Pedro Acosta already has his first and long-awaited victory in MotoGP and, in addition, he has achieved it by fighting against the Aprilias and imposing his best pace throughout the weekend. Although that doesn’t mean it’s been easy, far from it. To this we must add that, as expected, in the RedBull Ring all the Ducati have suffered more than necessary.
And with the Qatar GP in the air, despite the fact that the championship for now insists on maintaining its dates, we must have 37 fewer points at stake. That is why everything that has happened in Austria has greater importance, even if it is relative and there is still much to be decided.
Because if we have seen something in the hills of Spielberg, it is that every detail is going to make a difference in the 6 or 7 Grand Prix that remain. And not only that, Pedro Acosta can be decisive if he is able to interfere in the Aprilia Vs Márquez fight.
The luck of the champion smiles on Martín on Saturday
RedBull Ring is one of the tracks where Jorge Martín has always gone especially fast and after several weekends “swimming and putting away his clothes” it was time to try to land the blow. If in Austria he managed to be faster than Marc, he not only scored points, he sent the message that he is here to fight.
And that was precisely what he did by taking pole first and starting the Sprint Race later. Martín went all out in the first corner, went wide and took advantage of the escape to minimize damage. Even so, Márquez caught up with him, cornered him when braking in turn 2A and the Aprilia rider lost positions until he fell at times to eighth place.
From there and with Acosta taking the lead with a devilish pace, Martín began to build a solid comeback. So much so that he finished seventh on the first lap, as well as the second, and from then on he was unstoppable with practically one overtake per lap until he reached second position.
MAJOR BLUNDER BY ACOSTA! 💥💥💥
The 37 crashes out of the lead 🤯#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/TeUoCIAJ52
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 19, 2026
That seemed like the ceiling of the Sprint for Martín, who already left Márquez behind, which was enough to take the lead in the provisional standings. But then an unexpected mistake by Acosta with three laps to go put victory on a plate for the Aprilia rider. Marc Márquez had to be the one who swam and put away his clothes and it didn’t turn out badly despite the problems, because he finished second with Bezzecchi third.
Ogura, Álex Márquez, Bagnaia, Zarco, Aldeguer and Binder completed the nine places with the right to points in the Sprint Race from which, finally, Acosta had to retire.
Acosta took revenge by dominating the Austrian GP with an iron fist
After what happened on Saturday, Acosta had extra pressure and even more so when he crashed in the warm-up, destroying his first bike. Even so, when the race began it was possible to see how the Murcian was at the same competitive point as the day before.
🚨 @37_PEDROACOSTA HITS THE FRONT! #AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/IBWPOWGBEK
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 20, 2026
On this occasion Martín did not go far, Marc could not pass him and he started the GP strongly to the point that it seemed that he could take the victory. But Acosta had other plans, from fourth he moved to third position, on the fourth lap he was already second and the attack came during the ninth of the twenty-eight scheduled laps.
Even before that moment Acosta and Martín were far superior to the rest and that allowed them to open a small gap in front of Marco Bezzecchi who was holding on although in the final part it seemed that he could even launch the attack on his teammate, something that did not happen and that left the podium with Acosta at the top, Martín second, clearing up doubts about his arm and more of a leader and Bezzecchi third.
HOW CLOSE WAS THAT? 🤯
Bez is almost glued to @88jorgemartin now 👀#AustrianGP 🇦🇹 pic.twitter.com/yF8PmXd4bb
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 20, 2026
Ai Ogura, who reappeared after the injury, was hovering around third position but ended up losing time to finish in a great fourth place. Although Marc Márquez already knew that this weekend was going to be tough, especially due to Ducati’s inability to take advantage of the special casing tire that is harder and used in Austria for safety, he achieved a fifth position. In essence it is the same scenario but inverted that we saw with Martín Gran Premios back where instead of trying to get some extra position risking a fall, he limited himself to taking the bike as far as he could. Of course, he learned it in the second half of the race, after several scares that took him to seventh place. Still, Marc was again the best Ducati with Binder and his KTM behind him and Bagnaia seventh.
Fermín Aldeguer and Fabio Di Giannantonio suffered even more than the factory team drivers to finish eighth and ninth respectively with Johann Zarco completing the top10.
Now, after the tests with the MotoGP 850 that are taking place today, Monday on the Austrian track, it is time to focus on the next challenge, the first of the Asian tour. There a new chapter of this season will be written, which, far from being defined, is becoming more and more intense. In fact, after this weekend’s result, Martín leads with 12 points with Bezzecchi third at 42. Acosta, although he has risen to fourth place, is 72 behind the lead, which makes it mathematically possible to fight for the title, although he would have to cut more than 10 points per GP, which seems complicated right now.
