News Summary
- Marc Márquez won the Qatar sprint to reach 411 points. Jorge Martín finished third and moved to 362, while Marco Bezzecchi remained on 332 after crashing.
- Márquez can clinch his eighth premier-class title on Sunday if he wins the Qatar Grand Prix and Martín scores no points.
- Ducati leads Aprilia 549–536 in the constructors’ standings. Aprilia Racing leads Ducati Lenovo 694–584 in the teams’ championship, where VR46 moved ahead of Gresini for fifth.
Marc Márquez won the Qatar MotoGP sprint on Saturday, but the pass that opened up his first chance to clinch the 2026 title happened behind him on the final lap. Fabio Di Giannantonio took second from Jorge Martín, costing the Aprilia rider two points and leaving Márquez 49 points clear heading into Sunday’s Grand Prix at Lusail.
Martín started 11th and briefly led after the restart, before Márquez took the place back and pulled away. Second would have kept Martín within 47 points and guaranteed that the championship went beyond Qatar. Third leaves him on 362 points to Márquez’s 411. Pole-sitter Marco Bezzecchi stayed on 332 after crashing following contact with Márquez.
How Marc Márquez can clinch the title in Qatar
A Grand Prix win is worth 25 points. If Márquez wins and Martín fails to score, the gap between them will reach 74 points, the maximum available across the final two weekends in Portugal and Valencia. Márquez holds the countback advantage over Martín, so that margin would secure his eighth MotoGP title. A win would also put him beyond Bezzecchi’s reach, whatever the Aprilia rider scores on Sunday. See how the Qatar title permutations were calculated.
For Martín, 15th place and one point would be enough to take the championship fight to Portugal even if Márquez wins. Any result short of victory for Márquez would also keep the title open. Martín is racing on his return from a fractured right wrist and will again start from the fourth row on Sunday, with Bezzecchi on pole and Márquez alongside him.
2026 MotoGP riders’ standings after the Qatar sprint
The three tables combine the post-Malaysia standings with the points from the Qatar sprint. The official post-sprint championship sheets were unavailable at the time of writing.
| Pos. | Rider | Points | Gap | Sprint points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | M MÁRQUEZ | 411 | — | 12 |
| 2 | J MARTÍN | 362 | 49 | 7 |
| 3 | M BEZZECCHI | 332 | 79 | 0 |
| 4 | P ACOSTA | 299 | 112 | 4 |
| 5 | A OGURA | 281 | 130 | 3 |
| 6 | F DI GIANNANTONIO | 274 | 137 | 9 |
| 7 | R FERNÁNDEZ | 242 | 169 | 6 |
| 8 | Á MÁRQUEZ | 197 | 214 | 0 |
| 9 | F BAGNAIA | 173 | 238 | 0 |
| 10 | E BASTIANINI | 136 | 275 | 2 |
| 11 | F ALDEGUER | 125 | 286 | 0 |
| 12 | B BINDER | 118 | 293 | 0 |
| 13 | L MARINI | 117 | 294 | 0 |
| 14 | F QUARTARARO | 79 | 332 | 0 |
| 15 | D MOREIRA | 78 | 333 | 0 |
| 16 | F MORBIDELLI | 65 | 346 | 0 |
| 17 | J ZARCO | 56 | 355 | 5 |
| 18 | J MIR | 33 | 378 | 0 |
| 19 | J MILLER | 31 | 380 | 0 |
| 20 | Á RINS | 29 | 382 | 0 |
| 21 | T RAZGATLIOĞLU | 18 | 393 | 0 |
| 22 | M VIÑALES | 14 | 397 | 0 |
| 23 | I LECUONA | 12 | 399 | 1 |
| 24 | A FERNÁNDEZ | 6 | 405 | 0 |
| 25 | P ESPARGARÓ | 5 | 406 | 0 |
| 26 | S CHANTRA | 3 | 408 | 0 |
| 27 | T NAKAGAMI | 3 | 408 | 0 |
| 28 | C CRUTCHLOW | 0 | 411 | 0 |
| 29 | J FOLGER | 0 | 411 | 0 |
| 30 | L SAVADORI | 0 | 411 | 0 |
| 31 | M PIRRO | 0 | 411 | 0 |
| 32 | A ESPARGARÓ | 0 | 411 | 0 |
Aprilia Racing stays clear as VR46 passes Gresini
Márquez’s win trimmed Aprilia Racing’s lead from 115 to 110 points. Martín scored all seven of the factory Aprilia team’s points after Bezzecchi fell. Márquez accounted for Ducati Lenovo’s 12 after Francesco Bagnaia was taken out in the first-lap collision that brought out the red flag. Trackhouse scored nine through Raúl Fernández in fourth and Ai Ogura in seventh, taking its total to 523.
Di Giannantonio’s second place also changed the order between the independent Ducati teams. VR46 started the sprint three points behind Gresini and finished it five ahead, moving up to fifth. Iker Lecuona’s ninth place earned Gresini one point. Farther back, Enea Bastianini’s eighth place brought Tech3 to within one point of Honda HRC for seventh.
2026 MotoGP teams’ standings after the Qatar sprint
| Pos. | Team | Points | Gap | Sprint points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aprilia Racing | 694 | — | 7 |
| 2 | Ducati Lenovo Team | 584 | 110 | 12 |
| 3 | Trackhouse MotoGP Team | 523 | 171 | 9 |
| 4 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | 417 | 277 | 4 |
| 5 | Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team | 339 | 355 | 9 |
| 6 | BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP | 334 | 360 | 1 |
| 7 | Honda HRC | 156 | 538 | 0 |
| 8 | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | 155 | 539 | 2 |
| 9 | LCR Honda | 134 | 560 | 5 |
| 10 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team | 108 | 586 | 0 |
| 11 | Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP | 49 | 645 | 0 |
Ducati stretches its constructors’ lead to 13 points
Ducati finished first and second at Lusail, but only the highest-placed bike from each manufacturer scores constructors’ points. Márquez therefore earned Ducati 12, while Martín’s third place gave Aprilia seven. Di Giannantonio’s pass mattered in both contests. It secured nine points for VR46 in the teams’ championship and reduced Aprilia’s constructors’ haul from nine to seven by dropping Martín to third.
Johann Zarco’s fifth place added five points to Honda’s total, while Pedro Acosta scored four for KTM in sixth. Ducati now leads Aprilia 549–536, up from an eight-point margin before the sprint.
2026 MotoGP constructors’ standings after the Qatar sprint
| Pos. | Constructor | Points | Gap | Sprint points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ducati | 549 | — | 12 |
| 2 | Aprilia | 536 | 13 | 7 |
| 3 | KTM | 352 | 197 | 4 |
| 4 | Honda | 183 | 366 | 5 |
| 5 | Yamaha | 105 | 444 | 0 |
GRANDE PRÊMIO is following every session of the Qatar Grand Prix in MotoGP.
FAQ
Who leads the 2026 MotoGP championship after the Qatar sprint?
Marc Márquez leads with 411 points, 49 ahead of Jorge Martín and 79 ahead of Marco Bezzecchi.
Who leads the MotoGP teams’ and constructors’ championships?
Aprilia Racing leads Ducati Lenovo by 110 points in the teams’ championship. Ducati leads Aprilia by 13 points in the constructors’ standings.
When is the Qatar MotoGP race on Sunday?
The Grand Prix starts at 19:00 local time on 8 November, which is 16:00 GMT in the UK, 11:00 EST on the US and Canadian East Coast and 21:30 IST in India. It starts on Monday at 03:00 AEDT in Sydney and Melbourne and 05:00 NZDT in Auckland. See the full Qatar MotoGP schedule.
