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.
Marc Marquez and pole sitter Fabio Di Giannantonio collided at COTA during the Sprint, taking both riders out. The incident will be reviewed after the race. Marquez had made a brilliant start from sixth, moving to third before the crash. Di Giannantonio had led the opening laps from pole. Two of the weekend’s biggest names gone in a single moment.
Marco Bezzecchi crashed out of the COTA Sprint under pressure from Martin, his second Sprint DNF of the 2026 season. The championship leader dropped from second to seventh before going down, handing Martin a free run to the front. Two Sprint crashes from three rounds. Marini and Bezzecchi both received two place grid penalties for Sunday’s Grand Prix for riding slowly on the racing line in qualifying. A painful afternoon for the title leader.
Jorge Martin ended a 511 day wait for a Sprint victory at COTA, holding off a fierce late charge from Marc Marquez to take the win. Bagnaia completed the podium in third while championship leader Bezzecchi crashed under pressure from Martin, his second Sprint DNF of the season. Martin. Marquez. Bagnaia. The Martinator is back where he belongs.