Qatar: Marquez wins thrilling MotoGP sprint, Bezzecchi out, Martin third!

As well as the question of who is the best sprinter in the desert, Saturday’s action at the Losail Circuit in Doha centred specifically on the World Championship title. Riding the factory Ducati, Marc Marquez had already laid the groundwork here to be crowned the 2026 champion at Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix.

In the sessions leading up to the sprint, Marc Marquez had shown himself to be in very good form and secured second place on the grid. But Aprilia was ready to put up a fight. With Marco Bezzecchi on pole, Fernández in fourth and Ogura in sixth, there was no doubting the RS-GP’s performance. On top of that, Jorge Martin had pulled off a MotoGP miracle by qualifying for the second qualifying session just 13 days after his crash in Australia, which had left him with a broken wrist. Martin struggled there, however. The ‘Martinator’ lined up in 11th place on the fourth row.

Mixed tyre choices – Marquez opted for ‘soft’

Notably, whilst Marc Marquez opted for the soft rear tyre, the majority of riders – including all the Aprilia riders – chose the medium compound. The strong showing of other Ducati riders in Qatar was also exciting. Fabio Di Giannantonio had secured third on the grid, whilst Pecco Bagnaia celebrated a return to the front of the pack in fifth place.

The third row was also packed with talent, featuring Trackhouse rider Ogura, Honda ace Johann Zarco and KTM rider Pedro Acosta. Despite being the clear favourite – to secure a match point on Sunday, the Ducati-Lenovo rider needed to gain more than five points on Jorge Martin. Or to put it another way – if Jorge Martin managed to finish in the top six, the next milestone in a potential World Championship title rescue mission would be achieved. However, Martin had not yet completed eleven consecutive laps – the sprint distance – in one go since his crash.

At 5 pm local time, with the air temperature still at 30 degrees, the warm-up lap got underway. The mission for the second Aprilia Racing rider, Marco Bezzecchi, was clear – to beat Marc Márquez.

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MotoGP World Championship

08.11.2026 - 12:35

Red flag following a nasty crash by Bagnaia

Marco Bezzecchi was the most effective in making his way to the first right-hand bend. The World Championship third-place rider turned in ahead of Marquez, Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio. Martin was unable to make up any places, finishing 11th. Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta had moved up to 5th place. Lap 1 ended in drama for Pecco Bagnaia. The two-time world champion was knocked off his bike by Fermin Aldeguer as he entered the final corner; Bagnaia was sent flying and had to be treated at the side of the track. Shortly afterwards, the red flag was waved. Bagnaia and his wrecked Ducati first had to be safely recovered.

Erster Start zum Wüsten-Sprint

Foto: Gold and Goose

After a break of just under 10 minutes, the pit lane reopened. Only 17 MotoGP riders lined up – in the same order as before the interruption, with Bezzechi ahead of Marquez and Di Giannantonio on row 1, followed by Fernandez, Ogura and Zarco. Martin had gained a place but was still on row 4. The display showed 10 laps remaining, and all riders were fitted with fresh tyres once more.

The second start was now all about Marc Marquez. The championship leader pulled away ahead of Bezzecchi and Di Giannantonio. Behind them was Honda rider Zarco

Martin, who had switched to soft rear tyres before the restart, came through the first lap in seventh position and quickly attacked Acosta for sixth place.

Aprilia: Drama for Marco Bezzecchi, Jorge Martin on fire

Bezzecchi had recovered from a poor start and caught up with Marquez on lap 2. Meanwhile, Jorge Martin overtook Raul Fernandez – fifth place for the challenger. At the front, Bezzecchi attacked, overtook, but was immediately countered by Márquez. Behind them, Martin gave it his all, overtaking Zarco. The fastest lap also went to the ‘Martinator’. Now in fourth place, Martin was closing in on Fabio Di Giannantonio.

At the start of Lap 4, drama struck for Marco Bezzecchi. The Italian was preparing an attack before Turn 1. Marquez braked later – too late – and ran wide. Bezzecchi slipped through, but Marquez moved back inwards and made contact with Bezzecchi. Whilst the Ducati rider was incredibly lucky to stay on his bike, the Aprilia rider slid off the track.

Entscheidender Moment: Bezzecchi stürzt innerhalb von Marquez

Foto: motogp.com

Jorge Martin was riding like a man possessed. Shortly after his team-mate’s crash, Martin overtook first Di Giannantonio and then Marquez. Marquez countered again and set a faster pace than his pursuers on lap 5. However, Jorge Martin continued to hold second place ahead of ‘Diggia’, Fernández, Zarco and the KTM riders Acosta and Bastianini.

With three laps to go, Aprilia faced further penalties. Marc Marquez set the fastest lap of the race, whilst race control announced that the incident between Bezzecchi and Marquez had been classified as a ‘normal racing incident’.

At the front, Marquez had built up a lead of just over a second, whilst behind him Martin did everything he could to defend second place. On the penultimate lap, the Aprilia rider’s energy was exhausted. After a hard-fought battle, Martin had to concede P2 to Di Giannantonio. Over 1.5 seconds behind them, Fernandez finished in fourth place.

A crucial triumph for Marquez – match point on Sunday

Marc Marquez rode a flawless race to claim his 25th Sprint victory at Losail, ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio and the heroic Jorge Martin. The result means that Marco Bezzecchi is out of the World Championship race and Marc Marquez can secure his tenth World Championship title on Sunday in the Qatari desert.

Marc Marquez fuhr im Sprint zum Moto-Titel-Matchball

Foto: Gold and Goose

Behind Fernández, Zarco finished a strong fifth, ahead of Acosta, Ogura and Bastianini. The final World Championship point went to stand-in rider Iker Lecuona (Gresini). Bringing up the rear was Jake Dixon. The Briton was just a few seconds behind the winner, but only six seconds behind KTM rider Maverick Viñales.