Marco Bezzecchi won the Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix this Sunday (the 8th), at the Lusail circuit, but it was Marc Márquez who took another major step toward the 2026 world title. The Aprilia rider led the race from start to finish and claimed his 12th victory in the category, while the Spanish rider on the Ducati finished second and widened his lead in the standings to 60 points, with 74 still up for grabs.
With the result, Márquez could mathematically secure his eighth MotoGP world title as early as the Sprint of the Portugal GP. To do so, he only needs to win the short race in Portimão, regardless of his rivals’ results. Bezzecchi and Jorge Martín remain in the championship fight, but they will need a favorable combination of results in the remaining rounds.
The victory marked a significant comeback for Bezzecchi, who had crashed in Saturday’s Sprint. From pole position, the Italian held the lead into the first turn and quickly began to build a gap over his rivals. Raúl Fernández, from Trackhouse Aprilia, moved into second place after overtaking Márquez in the opening laps.
The battle for second place intensified in the latter half of the race. After briefly losing third to Pedro Acosta, Márquez regained the position and started closing the gap to Fernández. On lap 14, he posted the fastest lap of the race, 1:52.558, nearly eight tenths faster than Bezzecchi at that moment.
With four laps to go, Márquez was already pressuring Fernández and managed to take second place exiting the last corner, adding four more points to the title battle. Bezzecchi, for his part, managed the lead and started the final lap with a 3.6-second cushion, sealing a victory that keeps his mathematical title chances alive.
Fernández completed the podium despite competing with two broken fingers on his right hand, earning his sixth podium in premier-class races this season. Ai Ogura finished fourth, just 1.2 seconds behind his teammate, followed by Enea Bastianini and Pedro Acosta, who faced tire-pressure issues.
Jorge Martín also delivered a commendable physical comeback. Only two weeks after fracturing his wrist in Australia, the Aprilia rider finished seventh, collecting nine valuable points to stay in title contention. Fabio Di Giannantonio, Johann Zarco and Iker Lecuona completed the top ten.
Among the other riders, Jake Dixon scored his first MotoGP points by finishing 14th, while Diogo Moreira and Brad Binder retired due to problems during the race.
The title battle now moves to the Portuguese GP, the penultimate round of the season. Márquez arrives in Portimão with the possibility of ending the title fight as early as the Sprint, while Martín and Bezzecchi will need to prevent the Spaniard’s early clinch to keep their hopes alive until the final round.
