MotoGP 2026

Round Three – COTA

Bezzecchi keeps rolling as Aprilia makes more history at COTA

Marco Bezzecchi’s grip on the early 2026 MotoGP season tightened again at Circuit of The Americas, the Italian leading home Aprilia team-mate Jorge Martin to deliver a second consecutive factory 1-2 and a fifth straight Grand Prix win. Pedro Acosta completed the podium for KTM after another aggressive Sunday in Texas, while Marc Marquez recovered from his long-lap penalty to finish fifth.

The raw result was significant enough on its own, but the bigger picture made it more so. Bezzecchi’s win was his sixth MotoGP victory with Aprilia and ninth in the premier class overall. It also made him the first rider since Marc Marquez in 2014 to win the opening three Grands Prix of a season, and the first Italian to do so since Valentino Rossi in 2001. Aprilia, meanwhile, stretched its run to five MotoGP Grand Prix wins in a row and claimed back-to-back 1-2 finishes for the first time in its premier-class history.

Fabio Di Giannantonio may have started from pole, but he was quickly displaced once the race got underway. Acosta made the best initial launch, Bezzecchi immediately put the Aprilia into contention, and Martin also surged forward, giving Aprilia two bikes in the first three almost immediately.

The first flashpoint came at Turn 11, where Acosta ran in deep, Bezzecchi attacked the inside, and the pair brushed fairings on the corner exit. The contact did not change the outcome: Bezzecchi emerged in front, Acosta regrouped in second, and Martin remained firmly in the fight behind them.

That opening phase mattered because it let Bezzecchi take control before the rest of the field could settle. The lap chart shows him leading every lap of the race, and by the start of lap four, he had already pushed his consecutive Grand Prix laps-led total beyond Jorge Lorenzo’s modern-era benchmark of 103. By the flag, that figure had risen to 121. That did not mean the race was without pressure, but it did underline how completely the Aprilia rider has controlled the last three Sundays.

Behind the lead trio, the complexion of the race kept changing. Marc Marquez had to serve the long-lap penalty handed down after his Sprint collision with Di Giannantonio, and completed it on lap four, dropping him back into traffic. Joan Mir was then penalised for a shortcut at Turn 5, but his race ended in the gravel before that story could develop much further. Francesco Bagnaia briefly looked capable of moving into the podium argument, but never found the extra pace when it mattered most.

Bezzecchi’s advantage was built on pace rather than outright escape. He set the fastest lap among the classified finishers with a 2m02.114s on lap six and remained the benchmark rider through the first half of the race, although Ai Ogura later lowered the race’s absolute fastest lap to 2m02.037s on lap nine before his charge ended in retirement. Ogura’s pace was one of the more interesting subplots of the Grand Prix, because by mid-distance he was carving through the group behind Martin and Acosta and looking capable of taking the fight to the lead Ducati runners before the Trackhouse Aprilia struck trouble.

The decisive change in the podium fight came when Martin finally displaced Acosta for second place. Until then, the KTM rider had done enough to disrupt Aprilia’s hopes of another 1-2, but once Martin got through, the shape of the race changed. From there, Bezzecchi had the buffer he needed, Martin could focus on consolidating second, and Acosta was left to defend third rather than attack for more. That still amounted to an important afternoon for the KTM rider, whose 12th MotoGP podium moved him clear of Brad Binder as KTM’s most successful premier-class podium finisher and also drew him level with Colin Edwards’ long-standing mark for the most MotoGP podiums without a win.

Further back, Di Giannantonio turned in a relatively lonely but effective ride to fourth and finished as the leading Ducati, while Marc Marquez’s recovery brought him into a late fight with Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini. Marquez held fifth by just 0.143s over Bastianini at the flag, with Alex Marquez seventh, Raul Fernandez eighth and Luca Marini ninth. Bagnaia, who had run as high as fifth and was still in the hunt entering the closing stages, faded to 10th after losing places late.

For Martin, second place carried almost as much significance as the podium itself. It was his first set of back-to-back MotoGP Grand Prix podiums since late 2024 and his second Sunday podium since joining Aprilia. More importantly, it confirmed that this is not simply a Bezzecchi streak with a supportive team-mate nearby. Martin remains very much in the title picture, sitting just four points behind Bezzecchi after three rounds.

From an Australian perspective, Jack Miller’s afternoon was largely damage limitation. The Prima Pramac Yamaha rider came home 16th, 26.309s behind the winner, with a best lap of 2m03.335 that placed him 21st on the race pace sheets. After three rounds, he remains without a point, and Yamaha’s broader struggles were again reflected by having all four of its machines outside the top 14 by the finish.

The championship table now gives Bezzecchi 81 points to Martin’s 77, with Acosta third on 60 and Di Giannantonio fourth on 50. Despite his mistakes and misfortunes so far in 2026 and injuries that are clearly still hampering him, Marc Marquez is still firmly in the championship picture with 45 points.

Aprilia leaves Austin with a growing advantage in the constructors’ standings, and after Brazil and Texas, Aprilia now heads to Europe as the clear form manufacturer in MotoGP.  It is fair to say that if Ogura had not struck mechanical trouble, Aprilia would have all four machines in the top eight, and at the pace Ogura was scything his way forward, an all Aprilia podium might not have been out of the question…

COTA MotoGP Race Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	40m50.653
2	J. Martin	Apr	+2.036
3	P. Acosta	Ktm	+4.497
4	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	+6.972
5	M. Marquez	Duc	+8.100
6	E. Bastianini	Ktm	+8.243
7	A. Marquez	Duc	+11.253
8	R. Fernandez	Apr	+13.129
9	L. Marini	Hon	+14.471
10	F. Bagnaia	Duc	+14.544
11	F. Aldeguer	Duc	+21.063
12	B. Binder	Ktm	+22.062
13	D. Moreira	Hon	+22.201
14	F. Morbidelli	Duc	+24.371
15	T. Razgatlioglu	Yam	+25.549
16	J. Miller	Yam	+26.309
17	F. Quartararo	Yam	+27.136
18	A. Rins	Yam	+38.701
NC	J. Zarco	Hon	2 Laps
NC	A. Ogura	Apr	5 Laps
NC	J. Mir	Hon	15 Laps

COTA MotoGP Top Speeds

Pos	Rider	Bike	Average	Top
1	M. Marquez	Duc	345.8	348.1
2	E. Bastianini	Ktm	344.9	346.9
3	A. Ogura	Apr	344.7	346.9
4	B. Binder	Ktm	342.6	345.8
5	L. Marini	Hon	342.2	344.7
6	F. Bagnaia	Duc	343.7	344.7
7	A. Marquez	Duc	343.2	344.7
8	A. Rins	Yam	339.8	342.4
9	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	339.9	341.3
10	F. Aldeguer	Duc	338.7	341.3
11	J. Martin	Apr	340.5	341.3
12	F. Morbidelli	Duc	338.6	340.2
13	J. Miller	Yam	338.7	340.2
14	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	340.2	340.2
15	D. Moreira	Hon	337.6	339.1
16	R. Fernandez	Apr	338.2	339.1
17	J. Mir	Hon	336.7	339.1
18	P. Acosta	Ktm	337.6	339.1
19	J. Zarco	Hon	337.3	338.0
20	T. Razgatlioglu	Yam	336.5	338.0
21	F. Quartararo	Yam	334.6	335.9

2026 MotoGP Championship Standings

Pos	Rider	Points
1	M. Bezzecchi	81
2	J. Martin	77
3	P. Acosta	60
4	F. Di Giannantonio	50
5	M. Marquez	45
6	R. Fernandez	40
7	A. Ogura	37
8	A. Marquez	28
9	F. Bagnaia	25
10	L. Marini	23
11	E. Bastianini	22
12	B. Binder	17
13	F. Morbidelli	14
14	F. Aldeguer	13
15	J. Zarco	13
16	D. Moreira	9
17	F. Quartararo	6
18	A. Rins	3
19	J. Mir	3
20	T. Razgatlioglu	1
21	J. Miller	0
22	M. Viñales	0
23	M. Pirro	0

Moto2

Senna Agius produced the sort of ride that can reset a season at Circuit of The Americas, turning a chaotic and heavily interrupted Moto2 contest into a breakthrough victory that carried far more weight than the 25 points alone. After failing to score in either of the opening two rounds, the Australian emerged from Austin with his second Moto2 career win and a timely reminder that he remains one of the most aggressive and resilient racers in the intermediate class.

The race itself was anything but straightforward. The original start barely got going before a multi-rider first-lap incident brought out the red flag, with Joe Roberts, Daniel Holgado, David Alonso, Collin Veijer, Daniel Muñoz and Filip Salac among those caught up, while Alberto Fernandez, Angel Piqueras and Sergio Garcia were ruled out of the restart.

The stoppage came before three laps had been completed, so the Grand Prix was reset as a 10-lap sprint. Deniz Öncü then crashed during the sighting lap before the second start, adding to the sense of disorder throughout the event.

When the restarted race began, Barry Baltus made the early running, and Alonso Lopez also featured prominently, but Agius was immediately in the mix. The Australian was third at the end of the opening lap, moved into second on lap two, and by lap three had hit the front.

From there, the complexion of the race changed from scramble to duel, with Agius, Celestino Vietti and Izan Guevara breaking clear as the key contenders.

Agius led from lap three through lap seven, before Vietti briefly edged ahead on lap eight by just 0.040s. Agius responded immediately, reclaimed the lead on lap nine and held it to the finish.

The numbers underline how composed the Intact GP rider was under pressure. Agius’ best lap of 2:06.552 came on lap three, at that point the fastest lap of the race, and he remained consistently in the low 2:06 to 2:07 range throughout the 10-lap dash.

Only David Alonso lapped faster all race, with a 2:06.456 on lap six, but Alonso had too much ground to recover after the restart and ultimately finished fourth, 1.843s from the win. Agius crossed the line in 21:10.744, just 0.497s clear of Vietti, with Guevara another 0.411s back in third.

It was not just outright pace that won Agius the race, but also the way he managed the pressure. Vietti stayed within striking distance all the way through the closing laps and briefly got ahead, but Agius did not overreact, nor did he get dragged into a mistake. He reasserted control, kept the door closed and delivered when it mattered most.

Senna Agius

“So many emotions, such a tough race, such a tough two or three weeks going into this race, on and off the track. This victory is for my mechanic who has sadly lost his life in an accident in Rimini, this is for him. I still can’t believe he’s not here too see this, and continue with us, I dedicate this one to him and his family and my fantastic Intact GP team. We really came together these last two weeks, we had a difficult weekend in Brazil, but there’s a lot of lessons to be learnt from this weekend, to keep calm and keep working, because I turned around in a positive attitude, which can get you out of a situation really fast, and this is something I’m still trying to learn and understand to adapt for the future, to be a more consistent championship contender. I’m super motivated, super happy, all my family back in Australia watching me, I can’t believe I did it at COTA, really special weekend, really special feeling here, I love it here. I hope I did everyone proud and gave it my all.

“It was a physical race, even though it’s a 10 lap sprint around this track, it’s super demanding. Also the mental pressure not to make a mistake, also on the brakes, super easy to make a mistake, I knew any mistake onto the back straight I would get passed on the straight. So these braking areas I was definitely very stressed to be consistent and we did it. If when he [Vietti] passed me, I immediately passed him back and shocked him, I knew he wouldn’t do it again. If I let him lead a lap I don’t think I could have… I just wanted to disturb him, I know he’s fast when he’s feeling well, and it’s impossible to slip stream on the back straight, so I couldn’t use the easy way of a slip stream, and I knew to immediately break his rhythm when I saw him again. Fortunately, my bike was really good today, turning with the throttle, so when he passed me I had good drive to turn, and my plan was, if I lost the lead to attack immediately. Especially because we didn’t have a lot of laps to play the game.

“I’m really motivated [for the Spanish GP], I’ve got a lot of things to work on in the next three weeks, the last two weeks have taught me a lot. There’s still some things on riding I need to adapt and learn and be better, and we have three perfect weeks to do the best, understand these areas, train them, focus on them, rest a bit and come out as the best version in Jerez.”

In a race where penalties, incidents and restarts disrupted almost everyone, Senna’s calmness and race craft stood out. Baltus, who led the early laps, dropped to sixth after serving a long-lap penalty for an unsafe change of direction at the race start, while Holgado and Muñoz also had to complete penalties during the restart.

The broader significance is obvious. Agius arrived in Austin with zero points from Thailand and Brazil, but leaves COTA sixth in the world championship on 25 points. That still puts him 14.5 points behind series leader Manuel Gonzalez, but the gap now looks manageable rather than damaging, especially with Gonzalez limited to fifth and main title rivals Izan Guevara and Vietti taking points but not maximum advantage. Gonzalez leads on 39.5 points from Guevara on 36, Holgado on 33 and Vietti on 32, with Agius suddenly back in the picture.

After the frustration of opening the year with back-to-back non-scores, Agius answered in the strongest possible way, on one of the calendar’s most physically demanding circuits, in a shortened race that rewarded decisiveness from the first corner. It was a result that restored momentum and announced that his 2026 campaign is now properly underway.

The Moto2 World Championship will now enjoy a larger break than planned, in light of the postponed Qatar Grand Prix, before returning to action in Jerez for the Spanish Grand Prix on 24-26 April.

COTA Moto2 Race Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	S. Agius	Kal	21m10.744
2	C. Vietti	Bos	+0.497
3	I. Guevara	Bos	+0.908
4	D. Alonso	Kal	+1.843
5	M. Gonzalez	Kal	+2.729
6	B. Baltus	Kal	+3.251
7	A. Lopez	Kal	+5.003
8	A. Escrig	For	+6.830
9	J. Roberts	Kal	+7.761
10	T. Arbolino	Kal	+8.740
11	I. Ortola	Kal	+11.485
12	A. Huertas	Kal	+11.828
13	A. Canet	Bos	+12.152
14	D. Muñoz	Kal	+14.246
15	J. Rueda	Kal	+20.119
16	D. Holgado	Kal	+21.206
17	A. Sasaki	Kal	+25.265
18	T. Furusato	Kal	+26.356
19	D. Foggia	Bos	+26.488
20	D. Öncü	Bos	+31.146
21	F. Salac	Kal	+32.370
22	Z. vd Goorbergh	Kal	+2 Laps
Not Classified
NC	M. Aji	Kal	2 Laps
NC	C. Veijer	Kal	7 Laps
NC	J. Navarro	For	7 Laps

 Moto2 Championship Standings

Pos	Rider	Bike	Points
1	M. Gonzalez	Kal	39.5
2	I. Guevara	Bos	36
3	D. Holgado	Kal	33
4	C. Vietti	Bos	32
5	D. Muñoz	Kal	26
6	S. Agius	Kal	25
7	D. Alonso	Kal	24
8	A. Escrig	For	23
9	A. Lopez	Kal	18.5
10	I. Ortola	Kal	17.5
11	T. Arbolino	Kal	16.5
12	C. Veijer	Kal	13.5
13	B. Baltus	Kal	13
14	A. Huertas	Kal	8
15	J. Roberts	Kal	7
16	A. Canet	Bos	5.5
17	D. Öncü	Bos	3.5
18	A. Sasaki	Kal	3
19	M. Aji	Kal	3
20	F. Salac	Kal	1
21	J. Rueda	Kal	1
22	A. Ferrandez	Bos	0.5
23	T. Furusato	Kal	0
24	S. Garcia	Kal	0
25	J. Navarro	For	0
26	D. Foggia	Bos	0
27	Z. vd Goorbergh	Kal	0

Moto3

Guido Pini claimed his first Moto3 Grand Prix victory in a frantic last-lap fight at Circuit of The Americas, the Leopard Racing rider beating Maximo Quiles to the flag by just 0.056s after Alvaro Carpe and Valentin Perrone compromised each other at the final corner. The revised results show Carpe hanging on for third, Perrone fourth and Adrian Fernandez a distant fifth, with Pini also setting fastest lap at 2m13.417s on lap six.

Carpe made the early running from pole, but the race quickly settled into a multi-rider lead group rather than a clean breakaway. Perrone took over at the end of lap two, Quiles led laps four through 11, Pini first hit the front on lap 12, Perrone was back in control at the start of the penultimate lap, and Pini then emerged on top when it mattered most. The lap chart underlined how little separated the lead quartet for most of the race, with Carpe, Perrone, Quiles and Pini all taking turns at the head of the field.

The complexion of the contest changed with 10 laps to go when Veda Pratama crashed out of the leading fight and Joel Esteban, with nowhere to go, became collateral damage. That left five at the front for a time, but Adrian Fernandez gradually lost touch, reducing the podium battle to four. From there the race became a pure tactical scrap, with the lead changing hands repeatedly and no rider able to break the slipstream effect around the 5.513 km COTA layout.

Pini’s pace had been there all along. He was already up to fourth by lap three and then produced the fastest lap of the race on lap six, a 2m13.417s that stood as the benchmark for the afternoon. Perrone, Carpe and Quiles all matched him closely on outright pace, but Pini looked especially strong through the second half of the race and stayed in touch every time the order shuffled.

The last lap delivered exactly the kind of Moto3 chaos COTA tends to encourage. Perrone led across the line to start lap 14, Carpe moved into the key positions behind him, and Quiles and Pini stayed close enough to pounce. Carpe attacked hard in the closing sector and again at the final corner, but in doing so pushed both himself and Perrone wide enough to leave the door open. Pini and Quiles needed no second invitation, driving underneath them in the run to the flag, with Pini just edging the Aspar rider for a first Grand Prix win. Carpe salvaged the final podium place by 0.191s over Perrone.

Behind the lead group, Fernandez crossed the line more than nine seconds adrift in fifth. The revised classification then showed Rico Salmela promoted to sixth and Brian Uriarte to seventh after Adrian Cruces, who had initially finished sixth on the road, was handed a two-place penalty for irresponsible riding. Matteo Bertelle was classified ninth and Scott Ogden 10th, while Eddie O’Shea’s 11th place represented his best Moto3 finish so far.

From an Australian perspective, Joel Kelso’s race ended in frustration. The GRYD – MLav Racing rider was still circulating in the top 10 after seven laps and posted a best lap of 2m14.425s before crashing out on lap eight. That leaves Kelso 19th in the world championship on six points after three rounds.

The championship picture shifted again after Austin. Quiles leaves the United States with the Moto3 points lead on 65, Carpe remains second on 42, Perrone is third on 38, and Pini’s breakthrough win lifts him to fourth on 36.

COTA Moto3 Race Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap
1	G. Pini	Hon	+31m20.489
2	M. Quiles	KTM	+0.056
3	A. Carpe	KTM	+0.254
4	V. Perrone	KTM	+0.445
5	A. Fernandez	Hon	+9.192
6	R. Salmela	KTM	+15.075
7	B. Uriarte	KTM	+15.105
8	A. Cruces	KTM	+14.914
9	M. Bertelle	KTM	+15.240
10	S. Ogden	KTM	+15.570
11	E. O’Shea	Hon	+16.204
12	M. Morelli	KTM	+17.274
13	H. Danish	KTM	+18.513
14	M. Uriarte	KTM	+20.559
15	J. Rios	Hon	+27.200
16	R. Moodley	KTM	+28.093
17	N. Carraro	Hon	+28.099
18	R. Yamanaka	KTM	+28.332
19	C. Buchanan	KTM	+37.244
20	L. Rammerstorfer	Hon	+1m01.694
NC	Z. Mitani	Hon	1 Lap
NC	C. O’Gorman	Hon	3 Laps
NC	J. Esteban	KTM	5 Laps
NC	J. Kelso	Hon	6 Laps
NC	V. Pratama	Hon	10 Laps

Moto3 Championship Standings

Pos	Rider	Points
1	M. Quiles	65
2	A. Carpe	42
3	V. Perrone	38
4	G. Pini	36
5	M. Morelli	32
6	A. Fernandez	29
7	V. Pratama	27
8	D. Almansa	25
9	B. Uriarte	23
10	R. Salmela	20
11	A. Cruces	14
12	C. O’Gorman	12
13	S. Ogden	10
14	H. Danish	9
15	J. Esteban	7
16	M. Bertelle	7
17	E. O’Shea	7
18	D. Muñoz	6
19	J. Kelso	6
20	R. Yamanaka	2
21	M. Uriarte	2
22	J. Rios	1
23	L. Rammerstorfer	0
24	Z. Mitani	0
25	R. Moodley	0
26	N. Carraro	0
27	C. Buchanan	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

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