Aprilia four-way win in Mandalika: Bezzecchi wins, Martin back in the lead

• Bezzecchi wins by 4.260 seconds ahead of Raul Fernandez, who rode with two broken fingers on his right hand
• Martin and Ai Ogura complete the Aprilia 1-2-3-4, Marc Marquez finishes sixth
• Championship standings: Martin 355 points, Marquez 353 points, Bezzecchi 309 points

One day after the Sprint, in which the two fastest Aprilia riders had already taken each other out in the first corner, Bezzecchi and Fernandez fought a duel over almost the entire 27-lap distance in Mandalika on Sunday. Fernandez led the race for a long time, even though his injury meant he could not brake normally. On lap 19, Bezzecchi went past at Turn 1 and then built a safe lead. For the Italian, it is his fifth win of the season and his first since the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello at the end of May. It is also the 300th win by an Italian rider in the premier class. With the Indonesian Grand Prix, the 17th of 22 rounds of the 2026 MotoGP season is complete, and the title fight remains as close as it has rarely been.

How did the start of the MotoGP race in Mandalika go?

Raul Fernandez got away well from his first MotoGP pole, but initially had to let Marco Bezzecchi through at Turn 1. The Italian braked very late, ran slightly wide of the racing line, and Fernandez immediately took the lead back.

This time both made it cleanly through the first corner. Marc Marquez made a quick start and initially ran third. Jorge Martin, on the other hand, got away badly from fifth on the grid and dropped to sixth on the first lap, behind Fermin Aldeguer and Fabio Di Giannantonio.

Martin quickly worked his way back up. First he passed Di Giannantonio, then he benefited from Aldeguer’s crash. Last year’s Mandalika winner had started well and fought his way up to fourth, but slid off under braking for Turn 16 at the end of the second lap. It was already Aldeguer’s fourth crash of the weekend.

On the third lap, Martin was right behind his title rival. In the slow right-hander at Turn 10, he went up the inside of Marquez without the Ducati rider being able to defend. Marquez struggled above all in the second sector, where several fast right-handers follow one another. There, the Aprilia was able to carry more corner speed and get on the throttle earlier.

The race took place in intense heat. The asphalt reached 62 degrees Celsius in places, and once again a record crowd created a great atmosphere in the grandstands.

When did Bezzecchi take the lead from Fernandez?

Bezzecchi passed Fernandez under braking for Turn 1 on lap 19 of 27. Until then, he had waited behind the Trackhouse rider for more than half of the race.

Fernandez had pulled out a lead of almost one second after the start. From the ninth lap, Bezzecchi closed in again and cut the gap to around half a second. After that, the two traded fast laps. Whenever Bezzecchi was quicker on one lap, Fernandez responded on the next. Bezzecchi set the first lap under 1:30 minutes with a 1:29.991.

The Italian took his time. Anyone who follows another bike too closely risks the front tyre getting too hot and the pressure rising too much. Bezzecchi therefore repeatedly dropped back a few tenths. He used the first sector with the heavy braking zones at Turn 1 and Turn 10 to gain time on Fernandez, because that is exactly where the injured Spaniard suffered most.

After the overtake, Bezzecchi pulled away immediately. With a clear track ahead, he lapped in 1:29.960 and was quickly more than one and a half seconds ahead. At the finish the gap was 4.260 seconds. For Aprilia, it was the first Grand Prix win since the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in early August.

How did Raul Fernandez ride with two broken fingers?

Fernandez had to brake differently than usual for the entire race. Because his right index finger was broken, he operated the front brake with his middle finger.

The injury came from the Sprint on Saturday. Fernandez had started from pole for the first time in MotoGP, with Bezzecchi right next to him. Four riders arrived side by side at the first corner because Marc Marquez and Fabio Di Giannantonio dived up the inside on their Ducatis. Bezzecchi had to correct his line, made contact with Fernandez, and both Aprilias ended up in the gravel. Fernandez afterwards accused Bezzecchi of riding unprofessionally, saying he had only thought about getting to the braking point ahead of him. Bezzecchi, on the other hand, spoke of a normal racing incident: “Just a racing incident.”

After the race on Sunday, Fernandez said he had already seen in the gravel that the finger he normally brakes with was broken. On Sunday morning he then realised that two fingers were actually broken. He initially told no one so that he could fully concentrate on the race. In the warm-up he therefore had to start from zero: setup, braking points and the feel for the front brake. He completed only six laps in the warm-up and ended up 0.043 seconds behind Bezzecchi. After the session, he is said to have still been gesturing angrily towards Bezzecchi in the start practice area.

In the race, Fernandez said he quickly felt comfortable, but in his own assessment made too many mistakes. He ran wide in too many corners and wore out his rear tyre early as a result. After that, it was only about getting to the finish: “the last final lap, I was completely done”.

Right after crossing the line, Fernandez took off his glove, revealing his heavily taped fingers. At the podium ceremony he lifted the trophy with his left hand. In parc fermé, Bezzecchi and Fernandez embraced, and Martin paid his teammate respect with a gesture. In MotoGP, Fernandez has won two races so far: Phillip Island 2025 and Silverstone 2026.

Why did Acosta and Marquez let each other past?

Pedro Acosta and Marc Marquez had problems with front tyre pressure. A rider leading or riding alone loses pressure in the front tyre, so both deliberately let themselves be overtaken several times in order to build pressure back up in the slipstream.

The rule is strict: in the Grand Prix, the front tyre must maintain a pressure of 1.80 bar for at least 60 percent of the distance. Anyone who fails to do so receives a 16-second time penalty after the race. Giving up a position voluntarily is the lesser evil. All riders ran the soft tyre at the front and the medium at the rear.

Acosta had come from far back and passed Marquez in the second sector, where the Ducati was weak. After that he led the group, and his front tyre no longer received any warm air. On lap 13 he looked around and let Marquez through. Marquez saw through the game and gave the position back shortly afterwards so that Acosta had to ride at the front again. This was repeated several times. Only when Acosta was sure he no longer risked a penalty did he attack Marquez properly again and go past on the inside.

With every swap of positions, the virtual championship lead also changed between Martin and Marquez. They were not the only ones with this problem: already in the Sprint on Saturday, Martin, while leading, had to let Marquez through because his tyre pressure was too low. Marquez thus won the Sprint and took over the championship lead for one day.

Ogura completes the Aprilia four-way victory

The back and forth between Acosta and Marquez brought Ai Ogura back into play. The Japanese rider had started from seventh on the grid and initially fought a long duel with Alex Marquez. In the closing stages he caught up with the group ahead.

First Ogura grabbed Marc Marquez, and shortly before the end he also passed Acosta. The KTM rider tried to counter once more, but Ogura held the inside line in the final corner. At the finish he was 0.114 seconds ahead of Acosta. For the first time in Aprilia’s history, four RS-GPs took the top four places in a Grand Prix. The brand had already celebrated 1-2-3 finishes this season at Le Mans and Silverstone.

Ogura had recently missed several races after a broken thumb. Despite finishing fifth, Acosta remained the best KTM rider by 12 seconds.

For Marc Marquez, sixth place was still a small success. It was the first time ever that he had finished a Sunday Grand Prix in Mandalika. Last year, his season there had ended on the first lap after a collision with Bezzecchi at Turn 7. On Sunday he secured ten important championship points.

Which riders retired in Mandalika?

Besides Fermin Aldeguer, Jack Miller and Francesco Bagnaia also crashed, while Toprak Razgatlioglu retired from the race. Aleix Espargaro did not start at all.

Jack Miller slid off his Pramac Yamaha under braking for Turn 2; it was not his first crash of the weekend. Francesco Bagnaia crashed at Turn 17, the same spot as last year.

Toprak Razgatlioglu had dislocated his right shoulder in a highside at Turn 13 on Saturday. On top of that came a penalty: because he rode slowly on the racing line in the warm-up and impeded Bezzecchi at Turn 16, he was moved back three places on the grid. As it was his second offence of this kind this season, there was no warning. Because he had only qualified 19th and Espargaro was absent, he only dropped two places and started last. After a few laps he came into the pits because of the pain in his shoulder and retired.

Honda replacement rider Aleix Espargaro withdrew on Sunday morning because he had physical complaints after his first MotoGP outing since his serious back injuries. As a result, only 21 riders took the start.

What does the result mean for the championship?

Jorge Martin leads the championship again with 355 points ahead of Marc Marquez with 353 points. Marco Bezzecchi is third with 309 points, 46 points behind.

Before the race, Marquez was four points ahead of Martin after his Sprint win. Martin scored 16 points for third, Marquez ten for sixth. The two therefore leave Mandalika with exactly the same gap they arrived with. After the race, Martin felt he had been at the limit: “I think I did the maximum.” Bezzecchi and Fernandez had been a little stronger all weekend, he said: “every time I match them, they were making another step.” In the last two laps he struggled with his tyres and his physical condition. According to him, it was his third podium in a row.

For Bezzecchi, the win was a must. Before the race he was 59 points behind Marquez; his zero in the Sprint had increased his deficit considerably. Aprilia Racing CEO Massimo Rivola made clear after the race what that means for him: “Or you win all the races, or you’re out.” Despite the four-way victory, Rivola was also self-critical, because Aprilia had thrown away too many points in the Sprint.

Bezzecchi started the season with three wins in the first three Grands Prix and then took his fourth at Mugello. A difficult phase followed. In a heavy crash in qualifying at the Sachsenring, he broke his collarbone and suffered a deep wound to his left knee. At the Czech Grand Prix in Brno he was banned from Sunday’s race because he had hit a marshal after his Sprint crash. After the win in Mandalika, Bezzecchi said that this very victory had been his goal since his injuries at the Sachsenring. He dedicated it above all to his team, who had stood by him through the hard times.

With this success, Bezzecchi now has eleven MotoGP wins at eleven different tracks. Of the 300 wins by Italian riders in the premier class, 89 belong to Valentino Rossi, who now accompanies Bezzecchi as manager and mentor.

What comes next after Mandalika?

The next race takes place in two weeks at Phillip Island in Australia. It is the last Australian Grand Prix at the circuit on the south coast.

Phillip Island has recently been a good track for Aprilia. Fernandez celebrated his first MotoGP win there last year, and Bezzecchi won the Sprint. After Australia, four more races remain, with the season finale at the end of November in Valencia. With only two points between Martin and Marquez and Bezzecchi as a third rider with title chances, the decision is likely to come late.

Result of the MotoGP race in Mandalika at a glance

Marco Bezzecchi won in 40:46.582 minutes ahead of Raul Fernandez (+4.260 seconds), Jorge Martin (+6.890 seconds) and Ai Ogura (+9.378 seconds). They were followed by Pedro Acosta (+9.492 seconds), Marc Marquez (+10.778 seconds), Alex Marquez as the best Gresini rider and Fabio Di Giannantonio, who dropped from the front row to eighth. Fabio Quartararo was ninth as the best Yamaha rider, and Enea Bastianini completed the top 10.

The remaining points went to Brad Binder in eleventh, Luca Marini as the best Honda rider in twelfth, Johann Zarco in 13th, Franco Morbidelli in 14th and Alex Rins in 15th. Diogo Moreira was 16th, Maverick Viñales 17th. Viñales is under investigation for tyre pressure, but this is not expected to change his position. Aldeguer, Miller, Bagnaia and Razgatlioglu did not finish.

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