Marco Bezzecchi beaten in the Sprint, but “finally better than third”

Saturday morning in Misano belonged to Marco Bezzecchi. In Q2, the Aprilia factory rider completed the 4.226-kilometre circuit in 1:29.982. This marked the first time a motorbike had broken the 1:30 barrier at the Adriatic circuit, setting a new lap record. For the 27-year-old, it was the 13th MotoGP pole of his career. Bezzecchi was born a few kilometres away in Rimini and grew up in the area.

A year ago, ‘Bezz’ won the sprint race at Misano, so his objective was clear: to capitalise on pole position and keep the competition at bay. Shortly before the start, Jorge Martin (Aprilia) and Marc Marquez (Ducati) switched to Michelin’s medium-compound rear tyre, whilst Bezzecchi stuck with his choice of the softer compound. Although he got off to a good start, Marquez aggressively cut inside on the Ducati factory bike at Turn 1 and took the lead. Bezzecchi dropped back to second place and had to watch as the world champion quickly built up a one-second lead with three consecutive 1:30-minute laps.

Bezzecchi’s chase against Marc Marquez

The Italian did not give up, however. From lap 7 onwards, he was faster than Marquez and gradually reduced the gap to half a second. This gave the travelling fans hope of another victory for their local hero.

But Bezzecchi couldn’t get any closer. On lap 11, Marquez struck back with the fastest lap of the race and pulled away again. In the final two laps, the Aprilia rider abandoned his attack. After 13 laps, nothing stood in the way of Marc Marquez’s victory. Bezzecchi followed a second behind, whilst his team-mate Jorge Martin completed the podium.

Bezzecchi has been waiting eleven months for a sprint victory

Bezzecchi therefore remains without a Sprint victory in the 2026 season – his last came eleven months ago at Phillip Island. Still, second place is his best sprint result of the year, following four third-place finishes in the short races. With 241 points, he cemented third place in the World Championship standings; he closed the gap on Martin by two points and is now just 22 points behind the championship leader and his team-mate.

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“I’m very happy. This is my best sprint result of the season – finally better than third,” said a delighted Bezzecchi after the race. “Pole position and then a podium in the Sprint – that’s fantastic. The team did a very good job; we’re ready for Sunday’s main race.”