2026 Hungarian GP Race Report

Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) returns to victory: he takes the Tissot Sprint title at the Hungarian Grand Prix at Balaton Park. He starts from pole and dominates from start to finish. He joins Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) on the podium, extending his lead over his closest rivals.

Opening stages:
Marquez gets off to a great start from pole, setting the pace early on, followed by Acosta. Championship leader Bezzecchi also gets off to a great start, overtaking Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) to move into third place. Further back, Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda) passes Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), who is hotly pursued by Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing).

Great pace for Marquez, but a scare for Aldeguer. 
As the laps pass, Marquez pulls away and closes in on Pedro Acosta by a second and a half. The battle for the final step of the podium pits Marco Bezzecchi and Fermin Aldeguer. Aldeguer closes in on 'Bez' but takes a huge risk in the chicane at Turns 9-10 and slips behind Raul Fernandez and Moreira. Further back, Francesco Bagnaia moves back into the points. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) climbs to tenth place after a forgettable start.

Final stages and top ten:
With five laps to go, Marquez's lead grows to two seconds. Pedro Acosta follows him, while the final spot on the podium is being fought over by Bezzecchi, Raul Fernandez, and Aldeguer. In the closing stages, the Rimini native pulls away slightly and takes third place ahead of the Spaniard's Aprilia, followed by Aldeguer. Sixth place goes to Martin, ahead of Diogo Moreira, Enea Bastianini, and Bagnaia. Fabio Di Giannantonio completes the top ten.

MOTOGP - RACE
Marc Marquez returns to victory in the Hungarian GP, Aprilias knocked out

Marc Marquez is back. And he did it in style. By winning the Hungarian Grand Prix after several months of fasting (partly forced), the 33-year-old Spaniard brought his win tally to 100 in the premier class, in the year Ducati celebrates its 100th anniversary. For the Borgo Panigale factory team, it's also the 100th win in the premier class.

But the result at Balaton Park, where the Spaniard also took pole position and won the Tissot Sprint gold, goes far beyond the numbers. Marquez hadn't been on the top step since last year's Misano GP, which was followed by a podium finish in Japan, where he mathematically clinched the 2025 title. At the following round, in Indonesia, he was knocked down by another rider and missed all remaining rounds of the season due to injury. Having returned in 2026, he had to contend with a shoulder that wasn't yet fully healed and a broken foot sustained at Le Mans. Having undergone surgery, he returned to action last week at Mugello and today completed yet another climb.

Acosta combative.
As expected after the closeness that emerged on Friday and Saturday, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) gave the seven-time premier class world champion a run for his money: the duel was heated, given the grit displayed by the two Spanish thoroughbreds. But other riders were surprising at the start.

Accident at the start
. A few meters after the start, Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) lost control of his RS-GP under braking and hurtled towards his rivals who had already set up the corner. He struck out, involving teammate Marco Bezzecchi, Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), Raul Fernandez (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team), and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), all of whom crashed.

The Roman rider restarted, while the others threw in the towel. Therefore, no points were scored on Sunday at Balaton for the top two in the overall standings.

Different Strategies
Attention then shifted to the leading pair, with Marquez ahead of Acosta. The two had different strategies: the Ducati rider, with a medium rear tire, knew he would be at his best after a few laps. The KTM ace, with a soft rear, was called upon to push straight away.

And so he did: the number 37 passed the reigning world champion on the second lap and attempted a breakaway, building up a lead of about a second.

A series of fast laps
On lap six, however, Márquez sounded the charge: he set the fastest time of the race and improved on it for two more laps in a row, sending a clear signal to Acosta. The number 37 reacted by lowering his lap further, but his closest pursuer didn't give up, hammering even harder.

Having caught up with his rival, Márquez launched his first attack on lap 14 of the scheduled 26, thus putting himself ahead. Acosta, however, responded immediately with an aggressive maneuver. A few corners later, an even more physical exchange ensued, in which they even touched. Acosta, tooth and nail, thus defended the lead.

On the attack
On lap 15, with the two stamped riders, Márquez launched another attack, this time successfully. From then on, there was nothing more Acosta could do, who gradually lost ground and crossed the finish line in second place.

A solitary and decidedly less eventful race for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), who finished third after a chaotic start and was never in doubt.

Ogura just missed the podium.
Behind the Italian was the usual Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team), who struggled on Saturday in qualifying and rebounded on Sunday. Starting tenth, he finished just shy of the podium, just like last week at Mugello.

Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) finished fifth, ahead of his teammate Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR), in his first season in the premier class.

The riders in the top ten:
Seventh place went to Iker Lecuona (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), replacing the injured Alex Marquez. The Spaniard, currently competing full-time in WorldSBK, finished ahead of Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3). The Rimini native, ninth despite two long laps, finished ahead of Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who finished tenth.

Di Giannantonio, who rejoined after a crash at the start, finished twelfth. He now sees Acosta closing in on him in the standings, moving within six points of him. The gap between Bezzecchi and Martin at the top, however, remains unchanged: the Spaniard trails by 20 points.

Diogo Moreira P6

“Today I tried to manage the situation as best I could, and I think we had a good race. Maybe we made the wrong tire choice, opting for the mediums, which weren't the ideal option. Nonetheless, we managed to finish in a good position and with a consistent pace. I'm proud of the work we did this weekend.”

Enea Bastianini P9

It was a strange race. When I saw the accident at Turn 1, I thought there might be a red flag. But we continued, and I was well-positioned, fighting for a good result. Then I arrived at Turn 1 without brakes because the bike was shaking coming out of the last corner. I went straight, and when I got back on the racing line, I saw Joan too late. There was contact, and I was given a long lap. After that, I tried to recover, but I cut the chicane. I lost the position to Toprak (Razgatlioglu) and tried to gain a second, but I probably didn't succeed. So, I had to do another long lap! After that, it was a crazy race, and it was very difficult to overtake the other riders in front. The grip was less than yesterday, and the wind changed during the race. When I was alone, my lap times were good, and that's important. I managed to overtake Brad at the last corner, taking ninth place. I'm not happy because today I didn't express my full potential, but we'll try again in Brno."

MOTO3
Quiles wins at Balaton Park, race ends with red flag

Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) returned to victory at Balaton Park and extended his lead at the top of the standings. In the Moto3™ race for the Hungarian Grand Prix, he finished ahead of poleman David Almansa (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who made a great start from the sixth row.

He started from pole and took the lead: Almansa had Quiles behind him on the first lap, while Guido Pini (Leopard Racing) crashed at Turn 2 after contact with Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP-MTA). At Turn 5, contact occurred between Ruche Moodley (CODE Motorsports) and Hakim Danish (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI). Moodley was out, but Danish was able to continue the race after a pit stop.

Almansa and Quiles led the way, while Valentin Perrone and his teammate Rico Salmela (Red Bull KTM Tech3) finished third and fourth. On lap four, Salmela moved into third place at Turn 5 and began chasing the top two. Behind the top four, Carpe and David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) made impressive comebacks, having started sixth and seventh, respectively. On lap seven, Quiles took the lead at Turn 9, with Salmela seven tenths behind. Lap nine proved decisive: Quiles set a 1:45.872, the fastest lap of the race, while Almansa lapped three tenths slower after a mistake at Turn 5.

Almansa tried to stay in touch with Quiles, with his pursuers over three seconds behind. Perrone was third ahead of Salmela, Muñoz, and Carpe. In the lead at the end of lap 12, Almansa set another fastest lap. Carpe moved into the podium after starting 18th.

With five laps to go, Quiles had a commanding lead of over a second over Almansa, while a fierce battle ensued among five riders for third place. Coming out of Turn 11, Carpe and Muñoz collided, resulting in a crash involving Muñoz, Perrone, and Uriarte. The red flag was waved half a lap from the end.

Quiles took a commanding victory ahead of Almansa, with Carpe completing the podium. Uriarte finished fourth, ahead of Salmela, his best result in the World Championship.

Adrian Cruces (CIP GreenPower) finished sixth, followed by Marco Morelli (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), Jesús Ríos (Rivacold Snipers Team)—the top Honda rider—and Casey O'Gorman (SIC58 Squadra Corse). Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) rounded out the top ten.

David Muñoz, conscious after the serious accident, was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.

Nicola Carraro NC