Jorge Martin pulls off Texas sprint stunner

Former champ makes emotional return to the top step for the first time in 18 months to seize championship lead

In overcast but warm conditions in Austin, Fabio Di Giannantonio started from pole for a second straight Grand Prix but Francesco Bagnaia rocketed away from the second row to take the lead. Pedro Acosta quickly displaced the polesitter through Turn 1 as well, and the pack shuffled further when with Marc Marquez slotted into 3rd through Turn 1 ahead of Diggia and the Aprilias of Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzecchi.

Di Giannantonio immediately tried to recover, diving under Marquez to retake third position, but the race detonated when Marquez lost the front attempting to respond and slid into Di Giannantonio, taking them both down in an uncharacteristic first-lap blunder. Marquez later rejoined a lap down, but his hopes of taking his first win in 2026 – at a track he’s enjoyed so much success at – were over.

Bagnaia began to stretch a small gap over Acosta, with Joan Mir, Martin, Bezzecchi and Alex Marquez lined up behind. Martin repeatedly pressured Mir until, on lap four, he finally forced his way through into Turn 1, and then struck again to pass Acosta at Turn 12 for second as Bagnaia stretched the lead to 1.5 seconds.

Aprilia’s push then gathered momentum as Bezzecchi climbed to fourth and hunted Acosta, eventually out-dragging him on the exit of Turn 12. Bezzecchi closed right onto Martin and made a clean move to get ahead, but the chase ended abruptly when Bezzecchi crashed at Turn 11, losing the front and handing Martin clear air to focus on Bagnaia.

Bagnaia’s lead steadily ebbed while Acosta guarded third from Mir, who then made it a moot point by crashing out yet again. But Bagnaia’s lead was suddenly evaporating fast as Martin reeled in the Ducati corner by corner, with Pecco’s soft rear tyre looking to have fallen off a cliff. The decisive moment came when Martin lunged on the brakes at Turn 12, making contact with Bagnaia and running them both wide. Martin emerged in front though, and from there Bagnaia had no answer as Martin eased away with superior grip from his medium compound rear Michelin on the last lap.

Martin took the win from Bagnaia, with Acosta securing third despite not looking to have great pace. Enea Bastianini finished fourth after a late charge, followed by Alex Marquez, Luca Marini and Ai Ogura, with Raul Fernandez, Johann Zarco and Fermin Aldeguer rounding out the top ten.

After the race the stewards handed down a long lap penalty for Marc Marquez to be completed in tomorrow’s main race for his crash with Di Giannantonio, while Acosta received an 8 second penalty for breaching tyre pressure regulations, dropping him to 9th position and elevating Bastianini to the final podium position.

With the points added up, the championship picture has a new name at the top as Jorge Martin moves into the lead on 57 points. Marco Bezzecchi sits just one point back on 56, while Pedro Acosta remains right in touch in third with 49. Marc Marquez drops to 6th in the standings behind Ogura and Di Giannantonio after his non – score.

Martin’s unexpected return to the top of the standings could represent a big moment in the 2026 championship. As a former champion he knows how to win titles, and with his speed returning he’s suddenly looking like a legitimate title contender. The irony is that Martin is rumoured to be moving to Yamaha in 2027, just as his potential looks to be finally blossoming on the super-strong Aprilia package.

Jorge Martin
“First time winning here in MotoGP is fantastic, and it’s been a while! Two years without racing here, and I really missed it. We took a maybe risky decision going with the medium, but I knew inside myself it was the right choice and it paid off. I had to wait until the last lap, but I’ve never won a MotoGP race like this one, or a sprint. Being back to winning sprints means a lot to me. Thanks to Aprilia. They are an amazing team. They are helping me a lot to find my level, and we are getting there.”

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