Marc Márquez wins at Misano and takes the MotoGP championship lead after a dramatic race
Marc Márquez finished the weekend at Misano Adriatico with a perfect score: after Saturday's sprint victory, he also triumphed in the main San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix race, held on September 13 at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli. The Ducati Lenovo Team factory rider capitalized on Marco Bezzecchi's crash on the opening lap, withstood pressure from Jorge Martín and Alex Márquez and, with his fifth Grand Prix victory of the season, took the lead in the overall standings for the first time in 2026.
The victory came at a moment when the battle for the world championship title intensified further. According to MotoGP's official report, Márquez claimed his 78th victory in the premier class at Misano and, after the 14th race of the season, drew level with Jorge Martín on 274 points. Although the two main contenders have the same number of points, Márquez is listed as the championship leader thanks to the criterion of the number of Grand Prix victories. Marco Bezzecchi, who began the weekend as one of the most serious contenders for victory, fell to 33 points behind the leading pair after retiring. The result at Misano therefore changed the balance of power in the championship immediately before the continuation of the season in Austria.
Bezzecchi started from pole position, but his race ended on the opening lap
Bezzecchi was fastest in qualifying and set a new track record in the process. According to official MotoGP data, the Aprilia rider secured pole position with a time of 1:29.982, becoming the first rider to lap Misano in under one minute and 30 seconds. Marc Márquez qualified second and Fermín Aldeguer third, while then-championship leader Jorge Martín started from fifth place. Bezzecchi managed to retain first place in the early phase of Sunday's race, unlike in the sprint a day earlier, when Márquez overtook him at the very first braking point.
The key moment of the main race, however, came before the end of the opening lap. While leading, Bezzecchi lost the front end of his motorcycle and crashed at Turn 13, according to MotoGP. The Italian was not injured, but he came away without points from a race in which, considering the speed he had shown throughout the weekend, he had a realistic chance of winning. After the race, he explained that under braking with a full fuel tank he had problems with the motorcycle's stability and was unable to close the ideal line, after which he lost the front tyre. For Aprilia, it was an especially difficult outcome because Bezzecchi had been directly involved in the battle at the top of the championship heading into Sunday.
The crash opened the way for Marc Márquez, but victory was not handed to him. Jorge Martín quickly appeared behind him after making a good start from fifth place and, already in the early phase of the race, reduced the gap to a few tenths of a second. At the same time, Alex Márquez was working his way toward the leaders after starting from ninth position, while behind them Pedro Acosta and Fermín Aldeguer remained in a group that still had a realistic chance of attacking for a podium place. Despite Bezzecchi's retirement, the race thus turned into a tactical duel between title contenders and several riders who had the pace to fight at the front.
Martín took the lead, but Márquez responded in the second half of the race
Jorge Martín was not satisfied with second place. According to MotoGP's official report, he took the lead from Márquez on lap seven, briefly returning control of the race to Aprilia after Bezzecchi's crash. At that stage, Martín looked quick enough to build a small advantage, while Márquez did not attempt a risky immediate response. The Spaniard on the Ducati later explained that, after Bezzecchi's crash, he changed his approach and tried to manage the risk better, aware of how important it was to finish the race and collect a large haul of points.
That approach did not mean giving up on victory. Márquez gradually increased his pace, closed in on Martín and retook first place on lap 12 with an attack at Turn 6, according to MotoGP and Ducati. From that moment, he began building a gap again, while Martín lost his rhythm. He later revealed that he had suffered serious forearm problems during the race, namely so-called arm pump, which made braking and opening the throttle more difficult. The consequence was a drop from first to fifth place, a result that earned him 11 points but left him level on points with Márquez in the overall standings.
Alex Márquez took advantage of Martín's difficulties and moved into second place on lap 14. Pedro Acosta climbed to third two laps later, while Fermín Aldeguer also passed Martín and finished fourth. In the closing stages, Alex closed in on his older brother, and with five laps remaining the gap fell to approximately half a second. Marc Márquez, however, made no mistake; he raised his pace again when necessary and remained in control all the way to the chequered flag.
Brotherly duel to the finish and second place for Alex Márquez
The official results show that Marc Márquez completed the 27 laps in 41:13.013. Alex Márquez crossed the finish line just 0.657 seconds later, while Pedro Acosta was third, 2.326 seconds behind. For Gresini Racing, second place carried additional symbolism because the team competed during its home weekend in a special livery dedicated to Marco Simoncelli, after whom the Misano circuit is named. After starting from the third row, Alex produced one of his best races of the season and maintained pressure on the leader until the final laps.
With third place, Acosta recorded back-to-back Grand Prix podiums following his result in Aragon. Behind him, Aldeguer finished fourth, Martín fifth, Raúl Fernández sixth and Fabio Di Giannantonio seventh. Enea Bastianini finished eighth, Luca Marini ninth and Fabio Quartararo tenth. Brad Binder, Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, Franco Morbidelli and Pol Espargaró also scored points, according to the official MotoGP classification.
The weekend was considerably more difficult for Francesco Bagnaia. The Ducati factory rider started only 14th after weaker qualifying, finished 13th in the sprint and crashed on lap six of the main race while running inside the top ten. Ducati confirmed after the race that Bagnaia left Misano without points and sits ninth in the riders' standings, 131 points behind his teammate. His result further highlighted how important Márquez currently is to the Bologna factory team in the final part of the championship.
Sprint victory set the stage for Sunday's major turnaround
Márquez's rise to the top of the championship did not begin only with Sunday's victory. A day earlier, he had also won the sprint, taking the lead from Bezzecchi at the first corner. The Italian spent the 13 laps trying to reduce the gap, but Márquez never allowed him to get close enough for a serious attack in the closing stages. It was Márquez's sixth sprint triumph of the season, while Bezzecchi finished second and Martín third. After Saturday's race, the leading three riders in the overall standings were separated by only 22 points.
That result was also important because of tyre choice. MotoGP reported that Márquez raced with the medium rear tyre, while Bezzecchi used the softer option. Márquez opened a gap during the first part of the sprint, Bezzecchi then closed in during the second half, but the Ducati rider responded with faster laps when the pressure was at its highest. The sprint therefore demonstrated that Ducati and Aprilia had very similar potential at Misano, with the differences being created by the start, tyre management and the ability to avoid mistakes.
On Sunday, that final element proved decisive. Bezzecchi had the speed, Martín had a phase in which he led, and Alex Márquez had the pace to attack in the closing stages, but Marc Márquez was the only one among the main contenders to combine speed, patience and a finish without a serious mistake. Ducati emphasized in its official statement that the victory at Misano also moved it to the top of the constructors' standings, while the factory team remained second in the teams' standings. For the Bologna manufacturer, the home weekend on the Adriatic coast therefore had both sporting and symbolic significance.
From a 102-point deficit to the top of the championship
The biggest story arising from the Misano result, however, is the change in the overall standings. MotoGP notes that seven Grand Prix weekends earlier Marc Márquez had been as many as 102 points behind the championship leader. After injury problems and a difficult part of the season, his chances of defending the title looked considerably weaker than they had at the beginning of the year. A run of improved results during the summer, including strong performances in Germany and a double victory in Aragon, gradually reduced the deficit, and Misano completed his return to the top.
Ahead of the weekend at the Marco Simoncelli circuit, Martín held a 19-point advantage over Márquez, while Bezzecchi was 24 points behind the leader. The sprint reduced Márquez's deficit to 14 points, while the main race brought him 25 points compared with Martín's 11. That left the two level on 274 points. Bezzecchi, after nine points from the sprint and zero from the main race, remained third, 33 points behind the leaders. According to MotoGP, Márquez is at the top of the standings because he has more Grand Prix victories.
It is a turnaround that significantly changes the psychological picture of the championship. Márquez is no longer the rider trying to erase a large deficit, but the defending champion entering the final eight rounds from the leading position. Martín remains completely level on points and has enough time to respond, while one poor weekend has not removed Bezzecchi from the title fight, but has forced him to pursue an almost flawless run of results in the races ahead. The gaps are small enough for a single crash, technical problem or poor tyre choice to change the standings again.
Márquez: after Bezzecchi's crash, managing the risk was important
In his reaction after the race, Márquez emphasized that Misano had been more demanding than the final result suggested. In Ducati's official statement, he said that after Bezzecchi's crash he decided to ride the race differently because at such a high pace it is very easy to make a mistake. He also admitted that he may have relaxed too much at one point, which Martín took advantage of to attack and take the lead. After that, he explained, he gradually regained the feeling and rhythm he had had in the sprint and raised the pace again in the closing stages when Alex came closer.
Ducati's sporting management sent a similar message. Ducati Corse General Manager Luigi Dall’Igna described Márquez's race as extraordinary, but at the same time warned that leading the championship does not mean the job is finished. Within the factory camp, they particularly stress the need to continue working in the same way because the riders still have eight Grand Prix weekends ahead of them. Such caution is understandable in a season in which the balance of power has changed several times over the course of only a few races.
Bezzecchi, on the other hand, said after the crash that there was no point going back over something that could no longer be changed and that the focus was already shifting to the next event. MotoGP reported his assessment that the mistake arose from a combination of a full fuel tank, instability of the motorcycle in the fast sections and the entry into braking. Martín linked his loss of pace to the forearm problem, saying that at one point he lost control over the precision of his braking and acceleration. Two different difficulties within the Aprilia camp thus created the opportunity for Márquez to extract the maximum number of points from the weekend.
The next stop is the Red Bull Ring, and the title fight starts almost from scratch
The MotoGP championship continues from September 18 to 20 with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring. It will be the 15th of a total of 22 Grand Prix weekends in the 2026 season, meaning that eight more opportunities for major points swings remain after Misano. Márquez and Martín arrive in Austria completely level on 274 points, while Bezzecchi is 33 points behind and clearly needs to respond immediately. Given the format in which points are scored in both Saturday's sprint and Sunday's main race, a single weekend can produce a very large swing.
Misano is therefore much more than just another victory in Márquez's statistics. The Spaniard won both the sprint and the Grand Prix in Italy, claimed his 78th victory in the MotoGP class, his fifth main-race victory of the season and took the championship lead for the first time in 2026. At the same time, he completed a comeback from a deficit that had stood at more than one hundred points only a few races earlier. Martín and Bezzecchi still have realistic chances of winning the title, but after the weekend on the Adriatic coast they are no longer setting the pace of the chase: number 93 is now back at the top of the standings, and the rest of the season turns into a direct battle for every position.
Sources:
- MotoGP – official report of the main San Marino and Rimini Riviera Grand Prix race, results and championship standings (link)
- MotoGP – official review of the Misano sprint race and points context after Saturday (link)
- MotoGP – qualifying and Marco Bezzecchi's record-breaking pole position (link)
- MotoGP – reactions from Márquez, Bezzecchi, Martín, Alex Márquez and Pedro Acosta after the race (link)
- MotoGP Stats – official race classification, times and gaps at the finish (link)
- Ducati Media House – factory team report, points and statements from Márquez, Bagnaia and Luigi Dall’Igna (link)