– The Hungarian Grand Prix at Balaton Park, the eighth of 22 races in the 2026 MotoGP season, began on Sunday with a start crash involving five riders in Turn 1 and concluded after 26 laps with Marc Marquez’s 100th victory in the Motorcycle World Championship.
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In the history of the Motorcycle World Championship, Marc Marquez is now the third rider with a three-digit number of victories. Valentino Rossi has 115 wins, Giacomo Agostini is the record holder with 122 wins. It was a jubilee victory not only for Marquez but also for Ducati on Sunday. For the manufacturer from Bologna, it is their 100th victory in the premier class.
“I am overjoyed,” said Marc Marquez after the historic triumph. “It was a hard-fought victory, because after last year everything changed. But that’s sport: everything can turn around from one day to the next. I already learned that in 2020 and then again last year. We came back and worked hard.”
“The first half of the season was difficult, but I knew I would have a great chance to win here. Whether I will get such an opportunity again in the upcoming races, I don’t know,” said the seven-time and reigning MotoGP world champion.
Marc Marquez won the Grand Prix after 26 laps ahead of Pedro Acosta (KTM), who had led the first half of the race and is still waiting for his first Sunday victory in the premier class. Marquez’s Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia finished third.
Most of the 22 riders in the premier class field contested the Grand Prix with the tire combination of medium front, soft rear. Among those who deviated by also using the medium compound on the rear wheel were Marc Marquez, Fermin Aldeguer, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Francesco Bagnaia, and Marco Bezzecchi, all of whom started from the top 10 of the grid. In contrast, Pedro Acosta, above all, was one of those who used the soft compound on the rear wheel.
Start Crash: Martin Takes Out World Championship Leader Bezzecchi and Co.
Polesitter Marc Marquez won the start despite a less than optimal acceleration phase. As in Saturday’s sprint, he entered Turn 1 first, ahead of Pedro Acosta. But behind him, there was a crash.
Jorge Martin (Aprilia), who started from P8, had massive difficulties braking. When he crashed, he took out four other competitors. It was primarily Martin’s teammate and World Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi, but also Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse-Aprilia) as well as Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini-Ducati) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46-Ducati).
Di Giannantonio was the only one who picked himself up and continued. He ultimately finished P12 and thus secured four more World Championship points.
Meanwhile, Martin and Bezzecchi both had to visit the track’s medical center for a check-up. Martin was found to have “no visible fractures, but bruises on his back and right foot.” Bezzecchi was also diagnosed with “no visible fractures,” but “bruises on his right leg and right hand.”
Acosta Takes Lead from Polesitter Marquez
At the front of the decimated field, Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta dueled. Unlike in Saturday’s sprint, the Spaniard in KTM colors managed to take the lead from the Spaniard in Ducati colors.
With the soft rear tire, Acosta managed to lead the race for several laps ahead of Marquez. Marquez’s Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia settled into third, followed by Luca Marini (Honda) and Jack Miller (Pramac-Yamaha). Marini and Miller, like Acosta, rode with the soft rear tire but faced pressure from behind, including from MotoGP rookie Diogo Moreira (LCR-Honda), who, like Marquez and Bagnaia, had the medium rear tire.
Duel Marc Marquez vs. Pedro Acosta for the Victory
At the start of the second half of the race, Marquez attempted an attack on Acosta but was initially blocked twice. A little later, Marquez finally managed to displace Acosta from the top position.
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After regaining the lead, Marquez held the top position until the finish, celebrating the 100th Grand Prix victory of his career and simultaneously Ducati’s 100th MotoGP victory. Acosta finished second, Bagnaia third.
“We tried everything. It was a really good fight,” said Acosta. “I hope the spectators at home enjoyed it. We are currently getting the maximum out of our package. The pace was good, qualifying was good again, and we are on the podium again. I am very happy about that, and so is the team.”
And Bagnaia said after his third consecutive third-place finish: “Luckily, I didn’t have a particularly good start. Then, when I braked for the first time, I suddenly saw something coming with enormous speed. It was Martin, who felt twice as fast. I didn’t have the speed of the two riders at the front today. And honestly, I was very lucky to have gotten through the first corner unscathed at all.”
Behind them, Ai Ogura (Trackhouse-Aprilia) brought home fourth place after a late charge, followed by Luca Marini, who secured Honda’s first top-5 result of the season.
Diogo Moreira achieved his best result of his rookie season with P6. Iker Lecuona, who stepped in for the injured Alex Marquez at Gresini-Ducati, immediately secured a top-10 result with P7. Jack Miller achieved his best season result to date with P8.
Two Long-Lap Penalties for Enea Bastianini
Enea Bastianini (Tech3-KTM) incurred a long-lap penalty when he missed the line once in the early stages of the race and collided with Joan Mir (Honda) while swinging back onto the racing line. Both riders stayed on their bikes, but Bastianini received the penalty.
Later in the race, Bastianini incurred a second long-lap penalty for cutting a corner, while Mir later had an individual crash and therefore did not finish the race. Bastianini finished the race, even reaching P9 despite his two penalties. Brad Binder (KTM) completed the top 10.
By the way: An investigation was launched against Jorge Martin by the race stewards due to the start crash. Whether he will also be penalized was not yet clear at the end of the race.
In the 2026 MotoGP overall standings, Marco Bezzecchi scored zero points due to his blameless involvement in the start crash. However, since Martin, who was his closest pursuer, also remained without points, the gap of 20 points between the Aprilia teammates remains.
Fabio Di Giannantonio, who still managed to finish P12 in the final results after his blameless involvement in the start crash, has thus moved four points closer to World Championship leader Bezzecchi as third in the standings. Marc Marquez has now moved into the top 5 of the points standings with his first win of the season.
The next stop on the 2026 MotoGP calendar is in two weeks (June 20/21) for the Czech Grand Prix at the Automotodrom Brno in Brno.
Read more MotoGP Live Ticker Hungary: Marquez defeats Acosta, mass crash at the start
