Marco Bezzecchi dominated the Brazilian MotoGP Grand Prix to secure back-to-back wins at the start of the 2026 season.
The Rimini rider crossed the line by a dominant 3.2s margin over team-mate Jorge Martin as Aprilia dominated proceedings from start to finish.
Fabio Di Giannantonio rounded off the podium spots to secure a double podium after starting from the best seat in the house.
Five minutes before the race began, it was announced that the race would be reduced from 31 to 23 laps due to track degradation. No further explanation was given as riders couldn’t change their tyre choices at the last minute.
Aprilia’s Bezzecchi launched off the line to take the holeshot into Turn 1, followed by poleman Di Giannantonio and Marquez.
VR46 Ducati rider Di Giannantonio made an error in Turn 1 on Lap 2, promoting the factory Ducati rider to second. Later that same corner Pramac Yamaha rider Jack Miller crashed out from proceedings.
With the soft rear tyre on his KTM, Acosta launched himself up to fourth after three laps, after starting from the third row on the grid.
Half a second separated Di Giannantonio and Acosta, with the Spaniard in the midst of a battle with factory Aprilia rider Jorge Martin and 2025 vice champion Alex Marquez.
Martin sliced his way through to fourth as Aprilia once again proved to be a dominant force in the grand prix, further bolstered by Bezzecchi stretching his gap over Marquez to 1.3 seconds.
The Italian continued to pull away at the front, producing a 1.8s lead by the end of Lap 6.
On Lap 7, a late plunge from VR46’s Di Giannantonio at Turn 3 caught Marquez out, but both riders went wide off the racing line, allowing Martin to slide into second.
The factory Aprilia team sat first and second for several laps and looked comfortable, showing pace similar to that demonstrated in the season opener.
But Lap 11 saw Francesco Bagnaia retire following a high-speed crash at Turn 1, before Honda’s Joan Mir entered the gravel at Turn 4.
Despite the limited action out front, Martin accelerated into the distance from Di Giannantonio, building a 1.5s gap over the Roman rider.
Marquez produced a block pass on Di Giannantonio into Turn 6 on Lap 18, but the VR46 rider wasn’t prepared to give up without a fight as he retaliated the next lap after a rare Marquez error.
The squabble for third allowed Martin to build a 2.1s gap in second, meaning he could cling on despite his tyres dropping off like a cliff in the final laps.
Bezzecchi’s victory meant he became the fifth rider to win four consecutive races in a row, joining Valentino Rossi, Marc Marquez, Jorge Lorenzo and Francesco Bagnaia.
Martin secured his first Grand Prix podium for the factory Noale outfit, as he and Aprilia finished the Brazilian weekend with two podiums.
Di Giannantonio sought revenge after Marquez’s race-winning heroics in the Sprint, defeating him to secure the final podium place.
Trackhouse Racing rider Ai Ogura continued to impress as he secured fifth place for the American outfit after late overtakes on Alex Marquez and Acosta.
Fermin Aldeguer finished eighth on his return from injury, just two months on from breaking his femur in preseason.
Johann Zarco and LCR Honda secured ninth place, while Raul Fernandez rounded off the top 10 positions.
Luca Marini finished 11th on the factory Honda, followed by home town heroes Franco Morbidelli and Diogo Moreira.
Alex Rins finished as the top Yamaha rider, securing two points on the board, followed by Enea Bastianini and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo and Toprak Razgatlioglu.
Maverick Vinales finished as the final classified rider, six seconds behind the rookie Yamaha rider ahead.
Discussion about this post