#JapaneseGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE – Bastianini P4
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Marc Marquez wins dramatic Motegi Sprint as Moreira shines for first Saturday podium
Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) took off running at the front in the Tissot Sprint at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, and championship leader Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) kept chase in the first half before looking like he was forced to settle for second. Some late drama, however, saw the #89 fade into the clutches of a three-way battle for third – and then both he and Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) got hit with a drop one position penalty for track limits on the final lap. Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) therefore takes his first Sprint podium and becomes the first Brazilian to take a Saturday rostrum in P2, with Martin relegated to third.
LIGHTS OUT IN JAPAN
Marc Marquez just about grabbed the holeshot as Martin tried to keep it in there round the outside, but the #89 was forced to cede. Drama then hit early at Turn 3 just behind, with Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) making contact with both Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Fabio Di Gianannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), and all three tumbling out. Riders ok, and Alex Marquez given a double Long Lap penalty for Sunday for his part in the incident.
That left Marquez leading from Martin, the two locked together, with Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) trying to hold off Bastianini for third. The #93 had the hammer down in the lead, however, and the gap started to eke out between the duo at the head of the field as the battle began behind.
ELBOWS OUT IN THE PODIUM FIGHT
Bastianini wrestled past Bez on Lap 3, then more cavalry arrived in home hero Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and Moreira. The three got their elbows out in close quarters but it was the Brazilian rider who made the most of it to get a 2-for-1 and move up into fourth, leaving Ogura to then attack Bezzecchi and take over in fourth.
At the front by half distance it was as you were – but the gap wasn’t growing. Hovering around a second, Marquez had it under control ahead of Martin, and Bastianini was carving out some breathing space in third. Lap by lap though, the #93 was making a break for it.
LATE DRAMA HITS IN THE ROSTRUM SHUFFLE
In the final stages it looked like the podium was set, but there was plenty of drama to come. The gap up from Bastianini to Martin was suddenly down to near zero as Martin started to struggle with rear grip, and Moreira was on the #23’s tail too. On track it stayed close to the line but no move was up for the making, but after the flag the drama continued – with track limits infractions on that final lap coming up for Martin AND Bastianini.
With that, a position each penalty was given – promoting Moreira up to a first ever Sprint podium for him and Brazil. Marquez takes the win, Moreira second and Martin holds into a place on the box in third – with Bastianini steaming at the lost silverware.
He takes fourth ahead of Ogura and Bezzecchi, with Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) staying ahead of Raul Fernandez (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) in P7 and P8. Fabio Quartararo scored the final point in P9 on home turf for the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP team, holding off Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP).
MOTOGP – RACE: Two points in it: Marc Marquez doubles up at Motegi to reel in Martin
The master of Motegi for the fourth time. And now, just two points away from the championship lead. The 2026 Motul Grand Prix of Japan delivered a scintillating double victory for Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), who battled past title rival Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) on Sunday afternoon to chop the standings lead back down to that ultra-slim margin ahead of a trip to Indonesia. It was the 2024 World Champion, Martin, who collected a vital 20 points to hold onto the title race lead, while teammate Marco Bezzecchi kept his cool under intense late pressure from a charging Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) to pick up a podium.
THE START
The hot pre-Grand Prix topic: hard rear Michelin, or medium? The answer, across the board, was the recommended hard rear option. Every rider in the same boat. An incredibly tough one to call with so little running on the hard rear option through the weekend. A journey into the unknown. A huge 24 laps ahead.
And soon enough, it was lights out time at the Mobility Resort Motegi. From pole, Martin grabbed the holeshot to keep Marc Marquez behind him, as Bezzecchi and Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) – who had to serve a double Long Lap penalty – picked off Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). The Austrian GP winner was shuffled down to P5 from the outside of the front row.
That was soon P8 on Lap 2 though as Bastianini, Raul Fernandez (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team), and the #25’s home hero teammate Ai Ogura demoted Acosta to the lower ends of the top 10.
MARTIN AND MARC MARQUEZ STRETCH CLEAR
Clicking onto Lap 5 of 24, 0.4s split Martin and Marc Marquez as both threw down 1:43.6s, with Bezzecchi 0.6s away from the tailpipes of the reigning World Champion. Alex Marquez took the first of his two Long Laps on Lap 5, which saw the #73 drop to P5, promoting Bastianini to P4, while his second completed Long Lap on Lap 7 dropped Alex Marquez to P9, one spot behind Tissot Sprint podium finisher Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR).
By Lap 10, Martin and Marc Marquez’s pace seemed too much to handle for Bezzecchi at this stage of the Grand Prix. 1.9s was now the gap between the top two in the title race and the Italian. The #89 and #93, winners of the 2024 and 2025 World Championships, traded fastest laps of the Grand Prix before the first move from Marquez came on Lap 11 at Turn 9.
MM93 MAKES HIS MOVE
A lunge up the inside, Marquez parked his Ducati on the apex to cement his move on Martin, as we now pondered what the response would be from Martin.
The immediate response was seeing the #93 edge his lead up to 0.8s by the start of Lap 15, with Bezzecchi and Bastianini now quicker than Martin. In fact, they were both quicker than Marquez too. 1.3s was the gap between Martin and Bezzecchi, while Bastianini sat 1.9s off third place.
The first time Martin notched up a lap quicker than Marquez in a while was on Lap 16. Just over a tenth was taken out of Marquez’s lead, 0.7s the gap now, and on the next lap it was marginally quicker again. 0.7s isn’t a realistic striking distance, but Martin was at least keeping the pressure on here in Japan.
FASTEST LAPS GALORE ON THE RUN TO THE FLAG
Pressure? What pressure? Responded Marc Marquez. A 1:43.291 was slammed in for the eight-time MotoGP World Champion to give himself an added slice of breathing room, and the advantage grew to 1.2s on the next lap.
It then came back down to 0.9s, as Bezzecchi and Bastianini fired in fastest laps of the race. Bastianini was 1.2s away from Bezzecchi’s rear Michelin, then a flat second, as Bastianini dropped another fastest lap. And then the hat-trick! Bezzecchi was quickly coming under increasing pressure from ‘The Beast’ as we entered the final lap of the Japanese Grand Prix.
Marquez led by 1.2s and was in a relatively comfortable position. So too was Martin. But it was anything but comfortable for Bezzecchi. Bastianini set a fourth consecutive fastest lap of the Grand Prix to reel in Bezzecchi, but it wasn’t quite enough.
Just two seconds up the road from the Italians, Marc Marquez completed the double in Japan to notch up his 79th victory. And after the disappointment of Austria, the reigning Champion responded on the soil where he clinched the 2025 title a year ago to close the gap to two points to second-place Martin, who picks up his sixth P2 of the year to limit the damage done. A successful weekend for the top two in the title race.
YOUR MOTEGI POINT SCORERS
Some seriously impressive late-race pace from Bastianini closes out a very good weekend for the Tech3 Italian, with the gap to fifth-place Fernandez, who won the ferocious fight for top-five honours between home favourite Ogura and Acosta, sitting at 12.4s.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) was 3.4s behind the Fernandez, Ogura, Acosta battle in P8, with Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Luca Marini for Honda HRC Castrol in their backyard completing the top 10.
The other points scorers in Japan? Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in P11, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) in P12, Somkiat Chantra (Honda HRC Castrol) in P13, the returning Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) in P14, and Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) in P15.
I’m very happy! I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time, to be able to ride like that. In Warm-Up it was a bit strange because we tried this hard rear tyre as well as the medium. The hard worked from the first lap so the choice was clear for the race. It was a complicated start as I lost a bit of time overtaking Pedro [Acosta], who wasn’t so fast in that moment. I saw Marc [Marquez], Jorge [Martin] and Marco [Bezzecchi] break clear. But from the middle of the race, I tried to push a bit more each lap. At the end I was faster than them but couldn’t pass. Anyway, I had an incredible feeling and saw the chance of a podium, which was a surprise. We found our speed again after working a lot from Spielberg, where Pedro [Acosta] was much faster than us. Now we’re back at the front, so let’s try and keep this going.
Enea Bastianini – P4
SATURDAY – I know it’s not ‘a real result’. Today I was lucky, but anyway, I’m super happy! A podium in MotoGP feels amazing. I felt really good on the bike today, and I gave it everything, following the flow of the track. On the last lap, I was there; with one more lap, I could have taken it. Then after crossing the line, I realised I was on the podium. For me, for the team and for Honda, this is very important. Thanks to everybody who made it possible!
SUNDAY – I didn’t expect the crash. I was feeling good and trying to manage everything, as we could have been fighting for a top-eight finish, but then I lost the front and crashed. This is part of racing, and in any case, we’ve had a very positive weekend. Now it’s time to head to Mandalika, a circuit that I really like. Let’s see!
Diogo Moreira – NC
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Japan.