Johann Zarco mastered mixed conditions in Goiania to lead MotoGP on Practice Friday at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
Worsening rain in the second half of the session locked in the order with half an hour to go, leaving several big hitters stranded outside the top 10 and without a direct spot in Q2.
Zarco fired in a 1m21.257s early on, during a rather frantic opening phase where riders rushed to bank lap times before the weather turned.
Having briefly traded fastest laps with the Frenchman in the early stages, Marc Marquez came closest to challenging Zarco, ending just 0.125s adrift in second.
Behind the two MotoGP veterans jabbing it out, WorldSBK convert Toprak Razgatlioglu impressed on just his second MotoGP Friday of his career, securing third on the Pramac Yamaha, 0.308s off the pace.
Despite the rain, @topfragrls goes THIRD 🤯#BrazilianGP 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/TGnBnYJ024
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 20, 2026
Jorge Martin slotted into fourth for Aprilia, just 0.001s behind the Turk, while Pedro Acosta completed the top five for KTM.
Behind the top five, Alex Marquez secured sixth for Gresini Ducati, while Fabio Quartararo put his Yamaha into seventh with a late improvement right in time before conditions worsened.
Besides the two Yamahas making Q2 directly, the standout performance of the day came from Fermin Aldeguer.
Fresh from a broken femur and still riding under physical limitation, 2025’s Rookie of the Year finished eighth to secure a direct Q2 place. Francesco Bagnaia narrowly avoided Q1 in ninth, with Ai Ogura completing the top 10.
Once the rain intensified around the halfway mark, the session effectively neutralised. Attempts to improve proved futile, with standing water increasing – particularly at Turn 4, which had already caught out multiple riders earlier.
Brad Binder was among the first to crash there in the opening minutes, followed shortly after by Jack Miller. Local hero Diogo Moreira also fell at the same corner later on. All riders escaped uninjured.
Just after overtaking Bez, @bradbinder_33 loses the front 💥#BrazilianGP 🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/vqGOIwhmcO
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 20, 2026
As conditions worsened further, Marco Bezzecchi’s Friday turned into a disaster.
The Aprilia rider languished down in 20th and, despite venturing back out late on as the only rider on track, did not manage to improve, leaving the current runner-up int the standings stranded in Q1.
He will be joined there by a stacked group including Raul Fernandez, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Franco Morbidelli.
Luca Marini missed out on Q2 by just 0.021s in 11th, while Miller and Alex Rins were also caught out by the timing of the rain in 12th and 13th respectively.
