He San Marino GP It will be recorded in the history of the 2026 MotoGP World Championship as the moment in which Marc Márquez managed to complete a comeback of more than 100 points over the lead in just 7 Grands Prix. And the Ducati rider left the Italian GP in Mugello in eighth position overall and 102 points behind Marco Bezzecchi.
Then, despite the GP of the Netherlands and the GP of Great Britain, where he lost points especially against Jorge Martín, he has been cutting and cutting until he reached the first position although tied, yes, with a Martín who is managing to get gold from the difficult days by not making mistakes that the rest are making.
Marco Bezzecchi had everything to win in the Sprint, but Marc is an old dog
Although the proper name at the end of the 2026 San Marino Grand Prix is Marc Márquez, everything seemed to indicate on Saturday mid-morning that it would be Marco Bezzecchi. The Aprilia rider flew in the qualifier, took pole and was racing at home. He had everything in his favor, but Marc Márquez did the same thing to him as in Aragón, came out slightly better and passed him in the first corner.
🚥 LIGHTS OUT in the #TissotSprint 🚥@marcmarquez93 pips Bez to lead into T1!#SanMarinoGP 🇸🇲 pic.twitter.com/oNZHXM9kdS
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 12, 2026
From there both imposed a frenetic pace, somewhat faster in Marc’s case, which allowed them to open up space. But the secret of the race in San Marino was that Márquez did not stop pushing at critical moments and although halfway through the race even Bezzecchi came slightly closer, he reacted to deal the final blow to a Marco who at times became faster, although not fast enough.
And watching the fight from afar was Jorge Martín who, despite starting fifth, was able to make up positions and, halfway through the race, end up overtaking a diluted Fabio Di Giannantonio who this weekend in San Marino has been far from showing the version that was expected of him at home despite the fact that he fought not to fall behind Martín in the Sprint Race.
The one who did have a reasonable race was Álex Márquez, who was penalized by a poor qualifying with two falls, but who reached fifth position ahead of Pedro Acosta who is light years ahead of Binder and Bastianini with the KTM. Raúl Fernández, less competitive this weekend in San Marino, Fermín Aldeguer (who started third) and Luca Marini completed the top9 that gives the right to points in the Sprint Race.
Marc Márquez takes the San Marino GP with less battle than expected after Bezzecchi’s mistake
After what he experienced on Saturday and also in the two races in Aragon, when the San Marino GP race started, Marco Bezzecchi had his homework done and did not let Marc take the lead. This posed a totally different race, in which the Aprilia rider was the one who would take the initiative, but Marco’s plan only lasted until turn 13 of the first lap, when after a mistake the Italian crashed.
This left Marc Márquez at the front of the race almost without thinking and, as he later acknowledged, even with little confidence. And nobody counted on Bezzecchi’s fall. So although he was in front, he was not the fastest at the start of the race but rather a surprising Jorge Martín who on the seventh lap managed to take the lead in San Marino.
MARCO BEZZECCHI FALLS AND SAYS GOODBYE TO THE RACE IN MISANO 😱
The Italian was leading ahead of Marc Márquez and Jorge Martín 💥#SanMarinoGP 🇸🇲 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/FnokNeOUdz
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) September 13, 2026
With this overtake began a phase of the race where it seemed that even Marc would have no chance of recovering the lost ground, but he felt confident again, began to set his own pace and returned the overtake to Jorge when Álex Márquez was closing in on both of them.
From that overtake, which Álex replicated two laps later, Marc simultaneously began to pull and manage the race, replicating what his brother did: that Álex pushed, Marc pushed, that Álex slowed down, Marc slowed it down. Thanks to this, the Márquez achieved a new one-two with Marc at the top and Álex second in the San Marino GP.
Without entering the fight for the race victory, Pedro Acosta once again took oil from the KTM. The incredible results of the Murcian continue to highlight the rest of the Austrian brand’s riders and although Acosta’s talent is undeniable, it is very contrasting to see him third, just over two seconds behind the winner, while the next KTM, that of Bastianini, was eighth, 20.8 seconds behind the winner. In any case, a new podium for Acosta in San Marino, who has already climbed to fifth position overall and has Di Giannantonio relatively close and Bezzecchi not far behind.
The battle to win in Misano. The battle for the World Cup ⚔️
Great overtaking from Jorge Martín to Marc Márquez 🙌🏻#SanMarinoGP 🇸🇲 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/VFaqfHEn75
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) September 13, 2026
Returning to the race, Fermín Aldeguer achieved a creditable fourth place, gradually recovering his level after the injury. Finally, with problems in his forearms for which he does not rule out undergoing surgery at this time, Jorge Martín finished. The Madrid native still hasn’t achieved great results, but he minimizes his mistakes and, precisely for this reason, he is tied on points with Marc Márquez, although since he has only won one GP compared to Marc’s 5, he appears as second place.
And be careful, the great result of the Spanish in the San Marino GP did not remain in the top5, because Raúl Fernández closed a completely Spanish top6. This result is a milestone not only for national motorcycling, but it is the first time in the history of the premier category that the same country takes the top 6 positions.
Fabio Di Giannantonio finished seventh with Enea Bastianini eighth and Luca Marini ninth. In fact there was a duel between the Italians, with touches included. The top 10 was closed by Fabio Quartararo, who seems to have had an effect from Yamaha’s slap on the wrist, not so much because of the result but because of the attitude he showed during the weekend in San Marino.
Pol Espargaró’s fourteenth place as a substitute for Maverick Viñales is worth highlighting, but not so much because of the race result as because of how fast he was on Friday and, also, because he was the last of the drivers to cross the finish line in a race in which Zarco, Bagnaia, Moreira, Miller and Bezzecchi abandoned due to a crash, Mir due to medical problems and Álex Rins due to technical problems. Once again, Misano gave no respite.
