Johann Zarco will take part in the 2026 Suzuka 8 Hours with Honda HRC. The LCR Honda MotoGP rider is aiming for a third straight victory after winning the event in 2024 and 2025 with Takumi Takahashi. Honda has not yet finalized or announced its complete rider lineup for this year’s race.
Johann Zarco says he would be surprised to extend his MotoGP contract beyond 2027, signalling his current LCR Honda deal is likely his last. The 35-year-old, who won on home soil at Le Mans in 2025, spoke about passing the torch to rookie teammate Diogo Moreira, describing the Brazilian as exceptional and a potential future factory team rider. An era nears its end.
Jorge Martin trails Bezzecchi by just four points heading into Jerez after making a strong start to his Aprilia career. Martin has already warned that Ducati will be a bigger threat this weekend , but the 2024 world champion knows this is his circuit. Jerez acts as something of a level playing field for Martin and Bezzecchi, with neither having a dominant record at the venue.
Ducati are winless in five Grands Prix and the factory team have not celebrated a Sunday podium since the 2025 Japanese Grand Prix, their longest wait since Aragon 2012 to Qatar 2014. Bagnaia, Marquez and Di Giannantonio all arrive at a circuit where Ducati has won every Sunday since 2021. Jerez is where they need to end the drought. Fast.
Marc Marquez used the April break to train at Aragon, targeting a physical step before his home Grand Prix after identifying himself as the main limitation in the opening rounds. Ducati boss Gigi Dall’Igna insists the reigning champion will be 100 percent fit for Jerez. Marquez sits 36 points behind Bezzecchi heading into Round 4 and remains without a Sunday podium this season.
Marco Bezzecchi arrives at Jerez with five wins in a row and 121 consecutive laps led. Aprilia heads to the Spanish Grand Prix looking to maintain its 100% Grand Prix record in 2026. A win on Sunday would deliver the Noale manufacturer its first ever victory at this circuit. Ducati has won every Sunday race at Jerez since 2021. The biggest test of Aprilia’s title credentials starts now.
Marc Marquez used the extended April break to train at Aragon, targeting a physical step ahead of Jerez after identifying himself as the main limitation in the opening rounds. The reigning champion admitted the bike becomes too aggressive in the opening laps when he cannot yet ride as he wants. Ducati boss Gigi Dall’Igna insists Marquez will be 100 percent fit for the Spanish Grand Prix.
Marc Marquez has opened up about the moment that scared him most in a long MotoGP career full of crashes, injuries and comeback stories. Speaking on the Imagin podcast, the reigning world champion revealed his most nervous day was not a race or a crash, but the first time he sat on a Ducati at the Valencia test in late 2023. The fear was not speed. It was the unknown.
Fabio Di Giannantonio heads to Jerez as the top Ducati rider in the 2026 MotoGP standings, but the gap to Aprilia is undeniable. VR46 has spent the April break focusing on braking and turning improvements to the GP26. With Ducati yet to win a Sunday race in 2026, Diggia carries the weight of the entire Borgo Panigale camp into their home circuit.
Marco Bezzecchi leads MotoGP 2026 with five straight wins and 121 consecutive laps led. But Jerez is different. Aprilia has never won at this circuit in the modern era, managing just one podium in the last five seasons. Ducati has taken every Sunday victory here since 2021. A fit-again Marc Marquez heads into his home Grand Prix ready to fire. Round 4 starts Thursday.