Márquez wins Qatar MotoGP Sprint after Bezzecchi clash – Moto2/3 Qualifying

MotoGP 2026

Round 20 – Qatar – Saturday
MotoGP Sprint Race

Marc Márquez survived a clash that put pole-sitter Marco Bezzecchi out of the Qatar MotoGP Sprint, then took the lead back from Jorge Martín to win at Lusail. Fabio Di Giannantonio finished second, with Martín third from 11th on the grid just 14 days after breaking his right wrist at Phillip Island.

Bagnaia crash brings out the red flag

Bezzecchi had taken pole with a Lusail lap record of 1m50.028. He got the holeshot and swept across Márquez’s nose into Turn 1. Francesco Bagnaia briefly took second off his Ducati team-mate at Turn 2, but Márquez cut back past him on the exit. Di Giannantonio and Raúl Fernández got by Bagnaia too, and Bezzecchi had a few bike lengths on Márquez before the end of the opening lap.

Fermín Aldeguer went in much too deep at Turn 16 trying to get underneath Pedro Acosta and hit the back of Bagnaia’s Ducati. Bagnaia was pitched into a highside and both rider and bike went tumbling. The red flag came out late on lap two while Bagnaia was still being attended to.

The riders went back to their boxes, helmets off and straight into debriefs with their crews. Race Direction called for a fresh ten-lap Sprint under the quick-start procedure, and Aldeguer was handed a double long-lap penalty for causing the crash.

Bagnaia was ruled out of Sunday’s Grand Prix after breaking two bones in his right foot, the fourth and fifth metatarsals. He will fly back to Italy for surgery.

Márquez gets the jump at the restart

This time Márquez led Bezzecchi through Turn 1. Di Giannantonio was third, and Johann Zarco was already fourth from seventh on the grid. Martín had switched to a soft rear for the restart. He got up to seventh, passed Acosta for sixth and went straight after Fernández.

Márquez and Bezzecchi come together

Early on lap four, Márquez turned in from the racing line, with Di Giannantonio and Martín taking a similar approach and line behind him. Bezzecchi was on a much tighter line up the inside. The bikes touched as their lines converged as they were preparing to exit the long right-hander. Márquez stood the Ducati up and somehow stayed on. Bezzecchi went down. Watch the Turn 1 replay.

Martín got past Di Giannantonio and pounced on Márquez after both riders were off line following the Bezzecchi incident; this allowed Martín to briefly take the lead before the Ducati rider came straight back at him. Márquez’s airbag had gone off in the contact, and it took several corners before he could push again. Less than a second covered the first six at the end of the lap.

Bezzecchi left little doubt where he thought the blame lay, pointing to his position on the inside. Aprilia attributed the contact to Márquez, who in turn said he had taken his usual line and was surprised to find Bezzecchi there. It was a racing incident, and the stewards took no further action after reviewing it.

Di Giannantonio strikes on the last lap

By half-distance, the front three had opened a gap as Fernández, Zarco and Acosta tripped each other up in their own fight over fourth.

Márquez steadily edged away. He set the fastest lap on lap seven and was more than a second clear of Martín a lap later.

Martín kept Di Giannantonio at bay until Turn 2 on the final lap. The VR46 rider, on a medium rear, found a way through there and finished just under a second behind Márquez. Martín was another seven tenths back.

It was Di Giannantonio’s 14th Sprint podium, the most by any rider still chasing a first Sprint win. He also finished second in the Lusail Sprint in 2023 and came back the next night to take his first MotoGP Grand Prix win.

Sunday’s title scenarios

Márquez’s 25th Sprint win was his tenth of the season and took him to 411 points, 49 clear of Martín. He can clinch an eighth MotoGP title on Sunday if he wins the Grand Prix and Martín fails to score.

Bezzecchi has yet to turn any of his five poles this season into a Sprint win. He is 79 points back and needs to take at least five points out of Márquez in the Grand Prix to stay in contention.

Ducati has won all four Sprints held at Lusail and leads Aprilia by 13 points in the constructors’ standings. Aprilia Racing leads the teams’ championship by 110 points and can clinch on Sunday by outscoring Ducati Lenovo by at least 23. With Bagnaia out, a one-two for Martín and Bezzecchi would do it, even if Márquez finished third.

2026 Qatar MotoGP Sprint Race Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	M. Marquez	Duc	18m46.450	171.9
2	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	+0.862	171.8
3	J. Martin	Apr	+1.519	171.7
4	R. Fernandez	Apr	+2.700	171.5
5	J. Zarco	Hon	+3.720	171.3
6	P. Acosta	KTM	+4.664	171.2
7	A. Ogura	Apr	+4.858	171.2
8	E. Bastianini	KTM	+5.582	171.0
9	I. Lecuona	Duc	+8.082	170.7
10	D. Moreira	Hon	+9.220	170.5
11	F. Aldeguer	Duc	+9.429	170.5
12	B. Binder	KTM	+9.483	170.5
13	L. Marini	Hon	+12.727	170.0
14	F. Morbidelli	Duc	+12.874	169.9
15	M. Viñales	KTM	+13.483	169.9
16	J. Dixon	Hon	+19.373	169.0
Not Classified
NC	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	+7 Laps	171.8
Not Started
NS	F. Bagnaia	Duc

2026 Qatar MotoGP Sprint Race Quotes

Marc Márquez – P1

“It was a strange Sprint and surely the red flag changed the plans a little. My thoughts go to Pecco, I hope he’s OK given the crash he had.”

“I must say that I was surprised to find Marco (Bezzecchi) on the inside as I was on the same line I usually take, but it’s true that he has something extra in terms of speed at this track.”

Fabio Di Giannantonio – P2

“I am very happy and we must be proud of our Sprint. After the red flag, I was a bit disappointed because we just had a medium tyre available for the restart. So, we knew that I had to go all-in at the start without managing and trying to have a great performance. So it was!”

Jorge Martín – P3

“I wanted the soft tyre for the restart, so I decided to take that risk. I tried to look after it, even though I’d hardly run the soft at all, and I used all the bike’s strengths to come back through the field. I even got to the front. I gave it everything I had, even if the last few laps were harder, with the tyre and with the hand. I’m very proud. It wasn’t easy, but we did a great job. Tomorrow will be hard, but I’ll do my best.”

Raúl Fernández – P4

“I’m really frustrated today. What I feel on the bike is that I lost a lot of time on the straight. I didn’t re-watch the Sprint yet but, on the bike, I felt it’s almost impossible to fight for a podium like this. We need to understand what I can do to improve the acceleration because fighting with the others, all the lap, I fight to close the gap and then I come onto the straight and I lose everything again. I’m happy that my finger is working well – I feel a little bit more pain now than yesterday, but I can ride and my feeling on the brake is good – it’s safe, I can fight, but I still think we need to find something for tomorrow.”

Johann Zarco – P5

“The second start was another chance for me, and I got off the line much better. I gained some positions and was able to fight with the riders around me. I felt comfortable on the bike and even thought I could catch the riders ahead. I tried to defend my position and stay in control without making any mistakes. I’m happy, I really enjoyed the Sprint! We have good pace, so let’s see what we can do tomorrow. It will be more challenging, especially with tyre management, but we’ll give it our best!”

Pedro Acosta – P6

“We turned the weekend around; it looks like. FP2 was quite good and Q1 was not a disaster but we had a problem in Q2. Then the first start was good but then afterward I was suffering to make the tire work. We have to understand why. Anyway, I feel much better than yesterday and without the red flag I think we had possibilities for more. Maybe not the podium but to make it to 4th. We’ll see tomorrow.”

Ai Ogura – P7

“It was a tough one. From the first laps I couldn’t get the speed. Riders passed me and I managed to gain one position back, but it was tough. My pace wasn’t really good and I struggled to overtake the other riders. Unfortunately, there’s not much positive I can report from today. Our speed is better than yesterday for sure, but there are still a lot of riders in front of me and I need to catch them. That’s something I couldn’t manage today. Let’s see what we can do tomorrow in the main race.”

Enea Bastianini – P8

“It’s been a bit complicated today. In FP2 we were trying to work with the medium rear, but I was very slow and my feeling was not incredible. When we changed to the soft it was much better, but for the race we were sure about our choice, because last year the riders who went with the soft made a big mistake. The Sprint was more or less as I expected. The first start was better for me, the second one a bit less, and after a few laps I was already suffering a lot with vibration. Last year it was more or less the same. This year the problem had been partly resolved, but today it came back. After that, I tried to stay close to the riders in front, but it was really tough. Anyway, we scored some points. The vibration was worse when I picked up the throttle, especially in sectors three and four. We will try to solve the problem for tomorrow, because before this we were competitive, and we can fight for something more than eighth place.”

Iker Lecuona – P9

“Very happy. We made progress in every session. Perhaps we could have done a little better in Q1, where I couldn’t put together a perfect lap. I had good race pace and decided to go with the soft tyre. I struggled a little with the tyre, but I really enjoyed the battle with Moreira during the race. I beat him and brought home another point in a Sprint race, where nothing can ever be taken for granted.”

Diogo Moreira – P10

“I felt better today than yesterday, although I’m still struggling with the time attack, which made qualifying difficult. In the Sprint, I just tried to do my best and make the most of the situation. Hopefully, we can take another step forward tomorrow. I think we can have a good race, and the goal is to finish in the top 10!”

Fermín Aldeguer – P11

“First of all, I want to apologise to Pecco and his entire team. I made a mistake while attempting an overtake and I’m really sorry about it. It was a difficult race. The double long-lap penalty didn’t slow us down and we showed good pace. Tomorrow we’ll try to bounce back. Once again, I apologise to Pecco.”

Brad Binder – P12

“I went out for Quali with the idea that the front end could stick with the new tire and lost it into Turn 1. I came back to the pits and managed only one flying lap on the second bike. I thought we could do much better in the race but I had chatter. It looked like some of the guys around me also had it. A bit strange but then also a bit normal here in Qatar as the track evolves it changes quite a lot actually. We have some homework to do then we’ll open the gas tomorrow and see.”

Luca Marini – P13

“The problem today was me. I still have no power and even to finish the race was really not easy. I’m sorry to the team because we can see that there is a lot more potential this weekend. It’s like yesterday, in Sepang and in Phillip Island – I just don’t have any energy or power. All we can do for now is try to rest and assess our situation again.”

Franco Morbidelli – P14

“It was a difficult Sprint, I was behind another rider, but I wasn’t fast enough to overtake him. I struggle to find the speed I want. Unfortunately, this morning in the Qualifying we missed something to get the Q2, and in the race we were quite far from the top riders. I am sorry, but we did our best today too and we will never give up. We keep pushing until the end and we will give our 100% to make other steps forward.”

Maverick Viñales – P15

“It’s difficult to accept days like today, especially when I know I’m capable of so much more. I’m really frustrated because I’m not able to ride at my level right now. Physically I’m still struggling, and it’s becoming harder to understand what’s happening with the bike when I can’t push the way I want to. It’s not an easy situation, but I’m trying to give 100% every time I go out on track.”

Jake Dixon – P16

“To be a tenth from Moreira and three tenths from Marini in Qualifying was honestly better than we were expecting. I am really happy with how the weekend has gone so far which might seem strange given the position we are in, but when you check the times and everything – the progress we are making is really good. The Sprint was always going to be difficult because there are a lot more unknowns and I just tried to follow the guys ahead for as long as possible before the tyre started to drop. We certainly understand a little bit more now so hopefully we can improve a few things on Sunday. Time is what it takes to gain this knowledge, and we don’t have much time this weekend, just focusing and taking the steps we can and enjoying everything.”

Marco Bezzecchi – NC

“There’s not much to add to what’s already in the images. I tried to take my line. I was on the inside, and a second later I was on the ground. There’s no point getting angry right now, I’d only be wasting energy. It’s something outside my control, something I have no say over. So let’s keep our focus on the Sunday’s race.”

Fabiano Sterlacchini – Aprilia Racing Technical Director

“The day started well: we had a very competitive race pace in FP2, and in qualifying we set the circuit record with Marco’s pole position. Then, unfortunately, there was an unlucky incident in the sprint. It’s a shame we’re the ones who pay for it, as we so often do. Jorge’s result was very positive. We were bold and brave in choosing to change tyres for the restart. He took an excellent podium, particularly given his physical condition. This result gives us confidence for tomorrow, and we hope to put things right with Marco in the long race.”

Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Team Principal

“Another Sprint fighting at the top positions. Raul got P4, but it could have been something better for what is the potential at this track. Anyway, we have to try to see how we can improve further for tomorrow and maybe there is a possibility to do even better. Ai was still struggling, not feeling fully comfortable. But we raced with the same tire we’re going to use tomorrow so we got some data to study and will try to improve from that for tomorrow. Overall, P4 and P7 – both riders in the top 7 is pretty good. Let’s try to improve for tomorrow anyway.”

Aki Ajo – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager

“A really action-packed day with an exciting Sprint, and they always get a bit lively with a restart. Our expectations were a little higher today but we cannot be too disappointed when the riders are 6th, 8th and 12th and 15th but we want something more. We need to analyze the race and understand where we struggling and try to make the right decision for Sunday to reach the targets we made for the weekend.”

Nicolas Goyon – Red Bull KTM Tech3 Team Manager

“I believe we should be happy with today’s result, with eighth position for Enea Bastianini here in Qatar. Earlier today, he struggled a little to have a strong qualifying and ended up in tenth position. In the Sprint, he decided to focus on tomorrow’s main race and used the medium tyre, which is obviously not the best tyre for him, but he made this choice to work for tomorrow. Finishing in eighth position is a decent result, and these two points will help the team in the championship fight, so it’s a good result today. On the other side of the garage, it’s clear that Maverick is struggling. He has been struggling in all the last races and sessions, and tomorrow will clearly be a challenge to finish the race. But that’s the reality at the moment, and we have to face it. We have to finish this weekend, and then we’ll see what happens.”

MotoGP Championship Points

Pos	Rider	Points
1	M. Marquez	411
2	J. Martin	362
3	M. Bezzecchi	332
4	P. Acosta	299
5	A. Ogura	281
6	F. Di Giannantonio	274
7	R. Fernandez	242
8	A. Marquez	197
9	F. Bagnaia	173
10	E. Bastianini	136
11	F. Aldeguer	125
12	B. Binder	118
13	L. Marini	117
14	F. Quartararo	79
15	D. Moreira	78
16	F. Morbidelli	65
17	J. Zarco	56
18	J. Mir	33
19	J. Miller	31
20	A. Rins	29
21	T. Razgatlioglu	18
22	M. Viñales	14
23	I. Lecuona	12
24	A. Fernandez	6
25	P. Espargaro	5
26	S. Chantra	3
27	T. Nakagami	3
28	C. Crutchlow	0
29	J. Dixon	0
30	J. Folger	0
31	L. Savadori	0
32	M. Pirro	0
33	A. Espargaro	0

Qatar MotoGP Qualifying Results

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	1m50.028	352.9
2	M. Marquez	Duc	+0.266	354.0
3	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	+0.299	354.0
4	R. Fernandez	Apr	+0.429	350.6
5	F. Bagnaia	Duc	+0.564	354.0
6	A. Ogura	Apr	+0.568	350.6
7	J. Zarco	Hon	+0.707	355.2
8	P. Acosta	KTM	+0.844	354.0
9	F. Aldeguer	Duc	+0.862	347.2
10	E. Bastianini	KTM	+0.973	351.7
11	J. Martin	Apr	+1.036	354.0
12	B. Binder	KTM	+1.876	354.0
Q1
13	F. Morbidelli	Duc	+1.243*	351.7
14	L. Marini	Hon	+1.322*	352.9
15	I. Lecuona	Duc	+1.359*	356.4
16	D. Moreira	Hon	+1.476*	356.4
17	J. Dixon	Hon	+1.593*	354.0
18	M. Viñales	KTM	+1.963*	347.2

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Moto2 Qualifying

Álex Escrig took his first Moto2 pole aboard the Forward with a new Lusail lap record of 1m55.241 on his third lap. Manuel González got past title rival Izan Guevara and cleared Xabi Zurutuza late in the session, then jumped to second on his final lap, 0.126s off pole. Daniel Holgado pipped Celestino Vietti to third by six thousandths. Collin Veijer was fifth, with Australia’s Senna Agius sixth and Guevara seventh.

Eight riders were handed three-place grid penalties. Among them were González and Guevara, who impeded Daniel Muñoz after leaving pit lane. Agius also drops three places and will start ninth, with González fifth and Guevara tenth. González leads Guevara by just 3.5 points in the championship.

The revised front row is Escrig, Holgado and Vietti. Veijer and José Antonio Rueda will start either side of González on row two.

Qatar Moto2 Qualifying Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	A. Escrig	For	1m55.241	288.7
2	M. Gonzalez	Kal	+0.126	289.5
3	D. Holgado	Kal	+0.233	285.7
4	C. Vietti	Bos	+0.239	290.3
5	C. Veijer	Kal	+0.338	294.2
6	S. Agius	Kal	+0.361	290.3
7	I. Guevara	Bos	+0.528	292.6
8	J. A. Rueda	Kal	+0.643	293.4
9	A. Huertas	Kal	+0.658	289.5
10	F. Salac	Kal	+0.661	292.6
11	B. Baltus	Kal	+0.691	288.7
12	D. Alonso	Kal	+0.705	290.3
13	D. Muñoz	Kal	+0.822	291.1
14	I. Ortola	Kal	+0.849	296.7
15	Z. Vd Goorbergh	Kal	+0.938	287.2
16	X. Zurutuza	For	+1.040	291.1
17	A. Lopez	Kal	+1.075	287.2
18	A. Sasaki	Kal	+1.144	294.2
Q1
19	T. Furusato	Kal	+0.965*	286.4
20	J. Roberts	Kal	+1.073*	284.2
21	M. Aji	Kal	+1.113*	288.7
22	A. Ferrandez	Bos	+1.162*	289.5
23	T. Arbolino	Kal	+1.226*	287.2
24	L. Lunetta	Bos	+1.232*	292.6
25	A. Piqueras	Kal	+1.246*	288.0
26	D. Öncü	Bos	+1.659*	290.3
27	M. Ferrari	Kal	+2.415*	288.0

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Moto3 Qualifying

Australia’s Joel Kelso had led the times early in Friday evening practice and went straight into Q2. He qualified 14th on the GRYD Honda with a 2m03.937 on his final lap. Kelso moves up to 13th on Sunday after Veda Pratama, eighth in qualifying, was dropped six grid places for a yellow-flag infringement in Friday practice.

Máximo Quiles made it back-to-back poles with a 2m02.288 on his third lap, just 0.012s outside Daniel Holgado’s 2024 track record. David Almansa had briefly been quickest and ended up 0.155s behind the world champion, with Brian Uriarte completing the front row.

Riders waited so long in pit lane for the last run that Quiles, Almansa and Álvaro Carpe all reached the line after the chequered flag. Uriarte, quickest in Q1, got through in time and jumped to third on his last lap. His Red Bull KTM Ajo team-mate Carpe, who also came through Q1, heads the second row from David Muñoz and Adrián Fernández.

2026 Qatar Moto3 Qualifying Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Speed
1	M. Quiles	KTM	2m02.288	238.4
2	D. Almansa	KTM	+0.155	241.0
3	B. Uriarte	KTM	+0.495	242.1
4	A. Carpe	KTM	+0.616	238.9
5	D. Muñoz	KTM	+0.680	244.3
6	A. Fernandez	Hon	+0.708	245.4
7	H. Danish	KTM	+0.880	236.3
8	V. Pratama	Hon	+0.950	245.4
9	S. Ogden	KTM	+1.130	244.8
10	R. Salmela	KTM	+1.336	241.0
11	V. Perrone	KTM	+1.356	245.4
12	J. Esteban	KTM	+1.437	242.1
13	R. Yamanaka	KTM	+1.473	243.2
14	J. Kelso	Hon	+1.649	244.3
15	C. O’Gorman	Hon	+1.876	245.4
16	E. O’Shea	Hon	+1.901	248.8
17	Z. Mitani	Hon	+2.865	240.5
18	M. Morelli	KTM	+2.933	241.6
Q1
19	G. Pini	Hon	+1.215*	247.1
20	J. Rios	Hon	+1.459*	242.6
21	K. Singhapong	Hon	+1.984*	244.3
22	L. Rammerstorfer	Hon	+2.158*	245.4
23	R. Moodley	KTM	+2.276*	246.5
24	A. Cruces	KTM	+2.288*	241.6
25	K. Mononyane	KTM	+3.466*	242.1

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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

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