Pol Espargaro backs Marc Marquez to turn his ‘lucky’ COTA into a timely boost
Photo by Gold & Goose Photography/Getty Images Pol Espargaro is backing Marc Marquez to turn his season around at the 2026 MotoGP United States Grand Prix, with the Ducati rider heading to a track where he has always run well. No one in any category has had more than four wins in Austin, while Marquez’s seven victories have all come in MotoGP. It could’ve been eight, too, if not for a crash while leading the 2025 race.
Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia went on to win that day after Marquez crashed trying to build a bigger gap at the front. Even with an early fall in FP1 at this year’s event, there are positive signs. He topped the timesheets with a lap of 2:00.
927, just 0. 063 seconds off the lap record. Pol Espargaro backs Marquez to use COTA as a season boost Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images Maverick Vinales still holds the official MotoGP lap record at COTA, set back in 2024 with a time of 2:00.
864, though many will be expecting Marquez to have a good shot at breaking it during qualifying. Trackhouse rider Ai Ogura also posted an impressive 2:00. 980 in practice on his Aprilia RS-GP.
Espargaro also expects Marquez to be competitive in Sunday’s race, especially after he spent Friday practice focusing on the medium Michelin tyres. After a tough start to the season with issues in Thailand and Brazil, a strong showing this weekend could help him build some momentum. “He’s been one of the few riders who have worked a lot with the medium front and medium rear tyres,” Espargaro told DAZN, quoted by Motosan.