Fabio Di Giannantonio was the top Ducati finisher for the fourth race running, taking fourth at COTA almost seven seconds behind Bezzecchi. Bagnaia faded from podium contender to tenth in the closing stages. Factory Marquez fifth. Factory Bagnaia tenth. Satellite Diggia fourth. The question of who leads the Ducati charge in 2026 has an answer nobody at the factory expected.
Toprak Razgatlioglu scored his first MotoGP championship point at COTA, finishing 15th. His Pramac team director Gino Borsoi noted he continues to make positive and consistent steps forward, saying being close to the top ten is a clear sign that progress is real and ongoing. Toprak himself identified Michelin tyres as his real problem, saying the bike side is improving but the tyre adaptation is where the work remains. One point. Real progress. More to come.
Marco Bezzecchi claimed his fifth consecutive Grand Prix victory at COTA, making a brilliant start from fourth and passing early leader Acosta on lap one. Contact with Acosta damaged his tail aero but he was never headed. He now holds the record for most consecutive laps led in MotoGP premier class history, surpassing Jorge Lorenzo. Five wins. Five rounds. One man. Aprilia have something very special in Marco Bezzecchi.
Jorge Martin admitted his Sprint winning medium rear tyre call was purely his own decision, with Aprilia preferring he follow the rest of the grid on the soft. He told his engineers that if the medium was wrong he would never question them again. It was the right call. Martin then crashed on the slow down lap pulling a celebratory wheelie. Champion instincts. Rookie celebration.
Marc Marquez admitted he miscalculated the slipstream of three bikes ahead, locked the front at Turn 12 and had no way out of the crash that took down Di Giannantonio. He accepted the long lap penalty without argument, saying he always tries to be fair and that he made a mistake. Asked if he had spoken to Diggia, Marquez gave three words. Yeah. He’s angry.
Pedro Acosta was stripped of third place in the COTA Sprint after being found to have run tyre pressures below permitted limits, receiving the standard eight second post race penalty and dropping to eighth. The result promoted Tech3 KTM teammate Enea Bastianini to a surprise podium, his best result since Catalunya last year. Joan Mir crashed from fourth on the very final lap, making Bastianini’s promotion even more dramatic.
Marc Marquez has been handed a long lap penalty for Sunday’s Grand Prix after stewards judged him responsible for taking out Di Giannantonio at Turn 12 on the opening Sprint lap. VR46 boss Pablo Nieto said the move was unacceptable, adding he hoped Marquez would be penalised. Marquez accepted the decision, admitted Diggia was angry and apologised. Sunday just got harder.
Marco Bezzecchi and Luca Marini both received two place grid penalties for Sunday after being judged to have ridden slowly on the racing line and disturbing Marc Marquez on the back straight in Q2. Mitigation was applied as a first offence, reducing the standard three place drop to two. Bezzecchi drops from second to fourth, with Acosta and Bagnaia promoted to the front row alongside Di Giannantonio.
Toprak Razgatlioglu appeared to suffer a technical failure during the COTA Sprint, ending any hope of points for the Pramac Yamaha rider. Three rounds in and the three time WorldSBK champion has yet to score a single MotoGP point. Sunday’s Grand Prix grid changes significantly with Bezzecchi and Marini both handed two place penalties for riding slowly on the racing line in qualifying.
Pedro Acosta crossed the line third in the COTA Sprint but immediately faced a tyre pressure investigation from race direction after the chequered flag. The KTM rider had been one of the most consistent performers across the entire weekend, but a potential tyre pressure infringement could strip him of his Sprint podium result. The investigation outcome will determine the final Sprint classification before Sunday’s Grand Prix.