Marc Marquez wins San Marino MotoGP, takes 2026 title lead as Marco Bezzecchi crashes

Marc Marquez stormed to victory at the 2026 San Marino Grand Prix to take MotoGP points lead, as home hero Marco Bezzecchi crashed out on the opening lap at Misano.

Going into race day, Bezzecchi had led every session including qualifying where he shattered the lap record at Misano Circuit to claim pole, giving him and the Aprilia camp every reason to believe this would be the weekend that cemented their stranglehold on the championship.

However, Marquez won the Misano Sprint at Bezzecchi’s expense after forcing his way through for the lead at Turn 1.

Come Sunday’s Grand Prix, Bezzecchi was aware that Marquez would pull off the same move into Turn 1 if he did not have the better start, and this time the Italian made sure to defend in the opening corners to keep the Ducati rider behind him.

However, Bezzecchi lost the front of his Aprilia approaching Turn 13 and crashed violently into the gravel. He walked away from the incident uninjured which was the one mercy of an otherwise crushing afternoon.

Marquez inherited the lead and controlled the pace, followed by the second Aprilia of Jorge Martin who had jumped Fabio Di Giannantonio and Fermin Aldeguer at the start to take second.

Martin hounded Marquez over the next few laps before snatching the lead into Turn 4 on Lap 7, but the nine-time world champion fought back to reclaim the top spot five laps later.

Meanwhile, Álex Márquez followed through on lap 14 to take second, leaving Martín vulnerable to Pedro Acosta who seized the opportunity to pass the Aprilia rider two laps later. Fermin Aldeguer finally relegated Martin to fifth on lap 20.

Alex proceeded to challenge his older brother during the final stages of the race, slashing the gap down to just four tenths of a second but the factory Ducati rider held on to take the chequered flag first with a 0.657s margin.

As Marc Marquez wins San Marino MotoGP, several riders crashed out of the race including Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia, Pramac’s Jack Miller, LCR’s Johann Zarco and Diogo Moreira. Yamaha’s Alex Rins and Honda’s Joan Mir retired in the pits.

New 2026 MotoGP Championship standings after Misano

Full 2026 San Marino MotoGP Race Results, Misano

PosRiderTeamGap
1Marc MarquezDucati
2Alex MarquezGresini+0.657s
3Pedro AcostaKTM+2.326s
4Fermin AldeguerGresini+6.027s
5Jorge MartinAprilia+14.021s
6Raul FernandezTrackhouse+18.252s
7Fabio Di GiannantonioVR46+20.581s
8Enea BastianiniTech3+20.858s
9Luca MariniHonda+22.911s
10Fabio QuartararoYamaha+23.229s
11Brad BinderKTM+23.905s
12Toprak RazgatliogluPramac+28.031s
13Franco MorbidelliVR46+28.927s
14Pol EspargaroTech3+31.792s
15Johann ZarcoLCRDNF
16Alex RinsYamahaRetired
17Joan MirHondaRetired
18Francesco BagnaiaDucatiDNF
19Diogo MoreiraLCRDNF
20Jack MillerPramacDNF
21Marco BezzecchiApriliaDNF

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Starting grid for 2026 San Marino MotoGP at Misano

Starting grid for 2026 San Marino MotoGP at Misano

Full starting grid for 2026 San Marino MotoGP: 1. Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia; 2. Marc Márquez, Ducati; 3. Fermín Aldeguer, Gresini; 4. Fabio Di Giannantonio, VR46; 5. Jorge Martín, Aprilia