Marc Márquez won this Saturday (24) the Sprint of the Australian GP, the 18th round of the 2026 MotoGP season. In one of the most thrilling races at Phillip Island Circuit, the Ducati rider engaged in a fierce duel with Jorge Martín, the Aprilia rider who crashed on the eighth of thirteen laps, and then went on to win, returning to the lead in the championship standings.
The second place went to Álex Márquez, riding a Gresini Ducati that finished 0.323 seconds behind the sprint winner. The podium also featured Fabio Di Giannantonio, third with another Ducati, this time for VR46. Marco Bezzecchi completed the top four with an Aprilia, while Pedro Acosta, on a KTM, finished fifth.
Ai Ogura brought the Trackhouse Aprilia to sixth place at the finish after 13 laps, ahead of Brad Binder, seventh on a KTM. Jack Miller ended the race in eighth aboard a Pramac Yamaha. The points zone also included Diogo Moreira from LCR Honda. Iker Lecuona was tenth with the Gresini Ducati, after being overtaken by the Brazilian on the final lap.
After the Sprint, the Australian MotoGP GP main race takes place on Sunday (25), with a start at midnight.
Here’s how the Sprint unfolded
The race began with Marc Márquez maintaining the lead, followed by Jorge Martín who jumped to second place in the opening meters. Johann Zarco appeared in third, followed by Álex Márquez, who dropped to fourth after starting second. Jack Miller was fifth. Diogo Moreira advanced from tenth to seventh and Marco Bezzecchi dropped to 12th.
While Márquez and Martín dueled for the lead, Álex Márquez recovered to third place on the second lap. Moreira, for his part, dropped from seventh to Brad Binder, while Bezzecchi climbed two positions and appeared in the top 10. Still in the second lap, Álex Márquez took second place from Martín, who retook the position on the following lap.
In turn 4 during the third lap, Martín attempted to overtake Márquez, but saw his rival block and stay in first place. A few corners later, the Aprilia rider took the lead, while Pedro Acosta advanced to third by overtaking Álex Márquez. Zarco closed the top five, while Moreira remained in tenth.
Zarco saw his LCR Honda develop issues and drop out of contention for points, while Francesco Bagnaia went to the pits with the Ducati. In the lead group, Álex Márquez passed Acosta to reclaim third, while in front Martín made a mistake and Márquez regained the top spot on lap five.
Martín used the Aprilia’s best speed on the straight to reclaim the lead at the start of lap 6, but shortly after opened his pace and saw the defending champion return to the first position. Further back, Di Giannantonio overtook Acosta to take fourth, while Álex Márquez began to run faster than the race leaders.
On lap eight, Martín again tried to pass, but Márquez defended both at turn 1 and turn 4. At turn 8, Martín crashed out, leaving the race. Álex Márquez moved up to second, followed by Di Giannantonio. The Spanish rider from Aprilia left the crash site on a stretcher. Bezzecchi overtook Acosta and took fourth place.
Raúl Fernández went to the pits with a painful hand from the Indonesia crash, ending his race. With four laps remaining, Márquez watched Álex very closely as they prepared for a possible duel for the lead, but Di Giannantonio and Bezzecchi also closed the gap to the leaders. Moreira sat in tenth, near Iker Lecuona, who was ninth.
The race entered the final two laps with the four leaders separated by less than 1.5 seconds. Márquez, however, remained in front to win the race, followed by his brother Álex Márquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio. Moreira finished ninth after overtaking Lecuona on the final lap.
