2026 Italian GP Race Report

Raul Fernandez and Jorge Martin. About two weeks ago, on the Sunday of the Catalan Grand Prix, they were involved in a controversial incident, with their number 89 ending up in the gravel, and the Aprilia management, the brand they both race for, promptly intervened to urge both riders to show the utmost respect. 

Today, at the first corner of the Tissot Sprint at the Gran Premio Brembo d'Italia, the two Spaniards found themselves very close, in second and third place after starting from the front row, in the slipstream of leader Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), who had launched from fourth on the grid. The

brawl immediately erupted
. The number 25 of the Trackhouse MotoGP Team, who rounded out the trio, took advantage of the space left on the inside by Martin, an official Aprilia Racing rider, and slipped past. In the following braking point, he held off his rival. And at the third corner, he took the lead.

From there, not even Martin was able to stop him. In the second half of the Sprint, when the number 89 halved the gap (previously about a second) separating him from the leader, Fernandez responded and held him off until the checkered flag.

Bronze for Di Giannantonio.
Joining the Aprilia pair on the podium was Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team). The Roman, seventh in qualifying, moved behind the leading pair on lap three, but never became a threat. At the checkered flag, he preceded polesitter Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing), who had made a slow start and slipped to sixth place in the early stages.

The rider from Rimini began to recover already on lap two, when he passed a fading Marc Marquez after an explosive start. On lap four, he then overtook rookie Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR), who had occupied third place in the opening laps and then gradually declined, eventually dropping out of the points zone.

Where did Marquez end up?
Behind Bezzecchi, fifth, was Marc Marquez, who crossed the finish line ahead of Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who lost a couple of positions towards the end. Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3), who was battling for points with Acosta at the time, crashed on lap five. In the standings, Martin, who along with Fernandez was using a medium rear tire while almost all of his rivals were using the soft, snatches three points and is now 12 points behind Bezzecchi.

MOTOGP - RACE
Marco Bezzecchi and Francesco Bagnaia light up Mugello, with the Romagna native taking the win

He started in the lead, but ran wide at the first corner and dropped to second place. He rejoined the lead a few meters later, but on the third lap, the lead slipped away again. At that point, he controlled the rider ahead of him, closed in on him at mid-race, and on lap 14 of the 23 scheduled laps, he regained the lead with a pass at the first braking point, where you go from over 350 km/h to under 90 km/h. He immediately pulled away, building a lead that ultimately exceeded three seconds. And as he crossed the finish line, a winner, he was moved.

This was Marco Bezzecchi's Sunday, as he took the Gran Premio Brembo d'Italia at Mugello ahead of teammate Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), second, and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), third.

Risks and mistakes.
It was the Spaniard and the Italian aboard the GP26 who worried Bezzecchi. Martin did so at the first corner, taking the lead but failing to stem the Romagna rider's quick response. Bagnaia, who had taken first place on lap 3, held on until just past the halfway point, when he surrendered to the Romagna rider and Martin's comeback, which dropped him to third on lap 16.

The trio crossed the finish line in that order, though things remained undecided until the very end. In the finale, Bagnaia had to fend off the assault of a rider who had been involved in a four-way battle until just before the checkered flag. The battle between Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team), Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was intense, with repeated exchanges, contact, flying parts, gambles, mistakes, near-limit maneuvers, and riders pushed out. 

The podium was decided at the final corner,
with Marquez and Acosta, in particular, putting on a show for several laps. The reigning world champion ultimately finished seventh, with the factory KTM rider one place further ahead. Di Giannantonio finished fifth, having recovered after a less than stellar start. 

The one who ultimately caused Bagnaia trouble was Ogura, who, after an aggressive maneuver on Marc Marquez with four laps to go, shed his rivals and even caught Bagnaia, who was third. On the final lap, under the final braking point, the Japanese rider launched an attack and took the lead. But he ran slightly wide, allowing the Italian to cross the line and reclaim the final step of the podium. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), yesterday's winner of the Tissot Sprint,

finished
eighth: his race was impacted by a mistake at the start that saw him run wide and slip out of the points zone, before rebounding. 

Completing the top ten were Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), who at times battled with Marquez and Acosta, and Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR).

Diogo Moreira P10

"I had fun today, but it was difficult to manage everything perfectly and maintain a good pace until the end. I gave it my all, I learned a lot by riding behind strong opponents and battling with them, and we managed to secure a top 10 finish in Sunday's race, which is important. We're working really well and we need to continue on this path."

Enea Bastianini NC

I was very ambitious for this race because I had a good pace on Friday. I felt more confident with the medium rear tire than the soft one we used in the Sprint. The limit was the front tire, and after three laps we started to have a lot of movement. Also, on the straight I felt a bit of instability just before braking. It was quite physically demanding. The crash happened in the same corner as yesterday, but it was a different crash. Yesterday it happened while braking, while today I crashed when I released the brakes and was trying to accelerate. It's a shame, but I know Balaton Park will be a more suitable track for us. We'll try to find something that makes me feel better over longer distances."

MOTO3:
Heart-pounding final lap in Moto3, Uriarte overtakes Fernandez and wins

A final lap with a knife between his teeth, in which he snatched the lead from Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) and built up enough of a margin to avoid being caught on the home straight by his rivals (thanks to slipstreaming). Thus, Brian Uriarte took the victory at the Gran Premio Brembo d'Italia in the Moto3 class. 

The 17-year-old from the Red Bull KTM Ajo team crossed the finish line almost half a second ahead of teammate Alvaro Carpe, who at the final corner was part of a quartet battling for silver that also included Fernandez and Marco Morelli (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team), but who was involved in a collision that saw him lose several positions. 

Carpe, second after starting 11th, and Hakim Danish (AEON Credit - MT Helmets - MSI) thus climbed onto the podium. Fernandez was fourth, Joel Esteban (LEVEL UP - MTA) fifth, ahead of Eddie O'Shea (GRYD - MLav Racing), sixth.

On the 5.25-kilometer Mugello circuit, where the kilometer-plus straight in the junior class favors slipstreaming and positions are constantly shuffled, one of the protagonists was championship points leader Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team), who started from fourteenth on the grid (he was 15th in qualifying, but poleman David Almansa missed the GP due to a health problem and the riders were promoted one place on the grid). 

Quiles was already seventh by lap five and second on the following lap. He took the lead for the first time on lap seven and was in contention for the win. But on the penultimate lap, he made a mistake that cost him some meters. And a few corners later, in the heat of recovery, he lost the rear end and nearly crashed. He stayed up, but slipped out of the top ten.

In the standings, the Spaniard, who finished 11th at Mugello, now has a 52-point advantage over Carpe.

Nicola Carraro NC

“I'm sorry I started so far back and remained at the back of the group without being able to move up. I'll continue to work hard to get further ahead."