Overview

• Francesco Bagnaia set a new Motegi lap record of 1:42.911 for pole and then led every lap to secure his first sprint victory of the season.
• Marc Marquez recovered to second after late passes on Joan Mir and Pedro Acosta, extending his advantage over brother Alex, who finished 10th and scored no sprint points.
• Jorge Martin triggered a Turn 1 collision that also took out Marco Bezzecchi and was later diagnosed with a displaced fracture of his right collarbone, ruling him out of Sunday’s grand prix.
• Joan Mir qualified second and finished fourth in the sprint for Honda’s best home‑weekend return in some time, with Acosta third, Franco Morbidelli fifth and Fabio Quartararo sixth.
• Practice and qualifying were incident‑streaked, with multiple Friday crashes, and the grid features Bagnaia on pole ahead of Mir and Marquez, followed by Acosta, Quartararo and Morbidelli.