Marc Marquez beats Bezzecchi to Misano MotoGP Sprint victory, closes on 2026 title lead

Marc Marquez held off a late charge from Marco Bezzecchi to clinch Misano MotoGP Sprint victory, reinforcing his bid for the 2026 title.

In a tense 13-lap contest under the Adriatic sun, Marquez controlled the pace, managed his tyres with precision and denied home favourite Bezzecchi a breakthrough win, while championship leader Jorge Martin fought through the pack to complete the podium.

The stage for Saturday’s San Marino MotoGP Sprint was set earlier in the day when Bezzecchi smashed the Misano lap record with a stunning qualifying lap to secure pole.

As the lights went out, however, Marquez got the better getaway edging ahead of Bezzecchi as the field approached the heavy braking zone at Turn 1.

Behind the leading pair, the scramble for position was frenetic as Fabio Di Giannantonio and Jorge Martin both pounced on the unfortunate Fermin Aldeguer at Turn 4.

The Gresini rider was left battling Pedro Acosta over the following laps and forced each other wide on multiple occasions which allowed Alex Marquez through to collect fifth, rebounding from what had been a chaotic qualifying.

By lap 4, Marquez had eked a gap of around half a second to Bezzecchi before systematically extending it to the one-second mark over the next two tours.

Martin, meanwhile, was doing everything in his power from fourth, setting some of the fastest individual laps as he attempted to find a way past Di Giannantonio. The VR46 rider did a commendable job of holding his position for much of the first half of the race, but eventually gave in to Martin’s relentless pressure on lap 7.

By lap 9, Bezzecchi began to chip away at Marquez’s advantage, reducing the gap to 0.7s and taking another tenth out of it on the following lap.

However, the reigning champion responded with the fastest lap on lap 11 and stretched his advantage by a further two-tenths, effectively killing off Bezzecchi’s challenge to ultimately claim Misano MotoGP Sprint victory.

Martin held onto third, followed by Di Giannantonio and the younger Marquez. Acosta took sixth for KTM, ahead of Fernandez on the Trackhouse Aprilia with Aldeguer slotting the second Gresini into eighth.

Luca Marini was the best Honda in ninth place, while stablemate Johann Zarco wrapped up the top ten.

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Full 2026 San Marino MotoGP Sprint Race Results, Misano