KTM rider Pedro Acosta clinched his first victory in MotoGP following a dramatic opening Sprint race of 2026 at the Thai Grand Prix.
Acosta battled with Marc Marquez for the race victory after favourite Marco Bezzecchi crashed in the second lap of the race, but appeared to lose out in the final corner of the penultimate lap.
However, stewards ruled that Marquez made an unfair move and forced the nine-time World Champion to drop a position, allowing Acosta to take the win.
Marquez made the best start and took the lead from Bezzecchi on the run down to the first corner.
Fabio Di Giannantonio also made a strong start from the second row and moved ahead of Raul Fernandez into third, before being forced wide by Gresini’s Alex Marquez at Turn 3, with both riders losing positions.
Bezzecchi retook the lead of the race at Turn 10 from the clutches of Marquez, but the Ducati rider reclaimed the position at the final corner as the grid started Lap 2.
The battle between the pair continued in the early stages of the second lap, with Bezzecchi returning to the lead of the race at Turn 3.
Just as it looked like Bezzecchi could build a gap on Marquez, the Italian crashed out of the lead at Turn 8 and was unable to restart, throwing away what promised to be a strong start to the campaign.
Pedro Acosta wasted no time and took the lead from Marquez, but the Ducati rider was allowed to turn under the KTM to retake the position into the final corner.
The pair continued to run closely together, but Marquez continued to hold the lead of the race despite the fast-closing Acosta behind.
Acosta continued to put the pressure on and was able to overtake Marquez twice at the final corner with four and three laps remaining, but couldn’t make it stick after running wide both times.
Acosta made his decisive move with two laps remaining, riding over the top of Marquez at Turn 9 before gaining the inside line at Turn 10.
Marquez made his own move at the final corner heading onto the final lap of the race, but forced Acosta wide to regain the lead.
On the final lap of the race, Marquez was given a drop one position penalty for the move, and he took the wide line at the final corner to give Acosta the victory.
Eventually crossing the line in first by 0.103s, the Spanish rider claimed his first MotoGP victory in any format.
Marquez finished second after receiving the controversial penalty, while Raul Fernandez completed the Sprint podium.
Ai Ogura recorded his best Sprint finish by taking fourth after a hard-fought battle with Jorge Martin, who ensured three Aprilias made the top five.
Brad Binder crossed the line in sixth, while Joan Mir earned seventh place as the top Honda rider.
Di Giannantonio overcame his early troubles to take eighth, as Francesco Bagnaia picked up the final point in ninth.
Luca Marini completed the top 10 ahead of Alex Marquez in 11th, while Johann Zarco led rookie team-mate Diogo Moreira over the line in 12th and 13th respectively.
Franco Morbidelli finished 14th ahead of the top Yamaha of Jack Miller, as Fabio Quartararo struggled to 16th.
Both Tech3 KTM riders had difficulties in the Sprint, as Enea Bastianini took 17th and Maverick Vinales 19th, with Alex Rins sandwiched between the pair.
Toprak Razgatlioglu suffered his first crash as a MotoGP rider, but rejoined in 20th as Michele Pirro rounded out the standings in 21st.
Following his crash, Bezzecchi was the sole retirement from the Thai MotoGP Sprint race.
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