Motorcycling-Ducati's Marquez leads all-Spanish front row at Hungarian Grand Prix


MotoGP - Brazil Grand Prix - Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna, Goiania, Brazil - March 21, 2026 Ducati Lenovo Team's Marc Marquez ahead of qualifying REUTERS/Adriano Machado

June 6 (Reuters) - Marc Marquez shrugged ⁠off a qualifying crash to claim back-to-back pole positions at ⁠the Hungarian Grand Prix on Saturday, pipping fellow Spaniard Pedro Acosta ‌at Balaton Park.

The Ducati rider's tumble earlier in qualifying looked set to hand Acosta pole position, but a sluggish final sector left the KTM rider settling for second place as ​Marquez bounced back with authority.

Gresini Racing's Fermin Aldeguer ⁠completed the front row, while ⁠Marquez improved on his pole-winning performance with another scorching lap of one minute ⁠and ‌36.785 seconds to send a clear message to his rivals.

"It's true that this morning I tried to be aggressive on the bike, ⁠I tried to use a lot of energy. Yesterday ​I was riding ‌in 'eco mode' and just trying to flow, trying to save energy," Marquez ⁠said.

"Today I ​give everything ... Starting in pole position will help but our target, at the moment, fighting for the victory will be difficult for all the laps. But let's ⁠see if we can fight for the podium, ​it depends a lot on the start."

The pole position caps a remarkable recovery for Marquez, who underwent double surgery on his shoulder and foot just last ⁠month. The Spaniard had also topped both practice sessions.

"We know that one lap is not a problem, the race is another story. His body needed time to recover," said Ducati's team manager Davide Tardozzi.

VR46 Racing's Fabio Di Giannantonio, ​who also crashed on turn one at the ⁠same spot Marquez lost his balance, was fourth fastest.

He is joined on an ​all-Italian second row by Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia ‌and Aprilia's championship leader Marco Bezzecchi.

Bezzecchi's team ​mate Jorge Martin, who is second in the championship, was only eighth fastest.

(Reporting by Rohith Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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