MotoGP 2026
Round 18 – Phillip Island – Saturday
MotoGP Sprint Race Quotes
Jorge Martin’s championship hopes took a heavy blow at Phillip Island on Saturday. The Aprilia rider arrived with a two-point lead over Marc Marquez, but now trails by ten and has been ruled out of Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix after his Sprint crash at Hayshed.
Initial examinations revealed a fractured radius and a suspected distal fracture of the right ulna, with further tests to determine the full extent of Martin’s injury. His absence gives Marquez an opportunity to build on Saturday’s victory, although Marc was quick to acknowledge that Martin had the stronger pace during their spectacular fight for the lead.
Marquez now holds the upper hand in his bid for a tenth world title and an eighth MotoGP crown. He leads the standings on 365 points, ten ahead of Martin, with Marco Bezzecchi third on 315.
There are still 173 points available: 25 in Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix, followed by 148 across the remaining four weekends in Malaysia, Qatar, Portugal and Valencia. With Martin unable to race today, his maximum remaining haul is 148 points, provided he can contest all four remaining rounds.
A Marquez victory today would stretch his lead over Martin to 35 points, but there is plenty of racing left. Injuries, mistakes, mechanical problems and the weather can still turn this championship around, as Saturday demonstrated. Bezzecchi also remains in contention, 50 points behind Marquez and 40 behind his Aprilia team-mate.
Heavy rain has been falling at Phillip Island overnight and is expected to continue through Sunday morning. The soaked pitlane and main straight tell their own story.
The heavier falls may ease before the scheduled 1400 local start, but the Bureau of Meteorology still forecasts a high likelihood of rain into the afternoon. The conditions could yet play a major part in the 27-lap Grand Prix.
Raul Fernandez has also been ruled unfit as he continues to struggle with his injured right index finger. His withdrawal, along with Martin’s, leaves 18 riders on the revised grid and moves Jack Miller up to fourth for his home Grand Prix.
The rider comments below follow the amended Sprint classification. Ai Ogura and Augusto Fernandez each received an eight-second tyre-pressure penalty, with Ogura dropping from sixth to 13th and Fernandez remaining 15th. Some comments were issued before the penalties, so references within those quotes reflect the positions at the time.
MotoGP Sprint Rider Quotes
Marc Marquez – P1
“Today we weren’t the fastest out there, so I tried to defend my position as hard as I could against Martín and attack to retake the lead. The pace was really fast, and it was clear that he had a rhythm I couldn’t match. Once I was informed of his crash, I managed the race while trying to prevent the chasing riders from closing in, starting with Alex, who was coming back strongly. I’m happy with the win, but I feel sorry for Jorge. I wish him a speedy recovery and hope to see him back on track soon.”
Saturday delivered Marquez’s ninth Sprint win of 2026, a record-extending 24th overall and his first at Phillip Island. He has now won each of the last 13 Sprints he has started from pole.
Sunday offers another milestone: an 80th premier-class Grand Prix victory and a fifth at Phillip Island. That would put him one behind the Island record of six shared by Valentino Rossi and Casey Stoner.
Ducati’s third Sprint podium sweep of the season repeated the Sachsenring order of Marc Marquez, Alex Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio. It was the manufacturer’s 11th Sprint victory of 2026 and 63rd overall.
Alex Marquez – P2
“The soft tyre we used today definitely helped us, but we started the race without too many certainties, as we had only used it for time attacks. It was definitely a great race, battling for positions with Martin first and then with Acosta. The pace was very good, and over a 13-lap race we performed really well, also in terms of tyre durability. Tomorrow everything could change, both with the weather and with the 27-lap race. Today, though, we can enjoy a fun race.”
Alex’s fourth Sprint podium of the season completed the brothers’ 14th Sprint one-two. Marc has won 13 of those encounters.
Fabio Di Giannantonio – P3
“I am happy because from this morning in Qualifying the feeling was amazing on wet. In the Sprint I had a good start, but I made a mistake at Turn 4 and I got stuck because I made a wrong evaluation of the wind, I was thinking it was going on another direction, but it pushed me in the braking and I went wide. But then I realized I had a good pace and I started to overtake, I had fun. It’s a pity that we missed something to do even better, but we showed a good speed during the race. At the final stages we were very close to the second place, but I had stressed the tyre too much and it was hard to overtake, so I preferred keeping my position; we are on the Sprint podium anyway. I am happy because it was important to have a great result on this track for me. For tomorrow, we have a good potential, and the goal will be to perform very well. If it rains, it will be more challenging, but we were good on wet this morning and tomorrow we can have a good race, I am confident.”
Di Giannantonio now has 13 Sprint podiums, the most of any rider yet to win a Sprint.
Marco Bezzecchi – P4
“It’s a real shame for Jorge, for the team, and for Aprilia as a whole, because he was doing a great job. Obviously, it’s not over yet; as we’ve seen in the past, anything can happen in this championship. I want to send him a big hug. As for today, I’m not happy with qualifying. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to do a lap fast enough to start higher up. I’m disappointed because I was quite competitive in the wet and dry, but with the mixed qualifying conditions, I wasn’t able to be fast. However, I’m happy with the sprint; I really enjoyed myself.”
Pedro Acosta – P5
“Not much more I could do today. Good start and good first laps and that was pretty much the only card I had in my pocket. I tried to burn the tire a bit to go with the guys but their pace was better. Then there was nothing to gain in front of me and nothing to lose behind. We are shaking quite a lot in sector three. We brought the bike home and we know it was working quite well in the wet so let’s see for tomorrow.”
Brad Binder – P6
“I had a really good start but then missed a bit of speed at the beginning and it became a bit more difficult to hang with the boys. For tomorrow’s race we need to get faster in the final sector, and if we can do that then we’ll do a lot better for sure. The bike felt good in the wet but we need a bit more turning. We’ll have to deal with it tomorrow.”
Jack Miller – P7
“It was a day I’m happy-ish with. Qualifying went well, which makes life a lot easier for the Sprint, and we scored our first Sprint points of the season, so I’m happy with that. I was hoping for a little more humidity this afternoon, but unfortunately, it didn’t come. Still, we rode a good race without making mistakes, and I felt comfortable on the bike.”
“Overall the bike was turning well, and our corner speed was strong. The problem was that I was a bit of a sitting duck on the straights. I managed to keep the gap under control. With Brad, I felt I was faster in the corners while he had the advantage on the straight, so we ended up stuck together until Bezzecchi, Di Giannantonio and Ogura came through.”
“But overall, it was a decent day, and I can’t complain too much. Scoring Sprint points is already a record for us this year. We were strong in the wet this morning, qualifying went well and the Sprint was solid. The forecast for tomorrow looks good, and our qualifying position will be important if we get a wet race. Starting further forward and avoiding too much spray, especially here, could make a big difference. It’s a long race in the wet, so we’ll see what the conditions bring and do the best job we can.”
“I took my time on the in-lap to salute the crowd, and even today the turnout was massive. The fences were packed all the way around the circuit. It’s unreal to see the Australian fans turning it on for Phillip Island, and I’m sure there will be even more people here tomorrow. It looks like it could be another great day for Australian riders, too, with some of us in strong positions on the grid. As for me, we’ll see what tomorrow brings!”
Diogo Moreira – P8
“Today, I did my best with the conditions we had. It’s true that I still need more laps in wet conditions to improve my feeling, as this is something I’m still missing. We had a solid qualifying session, and during the Sprint, I was able to fight and stay in the mix. Scoring two points is important, so let’s see what we can do tomorrow!”
Iker Lecuona – P9
“We didn’t get off to the best start, but we still managed not to lose too many positions. Once I found my pace, things changed: halfway through the race, I was practically matching my best qualifying times. Overall, I’m very happy with both the bike and the team. Tomorrow we’ll keep learning and improving.”
Fabio Quartararo – P10
“This morning I wasn’t feeling good at all in the mixed conditions, but in the Sprint race I was pretty okay. I’m just missing feeling with the front in the last two sectors. Hopefully we can find something in the wet tomorrow so we can have it. I think I’ll feel better in full wet conditions than in the mixed conditions we had this morning. It’s true that Jack [Miller] was also really fast today so, for sure, we have things we can learn.”
Enea Bastianini – P11
“Today was complicated from the morning, because in the wet the electronics didn’t work as I wanted. We still need to think about it, as tomorrow will probably be wet and we need to be ready, but I think the team has resolved this. I’m not really happy with the Sprint. The start was complicated and I lost some positions to other riders. After that my pace was not bad, but I was expecting something better from myself and I’m a bit disappointed. Tomorrow will be complicated. I prefer racing in the dry, but in the wet I’m sure we will be better than today.”
Alex Rins – P12
“I’m a little satisfied because I had a good pace, but when I caught up with [Enea] Bastianini in the last five laps, I had no way to get through on him. The unique point, where I was much better than him, was in the first metres coming out of corner 12 – I was catching him there. I would be parallel, next to him, and then fall back again, so it was quite mixed. It looks like tomorrow it will rain. In the wet conditions I think our situation will be similar to what it was in the dry.”
Ai Ogura – P13
“The Sprint was not too bad. It was a shame that I didn’t gain any position myself after the start. After that the pace was quite OK. We are still losing time in some parts of the track but that’s also due to the changing conditions. Overall, I’m happy about the Sprint but we need to improve the performance in wet conditions. We’ll probably have best chances to work on that tomorrow but, unfortunately, Warm Up is just 10 minutes long and we can’t do much there. It’s still a session, so we’ll see. During the race, I’ll try to get the confidence and the feeling – to ride good at the end of the race is the target now for tomorrow.”
Franco Morbidelli – P14
“Today it was a very tough day: yesterday I struggled and today went a little worse than yesterday. We hoped for something more in the rain, but unfortunately I couldn’t be as fast as I wished in wet conditions. I am sorry, because I’ve always performed well in the rain, and this year I secured the Sprint podium on wet track. But today it was tough, especially on a very peculiar track such as Phillip Island, which requires a lot of confidence. We will keep working today and tonight to try to make a step forward tomorrow.”
Augusto Fernandez – P15
“It was a difficult day, mainly because of the conditions and the adaptation required. As we said yesterday, this weekend was always going to be challenging. This morning, I started with a very poor feeling in the wet, but we worked well and I managed to become competitive. In qualifying, the track was drying very quickly and it became more difficult.”
“In the dry, though, I’m still getting a reality check. I lack rhythm, especially when it comes to getting out on track and putting consecutive laps together. Yesterday, I could manage a reasonably good lap, but I was already struggling to maintain that pace for more than two laps. Today, it was even more difficult. In the wet, I seem to be more competitive, but I need more dry laps to get up to speed as quickly as possible. So, I need to be patient, keep working and hopefully take another step forward. Tomorrow looks likely to be wet again, so we’ll try to make the most of those conditions.”
Raul Fernandez – DNF
“After yesterday’s crash and how I woke up this morning, I didn’t feel very good with the finger. I tried to rest because it’s the last time we are in Phillip Island, so I tried, but in the Sprint I quickly realized that I wasn’t able to ride. I stayed on track in case the situation changed, but I didn’t feel great on the brakes. Then I decided it’s better for me and for the other riders not to stay on track. Later, we did another check and after 15 days the fracture is still there, it didn’t get any better. So it’s time to stop and recover well before jumping on the bike again.”
Jorge Martin – DNF
“It’s a shame about the bad fall, but the important thing is that I’m fine after such a dangerous accident. I’m happy that nothing serious happened. Further tests will tell us how the situation will evolve in the coming days.”
Maverick Viñales – DNF
“I was hoping for the rain, but it didn’t come, so it was very tough. To be honest, it was not so bad at the beginning, but then I started to lose control of the bike again and feel more and more pain, and that’s the limit. In Mandalika I didn’t stop and I really suffered, but this track is different. You arrive at the corners very fast, and as soon as you don’t have control of the bike, it’s better not to continue. This morning in the wet I could defend myself much more. My position on the bike is not fantastic so I can’t take full advantage of the conditions, but at least I can fight a bit more. It’s a shame, because on the right-hand side I’m riding at the top level, but it’s a totally different riding style in the left corners. It’s frustrating, it’s always the same loop: I recover, go racing, and the inflammation comes back. We will check the shoulder again before tomorrow but for now, I’m hoping for rain so I can try to be competitive.”
Johann Zarco – DNF
“After securing a front-row start, we were determined to fight for a strong result here. Unfortunately, we had a problem with one of the bike’s sensors, which forced me to retire from the Sprint. It’s a shame because we had the potential to do a good job today, but these things can happen in racing. Now, we need to focus on tomorrow, adapt to the conditions and do our best to get a strong result!”
Francesco Bagnaia – DNF
“It certainly wasn’t the best day for us, starting with qualifying, where we didn’t make the best choice in terms of strategy and rear tyre. I had a good start in the Sprint, but then I began experiencing a small issue that got worse corner after corner, preventing me from continuing the race. It’s a pity, but we have to focus on tomorrow’s race, which is going to be a long one. The realistic goal is to finish in the top ten.”
MotoGP Team Managers
Fabiano Sterlacchini – Aprilia Racing
“Not a particularly positive day. It certainly started off complicated by the weather conditions this morning and qualifying. However, thanks to the excellent work we did on Friday, we still managed to secure some good starting positions. Marco rode a great comeback race, maintaining a very fast pace, and this gives us hope for tomorrow. The worst part of the day, however, was Jorge’s crash, but we’re still moving forward positively and will try to have a good race on Sunday.”
Aprilia still leads the constructors’ championship, but its advantage over Ducati is now just six points, 509 to 503.
Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
“We survived the challenging conditions quite well here today. The dry track on Friday was tricky for us but also quite solid and today we managed the mixed conditions. A steady race from both Pedro and Brad and I think we have good pace for tomorrow’s Grand Prix.”
Gino Borsoi – Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
“Australia has already given us a great result in the Sprint, and Jack did an excellent job not only in the race but also in qualifying. We are very happy, especially because I believe these are our first Sprint points of the season. Racing at home clearly gives a rider extra motivation, but it also shows that the bike was able to support him here. We are still losing out on the straights, but through the corners, as Jack said, I think we are quite close to our rivals. That gives me some hope for tomorrow, although we will have to see what the conditions bring.”
“Above all, I want to congratulate Jack. This result is important for him, his family, the paddock and all his fans, because he truly deserves it.”
“As for Augusto, we knew he would find the race more difficult because he is still lacking race rhythm. Unfortunately, he has joined us at a point in the season when all the other riders have already completed many races and are fully up to speed. We will keep working with him and help him make progress.”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
“Considering our starting positions and how much we struggled this morning, there are quite a few positives to take away from this Sprint. Fabio and Álex both made decent progress through the field and showed good race pace from the first lap to the last. Fabio was able to gain eight positions, and also Álex recovered well after dropping back early on. Our dry performance level was more competitive than the wet qualifying results might have suggested, but it looks like it will rain again for the Race. We will analyse today’s morning sessions’ data carefully, comparing [Jack] Miller’s data, to try to prepare something better for tomorrow.”
Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3
“Obviously a disappointing result this Saturday at Phillip Island, with P11 for Enea Bastianini and a DNF for Maverick Viñales. The weekend started quite well, and Enea achieved a super-fast lap yesterday in Practice, which qualified him directly into Q2. Unfortunately, today’s rain made everything a little bit more complicated, and in the end that meant lining up 11th on the grid. Then he had a pretty bad start in the Sprint, and later on he had contact with [Iker] Lecuona, which put him at the back of the field. From there it was another race, and without a strong pace he struggled to come back as he usually does. So, a disappointing result, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow.”
“On Maverick’s side, it’s a complex situation. Maverick left Mandalika with a tired shoulder, and we knew this circuit would be difficult for him. It’s an anti-clockwise circuit with a lot of fast left-hand corners, and this is exactly where Maverick is suffering with his shoulder. So, he had to pull in during the Sprint. We hope that tomorrow’s rain will change the situation and make the bike less physical, and we expect Maverick at least to finish the race in a decent position.”
Davide Brivio – SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP
“Difficult day today. It’s a pity because it was a good circuit for us and we were waiting for this weekend. Yesterday, everything was OK and then today we had to do the Qualifying in the wet with some difficulties and Raul was able to qualify sixth and Ai in P12. Then came the Sprint race luckily in the dry but, unfortunately, Raul had to withdraw from the race due to his physical condition – his finger. So, he had to retire and that’s a pity. Ai did a very good recovery in the Sprint from 12th position to P6 but then, unfortunately, we were found with tire pressure below the limit and we received a penalty. The result of today is that Raul will also be unfit tomorrow, so we have only Ai on the grid and probably it will be raining. We expect a difficult day, but we try to manage, try to face that and do our best.”
Phillip Island Sprint Race Results
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|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | M. Marquez | Duc | 19m09.411 |
| 2 | A. Marquez | Duc | +0.323 |
| 3 | F. Di Giannantonio | Duc | +0.590 |
| 4 | M. Bezzecchi | Apr | +1.074 |
| 5 | P. Acosta | KTM | +3.689 |
| 6 | B. Binder | KTM | +7.433 |
| 7 | J. Miller | Yam | +7.782 |
| 8 | D. Moreira | Hon | +10.722 |
| 9 | I. Lecuona | Duc | +10.773 |
| 10 | F. Quartararo | Yam | +11.215 |
| 11 | E. Bastianini | KTM | +11.437 |
| 12 | A. Rins | Yam | +11.568 |
| 13 | A. Ogura (+8s) | Apr | +14.146 |
| 14 | F. Morbidelli | Duc | +18.277 |
| 15 | A. Fernandez (+8s) | Yam | +45.945 |
| DNF | R. Fernandez | Apr | 5 laps |
| DNF | J. Martin | Apr | 6 laps |
| DNF | M. Viñales | KTM | 7 laps |
| DNF | J. Zarco | Hon | 10 laps |
| DNF | F. Bagnaia | Duc | 11 laps |
Ai Ogura and Augusto Fernandez each received an eight-second time penalty for tyre-pressure infringements.
The displayed gaps include those penalties.
MotoGP Championship Points
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||
|---|---|---|
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | M. Marquez | 365 |
| 2 | J. Martin | 355 |
| 3 | M. Bezzecchi | 315 |
| 4 | P. Acosta | 263 |
| 5 | A. Ogura | 259 |
| 6 | F. Di Giannantonio | 252 |
| 7 | R. Fernandez | 236 |
| 8 | A. Marquez | 181 |
| 9 | F. Bagnaia | 166 |
| 10 | F. Aldeguer | 125 |
| 11 | E. Bastianini | 122 |
| 12 | L. Marini | 108 |
| 13 | B. Binder | 108 |
| 14 | D. Moreira | 76 |
| 15 | F. Quartararo | 74 |
| 16 | F. Morbidelli | 59 |
| 17 | J. Zarco | 51 |
| 18 | J. Mir | 33 |
| 19 | J. Miller | 31 |
| 20 | A. Rins | 25 |
| 21 | T. Razgatlioglu | 18 |
| 22 | M. Viñales | 12 |
| 23 | I. Lecuona | 10 |
| 24 | A. Fernandez | 6 |
| 25 | P. Espargaro | 5 |
| 26 | S. Chantra | 3 |
| 27 | T. Nakagami | 3 |
| 28 | C. Crutchlow | 0 |
| 29 | J. Folger | 0 |
| 30 | L. Savadori | 0 |
| 31 | M. Pirro | 0 |
| 32 | A. Espargaro | 0 |
MotoGP Calendar
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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
|
