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Schedule and full beginning grid

Austin will play host to the third spherical of the 2026 MotoGP season.

The United States Grand Prix will cap off the opening leg of the marketing campaign following earlier flyaway races in Thailand and Brazil.

Following COTA, MotoGP will head to Jerez for the European leg of the season, albeit after a four-week break because of the postponement of the Qatar Grand Prix.

2026 MotoGP United States GP: Race begin

The 2026 US GP will start at 3pm native time on Sunday, 29 March. The race will happen on the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.

Start time: 15:00 native time / 20:00 GMT / 21:00 BST / 22:00 CEST / 16:00 ET / 13:00 PT / 07:00 AEDT (Monday) / 05:00 JST (Monday) / 01:30 IST (Monday)

Event	Date
	15:00
Americas GP FREE PRACTICE 1
Americas GP PRACTICE
Americas GP FREE PRACTICE 2
Americas GP QUALIFYING 1
Americas GP QUALIFYING 2
Americas GP SPRINT
Americas GP RACE

2026 MotoGP United States GP: Starting grid

VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio will begin a MotoGP race from pole place for the second consecutive week after topping qualifying at Austin on Saturday.

He was presupposed to be joined by Aprilia star Marco Bezzecchi on the entrance row, however the Italian was hit with a two-place grid penalty for impeding Marc Marquez in qualifying.

As such, KTM’s Pedro Acosta will inherit second on the grid, with Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia shifting as much as third.

Honda’s Joan Mir will line up fifth behind Bezzecchi, whereas Marquez will take the beginning from fifth on the manufacturing facility Ducati.

Marquez, who has a file seven wins at COTA, should serve a long-lap penalty within the race after inflicting a collision with di Giannantonio in Saturday’s dash.

New champion chief Jorge Martin (Aprilia) and Gresini duo Alex Marquez and Fermin Aldeguer will share the third row.

Luca Marini (Honda) was one other rider to choose up a penalty on Saturday, with the stewards punishing each him and Bezzecchi for obstructing Marquez on a flying lap.