Bezzecchi wins Qatar MotoGP as Marc Márquez takes 60-point lead to Portimão

News Summary

• Marco Bezzecchi led all 22 laps from pole to win the Qatar Grand Prix for Aprilia.
• Marc Márquez recovered from fourth to finish second, passing Raúl Fernández late in the race.
• Jorge Martín finished seventh. Márquez leads him by 60 points with two rounds remaining, while Bezzecchi is 74 points back and still mathematically in contention.

Marco Bezzecchi won the Qatar Grand Prix from pole on Sunday, leading every lap at Lusail to take his sixth Grand Prix victory of the season. Marc Márquez recovered to second after losing two places early on, finishing 3.083 seconds behind Bezzecchi. Raúl Fernández took third for Trackhouse Aprilia, just over half a second behind the Ducati rider.

Bezzecchi pulls clear as Márquez fights back

Bezzecchi held off Márquez into Turn 1, but Fernández took advantage of the opening-lap fight to move into second. Pedro Acosta then passed Márquez for third at the end of lap three. The Ducati rider regained the place a few laps later, by which time the two Aprilias had pulled clear.

Fernández stayed close in the early stages, but Bezzecchi began to stretch the gap around halfway. Márquez closed on the Trackhouse rider in the final laps and took second. Fernández held off team-mate Ai Ogura, who finished fourth, while Enea Bastianini passed Acosta late on to take fifth.

The win came a day after Bezzecchi crashed out of Saturday’s sprint following contact with Márquez. On Sunday, the Aprilia rider converted his record pole into victory without surrendering the lead.

Martín finishes seventh as the title fight moves to Portugal

Jorge Martín passed Fabio Di Giannantonio on lap 12 and finished seventh, picking up 9 points on his return from a fractured wrist. Márquez took 20 points for second and now leads 431–371. Bezzecchi’s victory takes him to 357 points, exactly 74 behind Márquez with 74 still available across Portugal and Valencia.

Márquez’s only title-clinching scenario in Qatar required a victory and a non-score for Martín. His next opportunity to secure an eighth premier-class title comes at Portimão on 20–22 November.

Diogo Moreira started 14th and climbed to 11th in the opening laps before retiring in the pits on lap 16. The Grand Prix started with 16 riders, MotoGP’s smallest field since 2011.

2026 Qatar MotoGP race results