Riders launch off the grid for the MotoGP Sprint at Silverstone (Video: MotoGP)

Saturday (8) belonged entirely to Jorge Martín at Silverstone. Launching from pole position, the Spaniard led every lap to claim a dominant sprint victory. The win extended his championship lead, capitalizing on setbacks for key rivals including Raúl Fernández and Marc Márquez.

Ai Ogura pushed hard to match Martín’s relentless pace but settled for second, finishing 1.5 seconds back. Marco Bezzecchi staged a strong recovery drive in the second half of the race to finish third, completing the podium at the British circuit.

Álex Márquez finished fourth, followed by Fabio Di Giannantonio, Pedro Acosta, Joan Mir, and Franco Morbidelli. The final point of the day went to Marc Márquez, who struggled with heavy rear tire degradation and slithered home in ninth, holding off Diogo Moreira by a mere 0.027 seconds.

Raúl Fernández, who started second on the grid, suffered a contrasting fate in the sprint. The Trackhouse rider bogged down at the start, dropping to sixth before crashing out of contention.

MotoGP action resumes at Silverstone on Sunday (9) for the British Grand Prix, round 12 of the 2026 season. GRANDE PRÊMIO will cover all the action throughout the weekend alongside the support categories in the World Championship.

Jorge Martín dominated Saturday’s proceedings at Silverstone (Photo: Michelin)

How the MotoGP sprint unfolded at Silverstone:

Bright sunshine and pleasant temperatures greeted the field at the British venue, with ambient temperatures at 25°C, track temperatures reaching 41°C, light 5 km/h winds, and 34% humidity. The entire grid opted for the hard front tire option, while the vast majority chose the soft rear—Iker Lecuona, Jack Miller, and Brad Binder were the sole exceptions, opting for the medium.

At the lights, Jorge Martín got off to a clean launch to hold the lead, followed by Ai Ogura, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Marc Márquez, and Marco Bezzecchi. Raúl Fernández struggled off the line, tumbling from second to sixth within the first few meters.

Raúl Fernández crashes on Lap 4 of the Silverstone Sprint (Video: MotoGP)

The first casualty of the day was wild-card entrant Cal Crutchlow, who crashed at Turn 4 but quickly rejoined the race. Shortly after, Iker Lecuona fell, squandering a promising opportunity for points on his MotoGP return.

Out front, Martín began pulling clear, establishing a 0.4-second cushion over Ogura. Meanwhile, Diogo Moreira held 12th position at Silverstone, running just behind Fabio Quartararo.

By Lap 4, Bezzecchi found himself under intense pressure from Álex Márquez and Pedro Acosta, though he managed to hold on to fifth place. Disasters struck further back as Raúl Fernández lost the front end unassisted at Turn 4, sliding off into the runoff; despite rejoining in 21st, he ultimately pulled into the pits to retire.

Marco Bezzecchi pulls off a superb overtake on Marc Márquez on Lap 5 (Video: MotoGP)

On Lap 5, Martín upped the pace, posting a 1m57.607s flyer to record the fastest lap of the race and push his advantage over Ogura to 0.8 seconds. The Japanese rider came under pressure from Di Giannantonio but quickly repelled the attack.

Still on Lap 5, Bezzecchi capitalized on a minor error from Marc Márquez to pounce for fourth. At the same time, Fernández brought his machine into the garage to officially abandon the race.

Position changes inside the top 10 remained frantic. Álex Márquez applied pressure on his brother Marc, diving down the inside along the old pit straight to claim fifth place. Moments later, Bezzecchi picked off Di Giannantonio to take third, forming an all-Aprilia lockout on the podium positions.

As the race neared its conclusion, Martín unleashed another surge of pace to open a 1.4-second margin over Ogura. Bezzecchi also broke away from Di Giannantonio, opening up nearly a two-second gap to his compatriot.

Marc Márquez’s struggles deepened on the penultimate lap. The Spaniard was overtaken first by Pedro Acosta and then by Joan Mir just meters later, dropping to eighth. Moreira, running tenth, launched a late bid for the final sprint point.

With his rear tire rapidly fading, Marc Márquez was ultimately passed by Franco Morbidelli on the final lap. However, he managed to narrowly hold off Moreira at the line to secure the single remaining point.

Unbothered out front, Martín cruised across the finish line to complete a lights-to-flag victory, finishing 1.5 seconds clear of Ogura, with Bezzecchi rounding out the sprint podium in third.

MotoGP 2026: British GP Sprint Race results

POSDriverTeamDiff
1J MARTÍNAprilia10 voltas
2A OGURATrackhouse+1.530
3M BEZZECCHIAprilia+3.974
4A MÁRQUEZGresini+6.956
5F DI GIANNANTONIOVR46 Ducati+8.651
6P ACOSTAKTM+10.745
7J MIRHonda+10.826
8F MORBIDELLIVR46 Ducati+12.539
9M MÁRQUEZDucati+13.965
10D MOREIRALCR Honda+13.992
11B BINDERKTM+14.142
12L MARINIHonda+14.344
13J MILLERPramac Yamaha+14.540
14F QUARTARAROYamaha+15.213
15E BASTIANINITech3 KTM+16.892
16A RINSYamaha+20.194
17F BAGNAIADucati+23.722
18P ESPARGARÓTech3 KTM+24.380
19A FERNANDEZYamaha+27.593
20T RAZGATLIOGLUPramac Yamaha+34.332
NCR FERNÁNDEZTrackhouseDNF
NCC CRUTCHLOWLCR HondaDNF
NCI LECUONAGresiniDNF