Marc Marquez will face his first match point in Sunday’s MotoGP Grand Prix to win the 2026 World Championship after he won a thrilling Sprint in Qatar from Fabio Di Giannantonio and a heroic Jorge Martin.
The race had a controversial edge after Marco Bezzecchi crashed out when trying to overtake Marquez at the start of lap four. Pedro Acosta was involved in the fight for the podium and came home in sixth.
Acosta turns weekend around with brilliant sixth
Pedro Acosta took an impressive sixth place in the MotoGP Sprint race at the Qatar Grand Prix after reversing his fortunes from a troubled Friday.
The 22-year old was unhappy after finishing day one at the Lusail International Circuit in 14th place, which necessitated just a third trip through Q1 in 2026.
But the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing rider was a different beast on Saturday. Acosta came through Q1 with the minimum of fuss before qualifying eighth for the eleven lap Sprint race.
The Sprint was initially red flagged at the end of lap two due to a collision between Pecco Bagnaia and Fermin Aldeguer. After a quick start procedure, the restart was held over ten laps.
Acosta was seventh at the end of lap one and at the back of a lead group of seven. After Bezzecchi’s crash, the lead KTM rider couldn’t quite impact the podium fight, but still took a strong sixth place and has plenty to build on ahead of Sunday.
There was further joy for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing as Brad Binder finished seventh after a race-long fight with Diogo Moreira and Fermin Aldeguer.
Marquez wins to face first match point on Sunday
Marc Marquez took his tenth Sprint victory of the year after a thrilling early fight with Marco Bezzecchi, which ended in controversy.
The Ducati rider headed a thrilling seven-rider fight with Giannantonio, Martin, Raul Fernandez, Johann Zarco and Raul Fernandez all involved.
But the crucial moment came starting lap four. Marquez was wide in the middle of Turn 1. Sensing a chance to pass, Bezzecchi tried to push through only to run into the side of his rival and crash out.
Marquez’s airbag in his leather suit then deployed. After briefly losing the lead, he immediately regained control and set a string of fastest laps to come home 0.8s clear of Di Giannantonio.
The 33-year old can now win his tenth World Championship on Sunday if he emerges victorious in the Grand Prix and Jorge Martin fails to score points.
Martin makes heroic comeback
Jorge Martin made yet another heroic comeback from injury to finish a barely believable third in the MotoGP Sprint on Saturday just 14 days on from fracturing a bone in his right wrist.
The factory Aprilia rider was unable to do more than two consecutive laps at the Sepang International Circuit a week ago, which led to him withdrawing from the Malaysian Grand Prix before qualifying.
But the 28-year old looked back to his best in Qatar. He was an astonishing seventh on Friday. And while his wrist was causing him more pain on Saturday than the previous day, he switched to Michelin’s soft rear tyre for the restart and decided to attack.
Martin started gaining positions at a rapid rate. Sixth at the end of lap one, he gained two places on the second lap. He was then on hand to challenge Marquez for victory after the Bezzecchi clash and briefly led the race before his adversary came back past.
Second would have been enough for Martin to ensure the championship fight carries on until Portugal in a fortnight’s time. But he tired in the closing stages, which allowed Di Giannantonio to pass at Turn 2 on the last lap.
Third was still nothing short of heroic. Martin now needs to score one point on Sunday to ensure the championship fight carries over to the penultimate round.
