MotoGP 2026
Round 20 Qatar – MotoGP Riders Reflect
Marco Bezzecchi led all 22 laps from pole at Lusail to give Aprilia its first MotoGP Grand Prix win in Qatar. He pushed early to open a gap, then managed wear on both tyres. Behind him, Raúl Fernández turned down the power after an early fuel warning and still brought Trackhouse a podium.
Marc Márquez said there was a moment when he thought third would do. He broke the race lap record in pursuit of Fernández and took second with three laps to run. The pass earned him four more points, and he heads to Portimão 60 clear of Jorge Martín with two rounds left.
MotoGP Rider Quotes
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 (+3.083)
“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.”
Raúl Fernández – P3 (+3.614)
“We are a team, we work all together, everyone is always trying to do the best. Nine days ago, when I arrived to Malaysia, my pain was getting stronger and stronger so we decided to go back home to check everything well and recover. We saw that there were some problems with the ligaments in the finger, so we started to work on that. Coming here, I started to use that finger from FP1. It wasn’t perfect but I was able to ride. I think during these days I had a lot of work to do, but finally we got a really good result. About today, I did my best and I tried to stay behind Marco (Bezzecchi) but we knew that the fuel consumption is going to be critical here. Then, I saw after a few laps that I had the fuel alarm, so I tried to reduce the power. In some laps I was able to push and come back at 1:52, but then I had to manage again. It was very critical but, I think, to get another podium when you are not at 100% and you are fighting with Marc (Marquez) and Marco, is really nice. This is the way we want to keep for the rest of the season.”
Ai Ogura – P4 (+4.885)
“It was a difficult one to manage. The lack of speed, especially in the first part of the race, cost us a lot. Towards the end, our pace was OK and I started to catch the riders in the front and did a few overtakes, but it wasn’t enough to be at the front at the chequered flag. It was a tough one – in the first part of the race, when the other riders still have extra grip from the tire, they are a bit more free to choose the line and I fought too many times, especially with Johann (Zarco) and I think there we lost a lot of time. I feel I could have managed it in a better way.”
Enea Bastianini – P5 (+6.948)
“It was a tough race. I was happy with my start; I kept a good line and was in a strong position for Turn 1. After that I tried to stay close to Pedro and Marc and fight for the podium. I was trying to stay calm and save the tyre for the end. But in the middle of the race, Marc disappeared. The worst area for us was the left corners, where we had a lot of chatter. This was something we had the whole weekend, but it seemed to get worse in the Sprint yesterday and today. Also, my earplug fell out so I was confused at the end! We did a good job. We were the first KTM. I’m trying to fight for the podium at the moment. I’ve been closer in this last part of the season. We have two more chances and I want to give my team a top three finish before the season is over. That’s the aim going to Portugal.”
Pedro Acosta – P6 (+7.413)
“Today I’m happy with the decisions we took and now we have to understand why I had a few issues around the tire. We took a risk and we turned the weekend around from Friday; that was quite impressive. We were a top four option today and close to the podium battle but we had to play with the pressures. We made the best of the weekend and showed good potential. Today’s pace was good, especially at the beginning.”
Jorge Martín – P7 (+14.023)
“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.”
Fabio Di Giannantonio – P8 (+15.517)
“It was a particular Sunday: this morning in the Warm Up I told my team that I hadn’t had this much fun on the bike in the last two years! I had an amazing bike, and I could do anything I wanted; we were fast. We were ready to have a great performance in the race, but unfortunately, at the second lap I had a vibration on the rear, and I couldn’t do the right angle. I struggled a lot, it’s a pity. We must focus on what we have in control and on the positives. Until the race, we had a great weekend, we secured the podium in the Sprint, and we are fast, we proved that. If we can have a smooth weekend, we can have fun in this last part of the season.”
Johann Zarco – P9 (+16.257)
“I had good pace and more control than in the Sprint, but there were too many things to manage throughout the race. I made a good start, but I would have liked to have had some cleaner laps early on, as I lost time battling with other riders. I gave everything I had. It was difficult, but I stayed in the fight and managed to score some valuable points.”
Iker Lecuona – P10 (+17.958)
“I’m physically drained, but I have to thank the team for another amazing weekend. I’m really pleased with how things went: points yesterday and a top-10 finish today. My race pace was really strong, although I lost some time in the early stages fighting with other riders and working my way through the field. In the end, we managed to collect some valuable points. I leave Qatar feeling like a better rider, and that’s all thanks to this team and the incredible support they’ve given me.”
Franco Morbidelli – P11 (+20.275)
“It was an okay day. I had a bad start, and I was in the last position at Turn 1. I tried to do something to recover, but I went wide. Later, I started to recover little by little. At the last lap, I made an overtake at the last corner and I was able to get close to the Top10, which is our goal of the weekend. With the eleventh place in the race, we were close to the Top10, but we were too far at the first stages and it’s a pity. But with had the rhythm to be close to our goal and this is positive.”
Fermín Aldeguer – P12 (+20.576)
“It was a challenging race. I was expecting to feel more comfortable and have better pace, but I struggled quite a bit with the front tyre. It soon became more about making it to the finish, but it was still a valuable opportunity to get more mileage under my belt and build back some rhythm ahead of the final two races of the season. From a physical standpoint, I’m really pleased to have made it through the entire weekend without any problems.”
Maverick Viñales – P13 (+21.095)
“Today was tough! I had to use a lot of my right arm to finish and I started getting arm pump. But I’m quite happy because I finished and also managed to keep a good rhythm in the middle of the race. This was something I wasn’t expecting. I tried to go forward but it was very complicated. Now the plan is to go to the doctor’s next week to do the medical checks and see how the shoulder is. Obviously, something isn’t right because I don’t feel anything has improved lately, plus I am in more pain now than before. Let’s see the results there.”
Jake Dixon – P14 (+28.734)
“First I have to say thank you to everyone in HRC and the Honda HRC Castrol team for all they have done this weekend. Everyone here has been incredible to help me improve each and every session. It’s great to get points on our debut, more than I could have hoped for when I was on the plane over here. I went wide at Turn 1 during the opening laps of the race and I lost contact with the group, honestly I was annoyed about it because when I looked at the times after the race I would have been able to stay with those guys. 74 laps is all we had this weekend, that’s what these riders usually do in a single day of testing, so we really need to be happy and enjoy this moment – what a great experience it has been. It’s all gone too quickly!”
Brad Binder – DNF (16 laps)
“At the start of the race everything seemed quite OK then I started to miss some shifts and had some massive vibration; that was it. Unfortunate…but it was a tricky weekend and I’m looking forward to starting fresh in Portimao. I need to understand what I need to do different to find a bit more speed.”
Diogo Moreira – DNF (15 laps)
“Last year, I suffered an elbow injury, and although I’ve fully recovered, I still occasionally feel some pain in that area. This circuit is particularly physically demanding, with many right-hand corners, which made things difficult for me. I had to retire because I was losing strength in my arm. It’s just a matter of getting some rest, and I’ll be fine for Portimao!”
Team Manager Quotes
Massimo Rivola – Aprilia Racing
“It has been a weekend of real emotion. Jorge, back at a track where last year he put his career at risk, rode heroically in the sprint, despite the fracture to his right radius. In the long race he rode through the pain once again, while Marco was simply perfect. A thoroughly deserved win, though it leaves a slightly bitter taste that he deserved to win the sprint as well. It was also good to see the SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team so competitive. This is a recognition for the work at Noale, where they keep refusing to give up. Congratulations to everyone.”
Davide Brivio – SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team Principal
“I think it was a good conclusion of this Qatar GP, of course, with the podium of Raul and a great race. He had a good beginning of the race, then he couldn’t keep the pace but, anyway, managed to finish on the podium, very close to second position. Also, behind him, Ai – so P3 and P4 as a team, which is a great result here in Qatar. We’re quite happy – it was one of the tracks where we weren’t sure if we can be competitive or not, but I think we worked very well. Raul was quite comfortable all the weekend. Ai was struggling yesterday in the Sprint race, but our team – the engineers were able to fix some issues and put Ai in a much better position to finish very close to the podium. Good job from the team, good results overall! We’re satisfied. We leave here and will try to consolidate our position in the championship in the last two races – the Team Championship, where we are P3 and also Ai and Raul will do their best in the Rider’s Championship, so let’s go.”
Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager
“We’re really happy with the strong result here in Qatar for the Red Bull KTM Tech3 team, and Enea has delivered another great weekend. It wasn’t an easy weekend, and we expected it to be difficult, but Enea was fast at every important moment. He went straight into Q2 on Friday, finished a strong eighth on Saturday, and today, thanks to another really strong end to the race, he finished fifth and was the first KTM. The whole team is delighted, and Enea has once again secured his place in the championship Top 10. That’s a second top five in a row after Sepang, and he’s clearly found the confidence with the bike that he’s been chasing for a year and a half. It’s a real pleasure to see him riding our KTM.
“On the other side of the garage, congratulations also to Maverick. We know how difficult it is for him to ride at the moment, and we didn’t really know what to expect today. He fought until the end and finished both the Sprint and the Grand Prix, which hasn’t happened in the last few races. Job done.
“I’d like to thank the whole team for their hard work through these three races in a row. It’s a really intense time of the year and everyone did a great job. Now we head home for a well-deserved week off before Portimão.”
Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager
“Our expectations were a bit higher today than the final positions. The highlight was Enea’s 5th and Pedro’s 6th but we feel there was potential to do more after a solid Sprint yesterday. Unfortunately Pedro’s race was challenging because he had to battle tire pressure and Brad’s technical issue was another piece of bad luck. We will keep working for Portugal.”
Pablo Nieto – Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Manager
“The result of the race was not what we expected, and now we need to analyse the data to understand what happened. It was a pity because Fabio had a very good weekend, securing a front row in the Qualifying and a second place in the Sprint race. Overall, we had been competitive throughout the weekend and fighting for the top positions, but unfortunately not on Sunday. With Franco, we struggled throughout the weekend, but we worked as hard as possible to keep making progress. The Lusail track is never an easy one. We need to keep working hard to get back to the front. Now the Overseas are over and it’s time to head home. This week break will give us the opportunity to recharge our batteries and analyse everything ahead of the final two races of the season.”
Piero Taramasso – Michelin
“At Lusail, we witnessed racing of the highest calibre, with an exceptionally fast pace throughout the weekend. From Friday onward, our partners quickly found their rhythm and demonstrated outstanding competitiveness.
“The lower track temperatures compared with April worked in our favour. However, the abrasive asphalt and the presence of sand, which we could see swirling around the motorcycles, particularly on the straights, remained challenging factors to manage.
“Once again, the Medium compound emerged as the preferred choice for the front tyre, while rear tyre selections for the Tissot Sprint were split between Soft and Medium, with the latter being the more popular option. For the Grand Prix, every rider opted for the Medium/Medium combination to benefit from high and consistent performance over the entire race distance.
“On such a distinctive circuit, and with the event taking place at a different time of year, our experience and the extensive data we have accumulated played an essential role in advising our partners. This allowed them to fully exploit the potential of their motorcycles and enjoy riding at the limit.
“The improvement in the outright circuit lap record, as well as the overall Grand Prix race time and fastest race lap, highlights the effectiveness of the rider-motorcycle-tire package, both in terms of outright performance and consistency. Maintaining such a pace over 22 laps, covering more than 118 kilometres, requires tyres that inspire confidence and enable riders to push beyond their limits. We are delighted to have helped give them everything they needed to perform at their very best, with complete confidence, throughout this Qatar Grand Prix weekend.”
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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