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.
