- Alex Marquez wins the 2026 Spanish MotoGP on the Gresini Ducati in commanding fashion
- World champion Marc Marquez crashes in Turn 11 but escapes uninjured
- Bezzecchi’s streak of five consecutive Grand Prix victories comes to an end
The fourth round of the 2026 MotoGP season at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto ended with a victory for Alex Marquez on the Gresini Ducati. The 30-year-old Spaniard repeated his previous year’s success and claimed his first win of the 2026 season. Under dry and sunny conditions, around 96,500 fans watched the 25-lap race in which all riders opted for medium tyres front and rear.
Marc Marquez leads briefly before crashing out
Starting from pole position, reigning world champion Marc Marquez got away strongly on his Lenovo Ducati and immediately took the lead. Behind him, the field reshuffled during the opening lap. Marco Bezzecchi on the Aprilia initially moved into second place but was overtaken by Alex Marquez at the Angel Nieto corner before the first lap was complete. Jorge Martin also delivered a remarkable opening lap, fighting his way up from tenth on the grid to fourth despite a three-place grid penalty for impeding Alex Marquez in practice.
On lap two, Alex Marquez then took the lead by outbraking his brother at the Dani Pedrosa corner. Shortly afterwards came the decisive moment of the race: Marc Marquez lost the front end in the fast right-hander at Turn 11. His Ducati GP26 tumbled multiple times through the gravel trap. The seven-time world champion was fortunately uninjured and able to stand up immediately, but his race was over after less than three complete laps.
Alex Marquez cruises to a commanding victory
With the world champion out of the race, Alex Marquez led from Bezzecchi, Martin and Di Giannantonio. The latter grabbed third place from Martin at the Pedrosa corner on lap four. In the early stages, Bezzecchi stayed close to the leader with a gap of just half a second. But from lap eight onwards, the Gresini rider upped his pace and steadily extended his advantage.
“It’s hard to put this into words,” said Alex Marquez after the race. “We had a difficult start to the season, but this weekend has given us new momentum.” His rhythm had been good right to the end, consistently in the 1:37 range. By mid-race, his lead over Bezzecchi had grown to two seconds, and it stayed that way until the chequered flag.
Double DNF for the Ducati factory team
Sunday turned into a disaster for the Ducati Lenovo Team. After Marc Marquez had already crashed out in the early stages, teammate Francesco Bagnaia was struck by misfortune in lap 13. The two-time world champion suddenly slowed, dropped from ninth to last and was forced to retire to the garage with a technical issue. The factory squad from Borgo Panigale has now gone nine consecutive Grands Prix without a podium finish.
Bezzecchi’s winning streak ends, but Aprilia remains strong
Marco Bezzecchi had a much better hand to play on Sunday following his Sprint crash on Saturday, but could not match the pace of Alex Marquez. His deficit grew steadily throughout the race. The Italian nevertheless secured second place and extended his championship lead, as teammate Jorge Martin could only manage fourth.
“After yesterday, it was important to have a good race today, especially because we had certain problems throughout the weekend,” Bezzecchi explained. “Alex was simply too fast for me today. Congratulations to him, he deserved it.”
This brought an end to Bezzecchi’s impressive run of five consecutive Grand Prix victories stretching back to Portimão 2025. At the same time, after 121 consecutive laps of leading GP races, a different rider was waved across the line first for the first time. It was also the first Ducati Grand Prix victory since Alex Marquez’s triumph in Malaysia last October.
Fabio Di Giannantonio took third place on the VR46 Ducati, claiming his second podium of the season after a third-place finish in Brazil. “Of course I have to be happy. For the first time we are this competitive here in Jerez,” said the Italian. “But I think we left something on the table with the setup.”
Four Aprilias in the top six
Behind Martin in fourth, the two Trackhouse Aprilia riders Ai Ogura and Raul Fernandez battled for fifth and sixth in a duel that was only decided on the final lap. Ogura overtook his teammate at the Pedrosa corner to secure fifth place. All four Aprilias finished in the top six, even though the victory went to Ducati.
Johann Zarco on the LCR Honda, who had started from the front row on Saturday, crossed the line in seventh. Behind him came Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM) in eighth, Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) in ninth and Pedro Acosta (KTM) in tenth. Acosta had made contact with Raul Fernandez in the early stages, losing parts of his aerodynamic package, which compromised his pace for the remainder of the race.
Championship points and retirements
Positions eleven through fifteen went to Brad Binder (KTM), Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati), Luca Marini (Honda), Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) and Joan Mir (Honda). Mir had to serve a double long-lap penalty during the race after ignoring the black-and-orange flag during Saturday’s practice. Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pramac Yamaha) also served a long-lap penalty for his collision with Lorenzo Savadori in the Sprint. The Superbike world champion finished only 19th. Savadori himself retired from the race as a result of that same collision, joining Marc Marquez and Bagnaia as the third retirement.
Championship standings after the Spanish GP
In the riders’ championship, Marco Bezzecchi remains at the top after four of 22 races despite the end of his winning streak. The Italian actually extended his lead through his second-place finish on Sunday, as teammate Jorge Martin collected fewer points in fourth. Marc Marquez now trails Bezzecchi by 44 championship points following his pointless Sunday. For Alex Marquez, the victory was an important step after a difficult start to the season with the Gresini team.
The next Grand Prix takes place on 10 May at the legendary Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans, where Johann Zarco won his home Grand Prix last year.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Who won the 2026 MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez?
Alex Marquez won the race on the Gresini Ducati. The 30-year-old Spaniard led for 24 of the 25 laps and repeated his previous year’s success at the Circuito de Jerez.
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What happened to Marc Marquez during the race?
Reigning world champion Marc Marquez crashed in Turn 11 on lap three after losing the front end of his Ducati GP26. The motorcycle tumbled through the gravel trap multiple times, but Marquez was uninjured. His race was over after less than three complete laps.
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How did the crash affect the championship standings?
Marco Bezzecchi retained the championship lead despite finishing second, as his closest rival Jorge Martin could only manage fourth. Marc Marquez now trails Bezzecchi by 44 points after his pointless result at the Spanish GP.
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When and where is the next MotoGP race?
The next Grand Prix takes place on 10 May 2026 at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans, France. It will be the fifth round of the 2026 MotoGP season.
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