MotoGP 2026

Round 14 – Misano

Marc Marquez judged his Misano challenge to perfection to complete a Sprint and Grand Prix double, beat his brother Alex across the line and take the MotoGP championship lead on countback from Jorge Martin.

The Ducati rider was cool and analytical as the race changed around him. Marco Bezzecchi crashed out of the lead on the opening lap, Martin took over at the front before arm-pump problems blunted his challenge, and Alex closed rapidly late in the race. Each time, Marc adjusted rather than overreacted.

His eventual winning margin was 0.657 seconds, with Pedro Acosta completing the podium ahead of Fermin Aldeguer. Martin salvaged fifth, leaving him and Marquez level on 274 points, while Bezzecchi’s costly non-finish left the Italian 33 points behind.

Bezzecchi’s opening-lap attack ends in the gravel

Bezzecchi made the start he needed from pole and held the lead, while Martin immediately improved from fifth to third. With every rider choosing medium Michelin tyres front and rear, there was no repeat of Saturday’s split rear-tyre strategies.

Marco Bezzecchi leads a tightly packed MotoGP field through the opening corners at Misano. — Marco Bezzecchi got the start he needed from pole, but his advantage lasted less than a lap. The Aprilia rider crashed at Turn 13, leaving Misano 33 points behind the championship leaders.

But Bezzecchi’s attempt to make his early pace count ended before he had completed a lap. Still carrying a full race fuel load, he misjudged a corner entry that ruined his rhythm, leading the Aprilia rider to lose the front at Turn 13 and slide out of the lead.

It was a brutal price for that opening-lap attack, although Bezzecchi’s own explanation identified a specific trigger: a small bump before braking between Turns 12 and 13 left him unable to tighten his line as intended. When he tried to bring the bike into the corner, the front folded. He escaped injury, but his race was over.

Marquez inherited the lead, and the sight of his rival on the ground immediately influenced his approach.

“When you race with this kind of pace, it’s easy to make a mistake. This is the reason why, when I saw Bezzecchi’s crash, I planned the race in a different way and maybe I relaxed a bit too much.”

Behind him, Acosta and Alex Marquez were making progress. Acosta moved ahead of Aldeguer on lap two, while Alex climbed from ninth on the grid and passed Acosta for third on lap four.

Martin leads before arm pump takes its toll

Jorge Martin leads Marc Marquez through a corner, with Alex Marquez following in the background. — Jorge Martin took the lead on lap seven and headed the field across the line for five consecutive laps. Marc Marquez reclaimed first place on lap twelve as Martin’s challenge began to unravel.

Martin looked comfortable in the early stages and moved past Marc at Turn Four on lap seven. He led across the line for five consecutive laps, setting his best time of 1m31.228 on lap eight.

That early momentum did not last. Martin progressively lost strength in his right forearm, compromising his braking and his ability to ride fluidly. Aprilia described the problem as presumed compartment syndrome.

“As the laps went by, I had increasingly less strength in my forearm and in the end, I was no longer able to control the bike.”

Jorge Martin leans his number 89 Aprilia into a corner, with his knee close to the asphalt. — Arm pump progressively weakened Jorge Martin’s right forearm, compromising his braking and forcing him to salvage fifth. His final lap took 1m33.779, compared with an early best of 1m31.228.

Marc retook the lead at Turn Six on lap twelve. Alex followed through at the same corner on lap fourteen, Acosta passed Martin at Turn Eight on lap sixteen, and Aldeguer relegated him to fifth at Turn Six on lap twenty.

The lap times show the scale of Martin’s late decline, although they cannot pinpoint when his symptoms began. His final six laps were all slower than 1m32, with the last taking 1m33.779. He finished 14.021 seconds behind the winner, banking 11 points from a race that had initially promised considerably more.

Martin will focus on recovering for Austria before deciding with Aprilia how best to address the arm problem.

Marc answers Alex when it matters

Once back in front, Marc built breathing room without trying to turn every lap into a qualifying attempt. Alex lost ground with a mistake at Turn Six on lap sixteen, leaving the gap between the brothers at 1.353 seconds as they completed that lap.

The Gresini rider then steadily recovered the deficit, cutting it to 0.405 seconds by the end of lap twenty-two. Marc answered with a 1m31.182 on lap twenty-three, compared with Alex’s 1m31.339, then responded again after Alex trimmed the gap on lap twenty-four.

Marc Marquez corners on his red Ducati with Alex Marquez following closely on the white Gresini Ducati. — Alex Marquez reduced his brother’s advantage to 0.405 seconds with five laps remaining. Marc answered when required and won by 0.657 seconds, despite setting only the fourth-fastest individual lap.

Marc’s 1m31.141 on lap twenty-five helped take the sting out of the challenge, and he kept Alex more than half a second behind over the final two laps.

“In the second part of the race, I tried to manage my lead and when Alex got closer, I started to push again. At this track, if you aren’t a lot faster than the rider ahead, it is hard to overtake.”

The fastest-lap sheet neatly shows how he won. Aldeguer, Acosta and Alex all broke into the 1m30s; Marc never did. His best of 1m31.069, set on lap fourteen, ranked fourth, but his consistency and carefully timed responses delivered the victory.

Alex claimed his second Grand Prix podium of the season, following his Jerez victory, while the brothers shared their first Grand Prix one-two since Catalunya last year.

Acosta stayed within reach and finished 2.326 seconds behind Marc. His fifth Grand Prix podium of 2026 was also the 15th of his MotoGP career, extending his record for podium finishes without a premier-class victory.

Pedro Acosta smiles with celebrating KTM team members gathered around him in parc ferme. — Pedro Acosta celebrates his fifth Grand Prix podium of 2026 with KTM. Third at Misano moved him to fifth in the championship on 209 points and extended his MotoGP podium tally to 15.

Aldeguer took fourth, 6.027 seconds from the winner, and set the fastest lap of the race with a 1m30.936 on lap twenty-two. That was 0.059 seconds outside Francesco Bagnaia’s standing Grand Prix race lap record.

Elevated view of Fermin Aldeguer leaning his number 54 Gresini Ducati through a corner at Misano. — Fermin Aldeguer finished fourth and set Sunday’s fastest lap, a 1m30.936 on lap twenty-two. It was 0.059 seconds outside Bagnaia’s standing Grand Prix race lap record.

Fernandez sixth as the midfield scraps

Raul Fernandez reached sixth by lap four and held that position to the finish, giving Aprilia two riders in the top six despite Bezzecchi’s exit. It was far from straightforward: the Trackhouse rider reported front-tyre problems, rear overheating and a need to manage fuel from the opening laps.

Fabio Di Giannantonio recovered to seventh after first-corner contact cost him places. He spent much of the afternoon behind Luca Marini before getting through on lap twenty-five.

Luca Marini leads Fabio Di Giannantonio and Enea Bastianini through a corner at Misano. — Luca Marini kept Fabio Di Giannantonio behind for much of the race before conceding seventh on lap twenty-five. Enea Bastianini followed through a lap later, leaving Marini ninth and the leading Honda.

Enea Bastianini also passed Marini on lap twenty-six to finish eighth from 16th on the grid. His best lap came on the final circuit, a 1m31.258 that was sixth-fastest overall and left him just 0.277 seconds behind Di Giannantonio at the flag.

Marini was the leading Honda in ninth, ahead of Fabio Quartararo, who managed a fuel issue while holding off Brad Binder for tenth.

Toprak Razgatlioglu climbed from last on the grid to 12th, completing a late Long Lap Penalty for track limits without losing the position. Franco Morbidelli, who served his own Long Lap Penalty earlier in the race, finished 13th. Stand-in Pol Espargaro completed the finishers in 14th after struggling physically over the closing laps.

Pol Espargaro leads Enea Bastianini, Brad Binder and Toprak Razgatlioglu through a sequence of corners. — Pol Espargaro heads Enea Bastianini, Brad Binder and Toprak Razgatlioglu in this Misano battle. All four scored points, with Bastianini finishing eighth, Binder 11th, Razgatlioglu 12th and Espargaro 14th.

Early exits for Miller and Bagnaia

Jack Miller’s race ended after a lap-two fall at Turn Eight. The Australian had gained places on the opening lap and felt the Yamaha was the best it had been all weekend, but lost the front while pushing to make further progress.

He picked the bike up, only to encounter a traction-control error after the trip through the gravel. Miller said that after switching the bike off to clear it, clutch trouble prevented him from restarting.

Diogo Moreira crashed at Turn Four on lap three, while Bagnaia fell at Turn Two on lap six after recovering ground from 14th on the grid. The Ducati rider again pointed to a lack of feeling that was making it difficult to push without mistakes.

Francesco Bagnaia stands beside the track with his arms folded and blue helmet still on after his crash. — Francesco Bagnaia’s recovery from 14th on the grid ended with a Turn Two crash on lap six. He remains ninth in the championship on 143 points, 131 behind Ducati team-mate Marc Marquez.

Joan Mir also retired after five completed laps, reporting a lack of energy and strength. Alex Rins returned to the garage on lap seventeen with a migraine and severe nausea. Both were set for medical checks ahead of Austria.

Johann Zarco was the final rider to crash, falling at Turn Eight on lap twenty-five. The official falls report listed all five MotoGP race crashers as Rider OK.

Marquez erases a 102-point deficit

Marc Marquez rides his Ducati around Misano carrying a red flag after his Grand Prix victory. — From 102 points behind after Mugello to championship leader at Misano: Marc Marquez’s fifth Grand Prix victory of 2026 was also his 78th in MotoGP and seventh at this circuit.

Marc Marquez leaves Misano leading the championship for the first time in 2026. He and Jorge Martin both have 274 points, with Marquez ranked first on countback, while Marco Bezzecchi is third on 241.

Marquez was 102 points behind the championship leader after Mugello. Since the following round in Hungary, he has amassed 203 points, compared with Martin’s 118 and Bezzecchi’s 68. The Spaniard is finding ways to ride around the lack of power in his right arm and entering each weekend in conservation mode to save himself for Sunday.

Misano delivered Marc’s fifth Grand Prix victory of the season and 78th in MotoGP. All five of his Grand Prix podiums this year have been wins. It was also his fourth Sprint and Grand Prix double of 2026, and his first at a clockwise circuit this season.

Ducati’s seventh Grand Prix win of the year drew it level with Aprilia’s victory tally and moved the Italian manufacturer into the constructors’ championship lead, 412 points to 410.

Marquez’s winning time of 41m13.013 also established a new total race-time benchmark at Misano. Michelin put the improvement over Enea Bastianini’s 2024 winning time at approximately 1.6 seconds.

A record 184,051 spectators attended across the Misano weekend. The championship now heads straight to the Red Bull Ring for the Austrian Grand Prix on September 18-20.

Pedro Acosta, Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez pose together above the packed spectator area at Misano. — Pedro Acosta, Marc Marquez and Alex Marquez celebrate in front of the Misano crowd. A record 184,051 spectators attended across the weekend as the Marquez brothers secured their first Grand Prix one-two since Catalunya 2025.

Misano MotoGP Race Results


Pos	Rider	Bike	TIme/Gap
1	M. Marquez	Duc	41m13.013
2	A. Marquez	Duc	+0.657
3	P. Acosta	KTM	+2.326
4	F. Aldeguer	Duc	+6.027
5	J. Martin	Apr	+14.021
6	R. Fernandez	Apr	+18.252
7	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	+20.581
8	E. Bastianini	KTM	+20.858
9	L. Marini	Hon	+22.911
10	F. Quartararo	Yam	+23.229
11	B. Binder	KTM	+23.905
12	T. Razgatlioglu	Yam	+28.031
13	F. Morbidelli	Duc	+28.927
14	P. Espargaro	KTM	+31.792
Not Classified
DNF	J. Zarco	Hon	+3 laps
DNF	A. Rins	Yam	+11 laps
DNF	F. Bagnaia	Duc	+22 laps
DNF	J. Mir	Hon	+22 laps
DNF	D. Moreira	Hon	+25 laps
DNF	J. Miller	Yam	+26 laps
DNF	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	DNF

2026 MotoGP Championship Standings


Pos	Rider	Points
1	M. Marquez	274
2	J. Martin	274
3	M. Bezzecchi	241
4	F. Di Giannantonio	223
5	P. Acosta	209
6	A. Ogura	203
7	R. Fernandez	199
8	A. Marquez	153
9	F. Bagnaia	143
10	F. Aldeguer	105
11	L. Marini	96
12	E. Bastianini	92
13	B. Binder	83
14	D. Moreira	64
15	F. Quartararo	61
16	F. Morbidelli	56
17	J. Zarco	36
18	J. Mir	33
19	J. Miller	28
20	A. Rins	24
21	T. Razgatlioglu	18
22	M. Viñales	10
23	I. Lecuona	9
24	A. Fernandez	6
25	P. Espargaro	5
26	C. Crutchlow	0
27	J. Folger	0
28	L. Savadori	0
29	M. Pirro	0

2026 MotoGP Calendar


Rnd	Date	Event	Circuit
1	01 Mar	Thai	Chang International Circuit
2	22 Mar	Brazil*	Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna
3	29 Mar	US	Circuit of the Americas
4	26 Apr	Spain**	Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto
5	10 May	France	Le Mans
6	17 May	Catalonia	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
7	31 May	Italy	Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello
8	07 Jun	Hungary	Balaton Park Circuit
9	21 Jun	Czech	Automotodrom Brno
10	28 Jun	Netherlands	TT Circuit Assen
11	12 Jul	Germany	Sachsenring
12	09 Aug	GB	Silverstone Circuit
13	30 Aug	Aragon	MotorLand Aragon
14	13 Sep	San Marino	Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
15	20 Sep	Austria	Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
16	04 Oct	Japan	Mobility Resort Motegi
17	11 Oct	Indonesia	Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit
18	25 Oct	Australia	Phillip Island
19	01 Nov	Malaysia	Petronas Sepang International Circuit
20	08 Nov	Qatar	Lusail International Circuit
21	22 Nov	Portugal	Autodromo Internacional do Algarve
22	29 Nov	Valencia	Circuit Ricardo Tormo