Marc Márquez won both the Saturday Sprint and Sunday’s main race at the 2026 San Marino Grand Prix, the 14th round of the MotoGP season. The Ducati Lenovo Team rider is now at the top of the riders’ standings for the first time this season, although he is level on points with Jorge Martín. Márquez holds the advantage on countback because he has more victories.

The result also changed the immediate balance between Ducati and Aprilia. Martín and Marco Bezzecchi represented Aprilia Racing in the leading group, but Bezzecchi’s early crash and Márquez’s controlled race left Ducati with the headline result. The available information does not include a complete finishing order or the full numerical standings table.

Bezzecchi’s lead disappears on lap one

Bezzecchi started from pole position after setting the fastest qualifying time. He made an excellent launch, held the racing line and led into the braking zone for the first corner. The Aprilia RS-GP26 carrying the special “Perla Bianca” livery opened a small gap, with Marc Márquez initially the first of the pursuers. The colour scheme had been created to mark Vespa’s 80th anniversary; Vespa is part of the Piaggio Group.

Bezzecchi’s lead lasted only until the opening lap. He lost the front of the Aprilia while braking for Turn 13, immediately after the Curvone, described as one of Misano’s most iconic corners and its fastest turn. The bike overturned in the gravel while Bezzecchi slid through the run-off area. The crash left him 33 points behind Marc Márquez and his Aprilia team-mate Martín.

After the incident, Márquez took over at the front. Martín had moved into third during the opening laps and was closing on Márquez, while Pedro Acosta of Red Bull KTM Factory later passed the Aprilia rider. Acosta said that the RC16 felt lighter as the fuel load decreased, and he finished the race strongly.

A three-rider fight at the front

Martín continued to chase Márquez and passed him on lap seven. After that move, the Aprilia rider appeared to have the pace to pull clear at the front. Seven laps later, however, Márquez and Martín exchanged positions again. Márquez then pushed for faster laps and a safer margin.

Alex Márquez brought a third BK8 Gresini machine into the fight. He reduced the gap to the two leaders and turned the contest for victory into a three-rider battle. His Gresini bike carried the team’s traditional special livery commemorating Marco Simoncelli. Alex pressured his brother Marc repeatedly, but never mounted a serious challenge; even when Alex was faster on individual laps, the gap between the two Márquez brothers never fell below 0.4 seconds.

Alex passed Martín on lap 16. Martín subsequently lost fourth place to Fermín Aldeguer, also riding for BK8 Gresini. Aldeguer had recovered from a difficult start to finish inside the top four. The ledger does not provide a complete classification beyond these stated positions and changes.

Tyres, points and what comes next

The main race lasted 27 laps, and every rider chose a medium rear tyre. That contrasted with the Sprint, where different riders used both soft and medium rear options. The available evidence does not establish broader conclusions about the relative performance or durability of those choices.

Márquez won the main race while maintaining his usual pace. The double came after his two victories at MotorLand Aragón in the previous round and moved him to the top of the championship standings on countback, despite the tie with Martín. It also gave Ducati the immediate upper hand over Aprilia in the account of the Misano weekend.

There is an inconsistency in the supplied account concerning the title-holder wording: one passage calls Marc Márquez the reigning MotoGP champion, while another describes Jorge Martín as trying to defend the title. That point requires editorial verification rather than an unqualified assertion.

One week later, the field is due to race at the Austrian Grand Prix, described as the final event before the calendar’s Asian leg.