prix this season, but he's won seven times at the Circuit of the Americas, one of his favorite tracks.
Younger brother Alex Marquez set the fifth-fastest time for Ducati-Gresini ahead of their Spanish compatriots Pedro Acosta and Jorge Martin.
Italians Francesco Bagnaia, Luca Marini and Enea Bastianini rounded out the top 10, all booking their place in Q2 qualifying, which determines the first 12 spots on the starting grid for Sunday's race.
It was a chaotic session, with Martin and Di Giannantonio losing control on their first laps. Both Acosta and Ogura also crashed.