Raúl Fernández won this Saturday (the 30th) the Sprint at the Italian Grand Prix, the seventh round of the 2026 MotoGP season. The Trackhouse rider, the satellite team of Aprilia, took the lead of the race at Mugello still in the first of 11 laps, and remained at the front throughout the entire event, securing first place in the weekend’s shortest race.
The second position went to Jorge Martín, an Aprilia rider who stayed consistently less than a second behind Fernández, without managing to attempt a pass. Fabio Di Giannantonio crossed the finish line in third with a VR46 Ducati, followed by Marco Bezzecchi, fourth on an Aprilia after starting from pole position. Marc Márquez, on a Ducati, finished fifth.
Fermín Aldeguer, on a Gresini Ducati, closed the contest in sixth place, just ahead of Francesco Bagnaia, seventh on a Ducati. Ai Ogura, aboard a Trackhouse Aprilia, finished eighth after overtaking Pedro Acosta on the final lap, leaving the Spanish KTM rider in ninth and inside the points.
Diogo Moreira, the sole Brazilian on the MotoGP grid, put in a solid ride. The LCR Honda rider started eighth and moved to third in the early meters, maintaining that position for a few laps. With a package not as strong as his rivals, the rider of bike number 11 lost performance and finished the race in tenth.
The Italian MotoGP Grand Prix will be contested this Sunday (30), with a start scheduled for 9:00.
See how the Sprint unfolded
The weekend’s short race began with Marc Márquez grabbing the first position in the opening meters, followed by Raúl Fernández and Diogo Moreira. Soon after, Fernández took the lead, with Jorge Martín and the Brazilian in pursuit, while Márquez dropped to fourth, and Fabio Di Giannantonio appeared in fifth.
From the end of the first lap, Di Giannantonio and Márquez began exchanging overtakes, with the VR46 Italian coming out on top. Fernández, in the lead, began to face pressure from Martín, while Moreira also started to have his third-place position threatened by Di Giannantonio. Marco Bezzecchi returned to the top-5 by overtaking Márquez on the third lap.
Di Giannantonio managed to overtake Moreira still on the third lap, relegating the Brazilian to fourth place. The Italian, however, was already about 1.5 seconds behind the leaders. Further back, Fermín Aldeguer, in seventh, held a peloton that still included Enea Bastianini and Pedro Acosta, both KTM riders.
Fernández opened a seven-tenths of a second lead over Martín, maintaining the lead, while Bezzecchi overtook Moreira to advance to fourth place by the end of the fourth lap. The Brazilian was also warned for exceeding track limits. In the following lap, Bastianini crashed at Mugello’s Turn 10, abandoning the race.
Franco Morbidelli was another rider to crash during the race, also at Turn 10, on the sixth lap. Moreira continued to be pressured by the rivals, this time by Márquez, who aimed to reach the top-5. The reigning champion’s overtake came on the seventh lap. In front, Fernández began to see Martín closing in, albeit slowly, on the eighth lap.
Joan Mir retired due to problems with the Honda, while Aldeguer overtook Moreira, taking sixth place. The Brazilian was soon overtaken by Acosta, Bagnaia, and Ai Ogura, dropping to tenth with two laps to go.
Fernández went on to win the Sprint, followed by Martín and Di Giannantonio. In the mid-pack, there was still time for Ogura to overtake Acosta to finish eighth. Diogo Moreira finished the race in tenth.
