Jorge Martín won the Sprint race of the Austrian Grand Prix this Saturday (the 19th), the 15th round of the 2026 MotoGP season, held at the Red Bull Ring. The Aprilia rider started from pole position, even dropping to seventh in the early meters, but he regrouped and watched Pedro Acosta, who led almost the entire event, crash with three laps remaining as they completed the 14th lap, thus securing the victory.
The runner-up was Marc Márquez, who struggled with Ducati pace throughout the race, finishing just under a second behind Martín. Marco Bezzecchi, aboard the other factory Aprilia, took third place, followed by Ai Ogura in fourth on a Trackhouse Aprilia. The top five was completed by Álex Márquez on a Gresini Ducati.
Francesco Bagnaia completed the race in sixth place for Ducati, with Johann Zarco of LCR Honda finishing seventh. Fermín Aldeguer, on a Gresini Ducati, crossed the line in eighth, while Brad Binder on a KTM filled the points zone in ninth. The top ten also featured Fabio Di Giannantonio on a VR46 Ducati.
Diogo Moreira endured a tough morning at the Red Bull Ring. Starting from 16th on the grid, the LCR Honda rider was handed a long-double penalty for a jump start and finished the race in the same position, outside the points.
With the Sprint result, Martín regains the championship lead with 286 points, ahead of Márquez on 283. Bezzecchi sits third with 248, followed by Di Giannantonio on 223. Ogura and Acosta are tied in the fifth with 209 points each. Moreira sits 14th with 64 points.
The Austrian MotoGP will take place this Sunday (20), with the start scheduled for 9:00 local time.
See how the race unfolded
The race began with Jorge Martín holding the lead in the opening meters, but he was overtaken by Marc Márquez shortly after. The two were soon eclipsed by Pedro Acosta, who took the lead, followed by the Spaniard on a Ducati and Marco Bezzecchi. Ai Ogura and Francesco Bagnaia completed the top five, with Martín slipping to seventh. Diogo Moreira finished the first lap in 15th.
Acosta pulled away by eight tenths of a second by the second lap, while Martín was warned for track limits. The Aprilia rider then started to climb back through the pack, passing Bagnaia and Ogura, who had earlier been overtaken by Álex Márquez, returning to the top five. Raúl Fernández and Diogo Moreira were penalized with a double long-lap for a jump start.
On the fifth lap, Martín overtook Álex Márquez, moving up to fourth. Ogura, in turn, received a long-lap penalty for track limits. At the front, Acosta continued to extend his lead, reaching 1.8 seconds by lap 6. Additionally, the Ducati rider came under pressure from Bezzecchi and Martín, who passed his teammate at the start of lap seven.
Martín launched his attack on Márquez, making the pass at the opening of lap eight and moving into second place, 2.5 seconds behind Acosta, the race leader. The reigning champion Márquez was then pressured by Bezzecchi for third. With four laps to go, Ogura overtook Álex Márquez to take fifth.
With 11 laps to go, Franco Morbidelli crashed the VR46 Ducati in turn 2, ending his run in the weekend’s sprint. The following lap, Acosta crashed in turn 2 while holding a 2.4-second advantage over second place. Martín took the lead, with some margin over Márquez.
The race reached the final lap and Martín pressed on to secure the victory, followed by Márquez and Bezzecchi. Moreira finished the event in 17th place.
