Marco Bezzecchi won the US GP at COTA – his fifth Grand Prix in a row, becoming only the third Italian rider ever to achieve the feat. The Aprilia Racing rider dominated the main race on Sunday, crossing the line 2.036 seconds ahead of teammate Jorge Martin to complete Aprilia’s second consecutive one-two finish. Pedro Acosta took third place for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing.
- Bezzecchi breaks record with 121 consecutive laps led
- Italian becomes first rider to win opening three GPs since Marquez in 2014
- Bezzecchi reclaims championship lead after Martin’s Sprint victory
Bezzecchi extends multiple records
Italian joins Rossi and Agostini in elite club
Pedro Acosta launched off the front row to take the holeshot, with Bezzecchi moving up to second with Martin in tow. Early drama saw contact between Bezzecchi and Acosta, but the Italian moved ahead to claim the lead and gradually built a gap over the chasing pack.
By the start of Lap 4, Bezzecchi had officially broken Jorge Lorenzo’s modern-era record of 103 consecutive laps led, set in 2015. The Italian would extend that record to 121 laps by the chequered flag. He is also the first rider to win the opening three GPs of a season since Marc Marquez achieved the feat in 2014 and is only the third Italian to win five races in succession, joining Valentino Rossi and Giacomo Agostini.
Martin seizes second
Aprilia completes back-to-back one-two finishes
Behind Bezzecchi, the battle for second provided plenty of drama. Jorge Martin got a strong start to slot into third behind Acosta and made an early attempt to pass the KTM rider but was initially denied. Martin’s opportunity came on Lap 14 when Acosta ran wide at Turn 1, allowing the Aprilia rider to move through into second. He held position until the finish, sealing an Aprilia one-two and marking the first time the factory has achieved back-to-back one-two finishes in its MotoGP history.
Ai Ogura also made an impressive start, charging past Francesco Bagnaia and Fabio Di Giannantonio, but later encountered a technical issue that forced him to slow down and move out of the way of the pack.
King of COTA has a weekend to forget
Marquez recovers from penalty to claim fifth
Marc Marquez’s race was compromised before it even began, as he carried a Long Lap penalty for taking out Di Giannantonio on the opening lap of Saturday’s Sprint. The reigning world champion served the penalty early, dropping from seventh to eleventh, but recovered well to finish fifth by the chequered flag.
Di Giannantonio finished fourth in a relatively lonely ride, emerging as the top Ducati finisher. Marquez held on to fifth ahead of Enea Bastianini by the narrowest of margins, with Alex Marquez taking seventh. Raul Fernandez and Luca Marini completed the top ten, both getting past Bagnaia late in the race as the 2024 championship contender struggled in the closing laps.
2026 MotoGP standings
Bezzecchi continues to lead the championship with 81 points – just four ahead of teammate Martin on 77. Acosta sits third with 60 points. Bezzecchi now heads to the Spanish GP at Jerez in a few weeks as the rider to beat, with Aprilia firmly in control of both the riders’ and constructors’ standings – signalling a shift from the early Ducati dominance seen last season.
Dinshaw Magol
Unnatee Gidithuri
Stephen Raj Antony
