Marc Márquez clinched victory in San Marino GP ahead of brother Alex and Pedro Acosta to take the MotoGP championship lead, while local hero Marco Bezzecchi crashed out of the lead on opening lap.
On the first lap of his home Grand Prix, Marco Bezzecchi had held the lead from pole position, looking poised to win in front of his crowd. However, it was not to be. The Rimini native crashed out before completing the opening lap. His exit left Marc Márquez leading the pack, with Jorge Martín looming close behind.
Martín made his move on lap 7, overtaking Márquez for the lead, but the nine-time World Champion fought back to reclaim the top spot five laps later. Meanwhile, Álex Márquez closed the gap to the leading pair and executed a precise manoeuvre on lap 14 to join his brother at the front. The setback left Martín vulnerable to Pedro Acosta, who seized the opportunity to attack the Aprilia rider.
Marc Marquez leads the MotoGP 2026 championship
With his fifth victory of the 2026 season, Marc Márquez snatched the championship lead from Jorge Martín, becoming the fourth rider to hold the top spot this campaign after Pedro Acosta, Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martín. Though tied on points with the Aprilia rider, Márquez claims the overall lead by virtue of his five Grand Prix wins, more than any other rider on the grid this season.
The Spaniard crossed the line ahead of his brother Álex Márquez and Pedro Acosta, leading an all-Spanish top six rounded out by Fermín Aldeguer, Jorge Martín, and Raúl Fernández, a first in the championship’s history. Fabio Di Giannantonio finished as the leading Italian in seventh place, ahead of Enea Bastianini and Luca Marini.
Further down the order, Fabio Quartararo secured his best Grand Prix finish since the return from the summer break, taking tenth ahead of Brad Binder. Pramac rider Toprak Razgatlıoğlu took twelfth ahead of Franco Morbidelli, who salvaged two points in 13th despite serving a long lap penalty. Replacement rider Pol Espargaró finished 14th ahead of Johann Zarco in 15th, who suffered a late-race crash two laps from the checkered flag.
It was an equally punishing race elsewhere on the grid. Jack Miller and Diogo Moreira both crashed out on lap 2, while Francesco Bagnaia’s nightmare weekend continued with another early retirement following a crash.
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