An unusually cold morning set the tone for the day, with overcast skies and gusty winds making the track particularly treacherous. During Free Practice 2, riders and teams worked on tire combinations and bike set-ups in preparation for the Tissot Sprint.
"Qualifying turned out to be extremely fast", Piero Taramasso, Track Manager for the Clermont-Ferrand-based manufacturer, said. "Fabio Di Giannantonio took the pole position with a time of 2:00.136, setting a new all-time track record at the Circuit of the Americas. A time that's a full seven-tenths of a second faster than the previous record set by Maverick Viñales on the Aprilia in 2024. Overall, eight riders in the Q2 managed to beat the old record."
Conditions improved significantly before the Sprint, with air temperatures rising to 24°C and track temperatures to 36°C. All riders chose a medium front and a soft rear tire combination, with the exception of Jorge Martin, who opted for a medium tire on the rear, as well.
The Tissot Sprint was intense and spectacular. Jorge Martin came in ahead of Francesco Bagnaia, while Enea Bastianini rounded out the podium. This result puts three different manufacturers in the top three positions.
The pace was exceptionally high. The total race time, 20:19.546, was about one second per lap faster than in 2025, for an overall improvement of nearly 10 seconds."