Brno winner Marc Marquez: “The longest six laps of the year”

Bronze on Saturday, gold on Sunday: In the sprint race, Marc Marquez had to settle for third place behind Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Ai Ogura (Aprilia), clearly not quite at his best physically. In the Grand Prix, the same three riders stood on the podium, just in a different order. In the end, he was locked in a nerve-wracking battle with the fast Japanese rider, but the MotoGP World Champion drew on all his experience and came out on top.

Marquez vs Ogura: Experience prevailed

Ai Ogura started the 21-lap race at the Brno Autodrom from pole position, but had to relinquish the lead to Bagnaia in the first corner of the second lap. Whilst the Italian initially pulled away, Marquez held back in P2, riding in his slipstream – before striking eight laps from the end: with a perfectly timed manoeuvre, he took the lead from his team-mate and moved to the front of the field.

In the end, the show was all about the duel between Marquez and Ogura. The Japanese rider had narrowly missed out on victory in the sprint race and was closing in on Marquez in the final laps. He had previously managed to overtake Bagnaia, but Marquez remained out of reach for an attack. The world champion held on to his lead across the finish line, securing Marquez’s 101st victory and his best MotoGP weekend of the season so far.

In the Parc Fermé, Márquez reflected on the final stages. It had been an important victory, “in the right corner, on the right track. It’s something special that I’ve been looking for. You know I never give up.” He struggled badly in the final laps: “The bike was fine, but I was knackered. I just tried to keep up the pace and saw Ogura coming.” He described the last six laps as the longest of the year, but not of his career.

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28.08.2026 - 08:55

Suddenly, Marc Marquez is back in the thick of the title race

Marquez’s task was made easier by a controversial side story: World Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi wasn’t even allowed to start. Following his crash in the sprint race on Saturday, he had shoved and struck a marshal, resulting in his exclusion from the Brno GP.

The title defence mission has gained completely new momentum within the space of two race weekends, as the Aprilia frontrunners faltered in Hungary and Brno. The Spaniard now trails championship leader Bezzecchi by 40 points. As a reminder: after Mugello, Márquez was still 102 points behind ‘Bezz’. The World Championship battle is suddenly wide open again. Even the champion had to admit as much: ‘I was nowhere to be seen; I felt completely out of it after Le Mans – and I was. But not here again; they were two fantastic events. Nevertheless, I want to stabilise things first, especially at Assen, where I always have problems even when I’m in top form – it’ll be a case of survival there.”

But the 101-time GP winner went on to say: “After the Sachsenring and the summer break, it’ll be time to switch back into attack mode.” Marc Marquez is finally back.