Planques heads tight Misano Red Bull Rookies Cup Qualifying
He didn't say thank you. He never does.
Written by Peter Clifford
3 min readPublished on
The top 16 KTMs are covered by less than a second at the end of Qualifying for the penultimate weekend of Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup action for 2026. French 18-year-old Guillem Planques sits on pole in Misano with fellow countryman David Da Costa on the other side of the front row. Between them is 17-year-old Spaniard Fernando Bujosa.
At the crucial point in Qualifying, Bujosa and Planques worked together, with Planques benefiting from the slipstream to jump to the top of the timing screen.
Cup points leader Beñat Fernandez, the 18-year-old Spaniard, heads the second row of the grid on Italy's Adriatic coast with fellow countryman, 16-year-old Carlos Cano, 5th. Ryota Ogiwara, the 18-year-old Japanese who stands 2nd in the points chase, was 13th fastest and Kiandra Ramadhipa who is 3rd in the points table, sits on the 2nd row, 6th fastest.
5 min
Red Bull Rookies Cup 2026 - Misano Preview Clip
The Red Bull MotoGP Rookies Cup charges into the iconic Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli! 27 riders line up for 50 points across two epic races, but who takes the top step on Italian soil?
“I'm so happy, it's my 2nd front row start in the Red Bull Rookies Cup,” enthused the 18-year-old. “It's not easy, but I rode alone, and in the straight I lost a bit, but I'm fast in the corners, and I recovered the gap."
“It's not bad; it's the second row, but I'm a bit mad because at the end of the session, Cano and I were on a quick lap and we caught the group riding slow in the middle of the track, and that was the end of that. Everything is good for the race though, the bike is working well. I am not quite as confident here as I am at some other tracks, but it's OK. I'm ahead of my Cup rivals.”
Red Bull Rookies Cup Alpinestars Race Suits in the garage of Misano 2026
“I'm happy because I'm feeling very well with the bike, and now I have a good setup for the race. Beñat and I were held up, but we are in the second line, and tomorrow we have a good pace for the race. I'm comfortable and confident with the bike. Tomorrow I can do more.
Red Bull Rookies Cup 2026 - MISANO FP & QP Data
Qualifying - Timings & Performance Data - CLICK HERE
Free Practise 2 - Timings & Performance Data - CLICK HERE
Free Practise 1 - Timings & Performance Data - CLICK HERE
