Miller secures direct Q2 access at Catalunya

Jack Miller lauds Yamaha V4 progress just 0.2s from Acosta’s fastest time, as Kelso and Agius also book Q2 starts

Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP’s encouraging recent progress continued at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Friday, with Jack Miller securing direct access to Q2 after finishing just 0.2 seconds from the fastest time in a fiercely competitive Practice session.

Miller showed strong pace throughout the day and continued to build confidence every time he rolled out on track, delivering another clear sign of the gains being made by the team and the Yamaha package following recent developments. In a session where the margins were extraordinarily fine, his place inside the top 10 ensured a direct route into Saturday’s second qualifying session and reinforced the positive momentum around the project.

Miller said the progress of the Yamaha package was becoming increasingly evident, even if there is still work to do.

“I felt good right from the start here in Barcelona. Every time I went out on track I felt more comfortable and was able to improve, so to now see myself directly into Q2 and only two tenths away from P1 almost feels unreal. We are still missing a bit of power, but on this circuit it becomes less of an issue because you mainly use it on the main straight. Through the rest of the lap the biggest challenge is actually managing grip, because there‘s not a huge amount of it available. I think we made a significant step forward already in Le Mans, even if I wasn‘t fully able to take advantage of it there because of the tyre choice in the race. But overall the Yamaha is progressing and moving closer to the front. Right now the whole process is still about trial and error — testing, tweaking and trying to maximise everything we can — but finally we are starting to see all the hard work paying off. The team has been working incredibly hard and the engineers too have put in a huge effort, so it‘s nice for everyone to finally get a little bit of fresh air and see more concrete results. Of course it‘s only Friday, but starting the weekend this way gives us a lot of positivity for the next two days.”

There was more good news for Australia in the support classes, with both Joel Kelso and Senna Agius also securing direct Q2 starts with strong Friday performances at Barcelona.

Kelso was pleased to have locked in a place in Q2, while also believing there is still more to come.

“Making good steps forward. I know we can extract a bit more from both myself and the bike in tomorrow morning’s practice session. Managed to put in a lap to go directly into Q2 — it was a little sticky, but we got the job done!”

Agius, meanwhile, produced an impressive and consistent Friday in Moto2, setting the second fastest time behind Celestino Vietti in both practice sessions. That form leaves him looking well placed heading into qualifying, with strong pace around the lap despite still battling a top speed deficit down Catalunya’s long 1km straight.

“P2, a smooth day, and feeling great on the bike. Focused on getting the maximum tomorrow.”

2026 CATALUNYA GP FRIDAY PRACTICE