Bezzecchi delivers Aprilia’s first Qatar victory

Marco Bezzecchi shrugs off a Saturday disaster to go lights-to-flag in Lusail as Marc Marquez puts one hand on the crown

The Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Qatar saw the 2026 MotoGP championship stay alive, even as Marc Marquez tightened his grip on the Tower of Champions trophy with the inexorable progress of a constricting anaconda. Under the lights in Lusail, Marco Bezzecchi rebounded from a crushing Tissot Sprint crash on Saturday by leading every lap on Sunday, taking his 12th MotoGP win.

Marquez left Doha with the sort of damage limitation other riders dream about, finishing second for 20 points and moving another step closer to retaining his crown. His advantage now sits at 60 points with 74 still available, and the championship equation was simple ahead of Portimao in two weeks’ time: if Marquez wins the Sprint in Portugal, he will be crowned 2026 World Champion.

Third place went to SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team rider Raul Fernandez, who gritted his teeth to bag his sixth podium of the season despite still recovering from two broken fingers. Jorge Martin couldn’t quite back up the heroics of his Sprint race podium, but still put in another iron-willed performance over 22 brutal laps to finish seventh despite his recently fractured wrist, keeping his vanishingly slim championship hopes alive.

From pole, Bezzecchi got the launch he needed, shutting the door into Turn 1 and holding the lead ahead of Marquez. Fernandez immediately went hunting, diving past the World Championship leader to drop the #93 to third. Further back, Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) made early progress from P11, briefly climbing to P8 before Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) forced his way through at Turn 12 on the opening lap.

By Lap 3, the two Aprilias of Bezzecchi and Fernandez had already opened more than 1.5 seconds on Marquez. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Marquez’s 2027 teammate, then added some extra spice by passing the Ducati at Turn 15 on Lap 3 to steal the final podium position. In the same lap, Martin made a move on Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) to get himself up to P8.

On Lap 6, the order shifted again when Acosta allowed Marquez back through at Turn 2 after tyre pressure warnings appeared on the #37’s dashboard, a recurring theme this season for the KTM rider. That restored Marquez to third, three seconds behind Fernandez, with Martin still circulating in eighth as Di Giannantonio’s pace began to fade.

At halfway, Bezzecchi led Fernandez by 1.2 seconds, while Marquez and Acosta remained locked together 3.9 seconds off the lead. Behind them, Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) scrapped over fifth and sixth, sitting just over a second away from the Ducati and KTM ahead and looking ominously quick. If only they could stop tripping over each other. Martin moved up to P7 on Lap 11 as Di Giannantonio continued to struggle.

Marquez then found his rhythm on Lap 14 by setting a new race lap record in Qatar, nearly eight tenths quicker than Bezzecchi and almost nine tenths faster than Fernandez. Acosta dropped 1.2 seconds behind Marquez, and Ogura finally made the pass stick on Bastianini, barging through with a brutal block pass.

Bezzecchi and Fernandez responded to Marquez’s startling late-race pace by dropping their own lap times back into the 1:52s range, but the gap from Fernandez back to Marquez still fell below a second for the first time on Lap 17. With four laps remaining, Marquez completed the move for second on the run out of the final corner, taking P2 from Fernandez and adding four crucial points to his title campaign.

Bezzecchi was still well in control, though, beginning the final lap with a 3.6-second buffer. Marquez held Fernandez at bay by half a second, while Ogura closed in but ran out of laps to turn it into a podium raid, crossing the line 1.2 seconds behind his Aprilia teammate. Bastianini led the KTM runners in P5, ahead of a frustrated Acosta in P6, with the Spanish star’s tyre pressure gamble backfiring as he had to wave competitors past on three separate occasions in ludicrous scenes. Martin, riding only two weeks after breaking his wrist in Australia, finished P7 with a herculean effort.

Di Giannantonio, who started from the front row, could manage only P8, with Zarco and Iker Lecuona, Alex Marquez’s BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP stand-in, rounding out the top 10. Points further down the order went to Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3), and Jake Dixon, Joan Mir’s stand-in at Honda HRC Castrol, who scored points for the first time in MotoGP in P14. Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) both retired with problems.

Next stop is the Portuguese Grand Prix at Portimao, the penultimate round of the season. Three riders remain in contention for the 2026 title, but the hill is all but insurmountable for Aprilia, even if their hopes for a first-ever MotoGP Constructors’ Title remain well and truly in play. They sit just eight points behind Ducati, with 561 points to the Bologna factory’s 569. Martin trails Marquez by 60 points, and Bezzecchi sits 74 back with 74 still left on the table.

For Marc Marquez, history beckons, with a record eighth premier-class title within touching distance at the next round.

Marco Bezzecchi – P1
“In the first few laps, I tried to push and get clear of the group. After that, it was all about managing the race, because with the tyre wear, front and rear, it wasn’t easy. I’m very happy with this win. We’ve done a good job and we’re enjoying it. Now we go home to rest, so we’re ready for Portimão.”

Marc Márquez – P2
“It was a crucial weekend because we knew that our rivals were very competitive here at Lusail. When we’re fighting for the title, we’re able to bring out something unexpected. After all, we’re the ones who scored the most points, so we can say we won the battle here in Qatar. At the start of the race, I didn’t attack at either Turn 1 or Turn 2. I had my race plan in mind, and I knew Martín could have bounced back, but I started closing the gap to Raúl (Fernández) as soon as I felt comfortable. There was a moment when I thought that third place would be enough, but then I saw that he was struggling and decided to give it a go. After all, four more points can only do us good.”

Jorge Martin – P7
“The fracture is improving every day, and I’m sure I’ll be close to 100% at Portimão. I gave it everything in the race, but starting that far back it was hard to try a comeback like Saturday’s. I couldn’t make the most of the bike’s potential, because physically I still didn’t have the strength to stop it the way I needed to. So I kept losing a few tenths. I gave it a go, and in the circumstances, I think seventh is a good result.”

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