12 ahead of M\u00e1rquez<\/strong>. He regained the lead in Austria by winning the Sprint and finishing second to Acosta in the Grand Prix. That weekend also eased an immediate physical concern: after experiencing arm problems at Misano, he said surgery would not be needed before the overseas races.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe question at Motegi is whether Mart\u00edn can keep scoring heavily while Ducati and KTM increase the pressure on Aprilia. His Austrian results showed he can deliver across both races of a weekend. With 37 points available in Japan, however, a 12-point lead offers little room for a retirement or a poor qualifying session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Motegi also carries a personal contrast for the Spaniard. He won the Japanese Grand Prix in 2023, but suffered a collarbone injury during the 2025 Sprint. This time he returns as championship leader, with the chance to establish a stronger position before the series moves to Indonesia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Marc M\u00e1rquez \u2014 can he overturn a 12-point deficit?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
M\u00e1rquez left Austria fifth in the main race and surrendered the championship lead to Mart\u00edn. The margin remains small enough for him to reverse it in a single weekend: a Sprint and a Grand Prix both award points, so Saturday can change the title picture before Sunday\u2019s race begins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ducati rider has already demonstrated that he can recover ground quickly. His victory at Misano put him at the top of the standings before Mart\u00edn responded in Austria. Motegi now tests which of those weekends better reflects the balance between Ducati and Aprilia as the championship leaves Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qualifying will be central to that contest. A front-row start would give M\u00e1rquez an immediate chance to challenge Mart\u00edn in both races; losing ground on Friday and Saturday morning would leave him facing a more complicated recovery on a circuit with several heavy braking zones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
3. Pedro Acosta \u2014 was Austria the start of a new level for KTM?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Acosta claimed his first MotoGP Grand Prix victory<\/strong> at the Red Bull Ring, beating Mart\u00edn after a costly Sprint mistake the previous day. It was the strongest possible response to a missed opportunity and extended a run of five consecutive top-five finishes in main races.<\/p>\n\n\n\nHe is 72 points behind Mart\u00edn, so Japan is not a simple opportunity to take the championship lead. His more immediate task is to prove that KTM\u2019s Austrian win was not limited to its home circuit. Motegi will test the bike under different conditions, particularly through its repeated acceleration and hard braking sections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Acosta\u2019s late-season form also matters to KTM\u2019s remaining time with him. He is due to move to Ducati in 2027, where he will become Marc M\u00e1rquez\u2019s teammate. Until then, each strong result gives KTM another measure of the progress it has made with its current MotoGP package.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
4. Ai Ogura \u2014 can he turn home pressure into a podium?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Ogura returned from a hand injury in Austria and finished fourth in both the Sprint and the Grand Prix<\/strong>. Sunday\u2019s result left him less than a second from the podium, an encouraging outcome after surgery and two missed rounds.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMotegi gives him a home crowd and a circuit he knows well, but neither guarantees an advantage on a MotoGP bike. The key test will be whether he can carry his Austrian pace through Friday Practice and secure direct entry to Q2. Starting near the front would give him a more realistic chance to fight for his first podium at home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ogura\u2019s result will also provide another measure of Aprilia\u2019s depth. Mart\u00edn and Marco Bezzecchi are fighting near the top of the championship, while Ogura has shown that a Trackhouse Aprilia can challenge close to the podium.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
5. Diogo Moreira \u2014 what can he show Honda at Motegi?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Moreira\u2019s Japanese Grand Prix brings together his rookie season and Honda\u2019s planning for 2027. The Brazilian rides for LCR this year, but Honda has yet to decide whether Moreira or David Alonso<\/strong> will take the factory seat alongside Fabio Quartararo next season. Both riders already have places within the manufacturer\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMoreira has built his case with points finishes and increasingly competitive performances. He was Honda\u2019s highest-placed rider in the Arag\u00f3n Grand Prix and has since been selected to try its 850cc prototype with the Pirelli tyres being developed for the new regulations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That test gives Honda useful information about 2027. Motegi gives the team a different measure: how Moreira performs over a race weekend at the manufacturer\u2019s home circuit. With Joan Mir absent and Somkiat Chantra replacing him on the factory bike, the comparison among Honda\u2019s riders will attract particular attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Japanese Grand Prix runs from Friday, 2 October, to Sunday, 4 October<\/strong>. The 12-lap Sprint starts at 15:00 local time on Saturday; Sunday\u2019s 24-lap Grand Prix begins at 14:00.<\/p>\n\n\n\nMotoGP today: FAQ<\/h2>\n\n\n\nWhat time does Japanese MotoGP practice start?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
FP1 begins on Friday, 2 October, at 10:45 in Japan, 02:45 BST in the UK, 07:15 IST in India and 11:45 AEST in Sydney and Melbourne<\/strong>. In North America, it starts on Thursday at 21:45 EDT in New York and Toronto, or 18:45 PDT in Los Angeles and Vancouver. Friday\u2019s session deciding direct Q2 entry begins at 15:00 in Japan. <\/p>\n\n\n\nIs Red Bull returning to Honda in MotoGP?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Yes. Honda has confirmed that Red Bull will return as a partner of its factory MotoGP programme from 2027.<\/strong> Their previous partnership ran from 2015 to 2023. The reunion coincides with Fabio Quartararo\u2019s arrival and the championship\u2019s switch to 850cc bikes. <\/p>\n\n\n\nIs Maverick Vi\u00f1ales racing at the Japanese MotoGP?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Yes. Vi\u00f1ales is returning at Motegi after an absence caused by his shoulder injury.<\/strong> Ahead of the weekend, he questioned KTM\u2019s intentions towards him and revealed that he had thought he might not race again this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Jorge Mart\u00edn takes a 12-point championship lead to Motegi, with Marc M\u00e1rquez close behind. Pedro Acosta arrives after his first MotoGP win, while Ai Ogura and Diogo Moreira have different reasons to make this a defining weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1020315055,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"42wp_featured_image_caption":"Marc M\u00e1rquez and Jorge Mart\u00edn","42wp_featured_image_credits":"AFP","42wp_featured_video":"","42wp_featured_image_hidden":false,"42wp_authors_list":[{"id":7,"location":""}],"footnotes":"","42wp_breaking_news":false},"categories":[38],"tags":[586,52,646,315],"42wp_author":[7],"class_list":["post-3012","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-motogp","tag-japanese-gp","tag-jorge-martin","tag-motegi","tag-motogp-2026","42wp_author-victor-martins"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3012","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3012"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3012\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3014,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3012\/revisions\/3014"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1020315055"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3012"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3012"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3012"},{"taxonomy":"42wp_author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/grandepremio.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/42wp_author?post=3012"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}