MotoGP 2026
Round 20 Qatar – Sunday – MotoGP Race
Marco Bezzecchi led all 22 laps from pole to win the Qatar Grand Prix under the lights at Lusail. Marc Márquez dropped to fourth early before taking second from Raúl Fernández, a move worth four extra points in his bid for an eighth MotoGP title.
Márquez had gone into the race 49 points clear of Jorge Martín after his 25th Sprint victory on Saturday night. A Grand Prix win would have sealed the title if Martín had failed to score. Martín had come from 11th on the grid to third in the Sprint just a fortnight after breaking his wrist at Phillip Island.
Bezzecchi had another shot from pole after contact with Márquez on the exit of Turn 1 ended his Sprint. Francesco Bagnaia was ruled out after breaking two bones in his right foot in the earlier crash that brought out the red flag.
Fernández goes on the attack
Bezzecchi got the holeshot and led Márquez into Turn 1. Fernández pushed underneath his Trackhouse team-mate Ai Ogura mid-corner, making the Japanese rider lift. Fabio Di Giannantonio had to pick his Ducati up as well, running wide and losing several positions from the front row.
Fernández went straight after Márquez into Turn 2 and made him lift as he went through to second.
By the end of the opening lap Fernández was nearly a second clear of Márquez. Ogura, Johann Zarco and Pedro Acosta cost each other time scrapping for fourth early on lap two, giving Márquez a brief breather. Enea Bastianini joined in, but Acosta got clear and closed on Márquez, taking third late on lap three. Acosta was already nearly two seconds behind Fernández.
Bastianini was in touch by lap five. Márquez took third back early on lap six as Acosta ran a little wide. Acosta was managing front tyre pressure and tucked in behind the Ducati to get some heat back into the tyre.
Bezzecchi set the fastest lap to that point on lap nine, edging his lead over Fernández out to 1.2 seconds. Márquez was almost another three seconds back with Acosta still close. Bezzecchi said he had pushed to get clear early, then concentrated on managing the wear on both tyres.
Martín started 10th on the revised grid. He got past Zarco for eighth on lap three and took seventh from Di Giannantonio on lap 11. A rear vibration from lap two had made it difficult for the VR46 rider to get the bike turned.
Márquez turns up the wick
Márquez said he had stuck to his race plan early and waited until he felt comfortable to push. His 1m52.558 on lap 13 broke his own Lusail race lap record and took nearly nine tenths out of Fernández, who had started the lap more than two seconds ahead of him.
Fernández said his fuel warning came on after a few laps, so he turned the power down and picked his moments to push. Behind him, Ogura got by Bastianini on lap 15, took fourth from Acosta two laps later and started to pull away from both KTMs.
Diogo Moreira pulled into the pits with the leaders on lap 16 after losing strength in his right arm as an old elbow injury flared up. Brad Binder was also slowing and retired a lap later, reporting missed shifts and heavy vibration.
With four laps to go, Bezzecchi was three and a half seconds clear of Fernández, who had Márquez closing fast. Bastianini went past Acosta for fifth on lap 19, and by the end of that lap Márquez was right on Fernández’s tail. He’d thought third might be enough until he saw the Trackhouse rider struggling. Márquez got a run out of the last corner and went by on the straight with three laps to go.
Three Aprilias in the top four
Bezzecchi was comfortably clear and won by just over three seconds. Márquez held second by half a second from Fernández, who made the podium on his return from a finger injury. Ogura closed to just over a second behind his team-mate by the flag.
Bezzecchi’s sixth Grand Prix win of the season was his 12th in MotoGP. All 12 had come at different circuits, taking him past Freddie Spencer, whose first 11 premier-class wins came at 11 different tracks. It was Aprilia’s first MotoGP Grand Prix win at Lusail.
Bastianini finished fifth ahead of Acosta after fighting chatter through the left-handers and losing an earplug late in the race. Martín held seventh from Di Giannantonio, saying he still lacked the strength in his wrist to brake the Aprilia as he wanted.
Zarco was the first Honda home in ninth, with Álex Márquez’s Gresini stand-in Iker Lecuona completing the top ten ahead of Franco Morbidelli and Fermín Aldeguer. Maverick Viñales finished 13th and Jake Dixon scored his first MotoGP points in 14th.
Márquez can clinch at Portimão
Márquez left Qatar 60 points clear of Martín and can clinch back-to-back titles with Ducati by taking at least two points out of him in the Portimão Sprint. Bezzecchi is 74 points back with 74 available. He needs to win both remaining Sprints and both Grands Prix, with Márquez going scoreless, to take the title on countback.
Aprilia’s ninth Grand Prix win of the season cut Ducati’s lead in the constructors’ standings to eight points.
Qatar MotoGP Race Results
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|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap | Speed |
| 1 | M. Bezzecchi | Apr | 41m29.173 | 171.1 |
| 2 | M. Marquez | Duc | +3.083 | 170.9 |
| 3 | R. Fernandez | Apr | +3.614 | 170.9 |
| 4 | A. Ogura | Apr | +4.885 | 170.8 |
| 5 | E. Bastianini | KTM | +6.948 | 170.7 |
| 6 | P. Acosta | KTM | +7.413 | 170.6 |
| 7 | J. Martin | Apr | +14.023 | 170.2 |
| 8 | F. Di Giannantonio | Duc | +15.517 | 170.1 |
| 9 | J. Zarco | Hon | +16.257 | 170.0 |
| 10 | I. Lecuona | Duc | +17.958 | 169.9 |
| 11 | F. Morbidelli | Duc | +20.275 | 169.7 |
| 12 | F. Aldeguer | Duc | +20.576 | 169.7 |
| 13 | M. Viñales | KTM | +21.095 | 169.7 |
| 14 | J. Dixon | Hon | +28.734 | 169.2 |
| Not Classified | ||||
| NC | B. Binder | KTM | +6 Laps | 166.4 |
| NC | D. Moreira | Hon | +7 Laps | 167.2 |
2026 MotoGP Championship Standings
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|---|---|---|
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | M. Marquez | 431 |
| 2 | J. Martin | 371 |
| 3 | M. Bezzecchi | 357 |
| 4 | P. Acosta | 309 |
| 5 | A. Ogura | 294 |
| 6 | F. Di Giannantonio | 282 |
| 7 | R. Fernandez | 258 |
| 8 | A. Marquez | 197 |
| 9 | F. Bagnaia | 173 |
| 10 | E. Bastianini | 147 |
| 11 | F. Aldeguer | 129 |
| 12 | B. Binder | 118 |
| 13 | L. Marini | 117 |
| 14 | F. Quartararo | 79 |
| 15 | D. Moreira | 78 |
| 16 | F. Morbidelli | 70 |
| 17 | J. Zarco | 63 |
| 18 | J. Mir | 33 |
| 19 | J. Miller | 31 |
| 20 | A. Rins | 29 |
| 21 | I. Lecuona | 18 |
| 22 | T. Razgatlioglu | 18 |
| 23 | M. Viñales | 17 |
| 24 | A. Fernandez | 6 |
| 25 | P. Espargaro | 5 |
| 26 | S. Chantra | 3 |
| 27 | T. Nakagami | 3 |
| 28 | J. Dixon | 2 |
| 29 | C. Crutchlow | 0 |
| 30 | J. Folger | 0 |
| 31 | L. Savadori | 0 |
| 32 | M. Pirro | 0 |
| 33 | A. Espargaro | 0 |
2026 MotoGP Calendar
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| 21 |
22 Nov
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Portugal
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Autodromo Internacional do Algarve
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| 22 |
29 Nov
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Valencia
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Circuit Ricardo Tormo
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