MotoGP Sprint Misano 2026: Marc Marquez defeats Marco Bezzecchi

– Marc Marquez (Ducati) secured victory in the MotoGP weekend sprint for the 2026 San Marino Grand Prix in Misano. After a perfect start from the middle of the first row, the MotoGP title defender achieved a start-to-finish win on Saturday, further closing the gap in the 2026 World Championship battle.

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Marco Bezzecchi and World Championship leader Jorge Martin finished second and third for the Aprilia factory team. Thus, the top 3 in the World Championship were also the top 3 in the sprint results, albeit in a different order.

Marco Bezzecchi on Pole – Marc Marquez wins the start

Marco Bezzecchi on pole, Marc Marquez right next to him in row 1: that’s how the 13 laps began. The third fastest in qualifying in the morning and thus also in the first row was somewhat surprisingly Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini-Ducati).

The start was not won by polesitter Bezzecchi, but by Marc Marquez. He was the first to enter the first corner. Behind him, Aldeguer, who started from P3, lost three positions during the first half lap and came out of the first lap only in sixth place.

The top 5 after the first lap: Marc Marquez, Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati), Jorge Martin, and Pedro Acosta (KTM). At the front, Marquez managed to build a small lead over Bezzecchi with a series of 1:30 lap times. Behind the leading duo, Martin overtook Di Giannantonio halfway through the short sprint distance.

Marquez and Martin had chosen the medium tire compound on the rear in the starting lineup. Polesitter Bezzecchi, on the other hand, chose the soft compound. With the soft tire, “Bez” got a bit closer to leader Marquez in the second half of the distance. However, there was no overtaking move anymore.

Top 3 in the World Championship also the top 3 in the sprint

Marc Marquez brought the sprint win home with a one-second lead. Bezzecchi and Martin ensured two Aprilias on the podium.

“Right from the start, the plan was to lead the race,” says Marquez. “I was running the medium tire, while Bezzecchi had the soft. In the first lap, it was a bit dangerous, like in Aragon. After that, I tried to apply pressure. Then I saw Marco getting closer again. So I attacked once more in the last lap because the pace was there.”

Read more MotoGP live ticker Misano: Marc Marquez wins the sprint ahead of Aprilia duo

Bezzecchi, who started from pole, is “very, very happy” with second place, as he says. Why? “My best result in the sprint, finally better than third place. That’s a great result. I’m very happy, first the pole and then on the podium in the sprint. That’s fantastic for me. We are ready for tomorrow.”

And Martin, who defended his World Championship lead with P3, reports: “Overall, it was a difficult race and a difficult weekend. We improve with every run. The start was definitely good, but starting from P5 was difficult. With the medium tire, I had trouble overtaking Fabio [Di Giannantonio] because he was on the soft tire. It was hard to find a suitable spot. I didn’t want to risk too much when overtaking. I’m satisfied.”

Toprak Razgatlioglu with a penalty, Fabio Quartararo with a crash

Di Giannantonio finished fourth, followed by Alex Marquez (Gresini-Ducati). The points positions were completed by Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse-Aprilia), Fermin Aldeguer, who dropped from third on the grid to P8, and Luca Marini (Honda). (Result: MotoGP sprint in Misano 2026)

Behind Johann Zarco (LCR-Honda), who narrowly missed the points in P10, teammate Diogo Moreira was the better placed of the two rookies in P11. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pramac-Yamaha), who started from P21, finished in 18th place. He crossed the finish line in P17 but received a demotion due to exceeding track limits.

Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) had an early crash in a duel with Diogo Moreira (LCR-Honda) in turn 14. The 2021 MotoGP World Champion continued but did not finish better than P21, thus last in the results. There were no retirements in the Misano sprint.

On Sunday, the Grand Prix is scheduled in Misano with a start time of 14:00. The race distance will then be 27 laps. Johann Zarco will start the Grand Prix three positions further back than in the sprint because he held up Marco Bezzecchi in qualifying. Franco Morbidelli (VR46-Ducati) received a long-lap penalty for Sunday because he held up Enea Bastianini in practice (MotoGP 2026 live: The weekend in Misano on TV and stream).

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