MotoGP 2026: Bezzecchi wins at Mugello to extend championship lead

Marco Bezzecchi and Aprilia took a dominant victory at the 2026 Italian GP. The Mugello win meaningfully extends his championship lead over teammate and rival, Jorge Martin, who remains hard on his heels. Martin finished second, and the podium was rounded out by Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia – a three-time race winner here from 2022 to 2024.

1. Bezzecchi’s lead over Martin widens to 17 points
2. Ogura very nearly catches Bagnaia at the final corner
3. Fernandez’s T1 blunder costs him; he finished P8
4. Marquez finishes P7 upon return after double surgery

Bezzecchi bides his time behind Bagnaia

Aprilia had locked out the front row in an electric qualifying session, with championship favourite Bezzecchi starting from pole position. While ‘Bez’ led the opening lap, on the following one, his VR46 academy stablemate Bagnaia snatched the lead away. Bagnaia seemed in control for the dozen or so laps that he led, but with 10 laps to go, Bezzecchi re-took the lead and immediately began opening up a gap between himself and ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia, who was falling into the clutches of a hard-charging Martin.

Ogura-Bagnaia battle goes down to the wire, Fernandez falters on opening lap

Meanwhile, behind the leading trio, Trackhouse Aprilia’s Ai Ogura, always a master at managing his tyres and finishing strong, had mounted his own charge through the field. The Japanese rider started in P13, but by the closing stages of the race, he had worked his way up to P4 and was quickly catching a fading Bagnaia on the ultimate lap. As they entered the final corner, Ogura sent his Aprilia up the inside of Bagnaia’s Ducati, but Pecco managed to come back ahead on the cutback and won the drag race to the finish line by a nail-biting 0.034 seconds to secure his place on the podium. Had Ogura managed to make this overtake stick, this would have been Aprilia’s first-ever podium lockout in MotoGP.

While one half of the Trackhouse Aprilia garage was celebrating a hard-earned P4 finish, the other half was lamenting what could have been. Raul Fernandez had won the Sprint race in dominant fashion and was looking to complete the dream double by winning the full-length race too. However, on the first corner of the opening lap itself, Fernandez ran very wide – well past the kerbs – and when he rejoined the track, he found himself in P18. Slowly but steadily, the Trackhouse rider worked his way up the order and eventually crossed the finish line a respectable P9. That said, had he not made that one grave mistake, Aprilia’s podium lockout would have perhaps materialised, just in another fashion.

Marquez returns after double surgery to finish P7

The Italian GP saw the return of reigning world champion, Marc Marquez after a bad crash a few races ago forced him to undergo double surgery – on his already troubled right shoulder and another one on his ankle. Straightaway, Marquez was competitive, and in the main race, his long-drawn-out battle with KTM’s Pedro Acosta, who is rumoured to join him at Ducati come 2027, was one of the most entertaining ones this year.

Both repeatedly kept on passing the mantle for P4 amongst themselves, which, while entertaining, cost them crucial time, bringing the aforementioned Ogura and VR46 Ducati’s Fabio Di Giannantonio into play. While Ogura finished fourth, Di Giannantonio finished fifth, with Acosta ultimately sixth and Marquez seventh.

2026 MotoGP standings

With his victory on Sunday, Bezzecchi has extended his lead over Martin to 17 points now. Both the Aprilia riders are trailed by VR46 Ducati’s Fabio Di Giannantonio, although he is 39 points adrift of the lead. Up next is the Hungarian GP at one of the youngest circuits on the current calendar – Balaton Park – set to be held this coming weekend, June 5-7.

2026 Italian MotoGP results