MotoGP: Marc Marquez seizes championship lead with San Marino win; Bezzecchi crashes out

This win marked Marc Marquez’s fifth of the season, tying him in the championship points with Jorge Martin at 274. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Ducati Corse’s Marc Marquez has taken the MotoGP title lead for the first time this year after claiming victory in a turbulent San Marino Grand Prix, a race that ended in heartbreak for Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi, who crashed out on lap one in front of his home fans.

This win marked Marquez’s fifth of the season, tying him on points with Jorge Martin at 274, but the seven-time champion climbs to the top thanks to having more race victories than Martin, whose sole win this year came in France.

Marquez crossed the line ahead of his brother Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing), with Pedro Acosta (KTM) third; Fermin Aldeguer finished fourth, demoting Martin to fifth in an all-Spanish top five.

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The championship picture looked very different earlier in the year, when Marquez trailed Bezzecchi by 102 points after May’s Italian Grand Prix. “It feels unreal but I never give up. I will push until the end. This is not done, we are there in the championship fighting against very good riders, especially Martin and Bez,” Marquez said. “But as we see today, we are riding at the limit and a small mistake can cost a lot of points.”

Although Marquez had overtaken Bezzecchi at Turn 1 to win the sprint race, the Italian fought back in the main event, seizing the lead as the Aprilia—adorned in a special white livery for its home round—powered ahead.

Bezzecchi’s push to extend his early lead ended in disaster when he lost control at Turn 12, his bike flipping across the gravel to the astonishment of the local supporters. Marquez took the lead while his Ducati teammate Francesco Bagnaia also crashed at his home circuit, marking his fourth retirement in five races and leaving Ducati CEO Claudio Domenicali visibly frustrated.

Martin, who started fifth, momentarily took charge by passing Marquez on lap seven with an audacious inside move at Turn 4.

However, his challenge unravelled when Marc retook the position on lap 12 with a decisive dive into Turn 6, followed shortly by Alex moving ahead as well. “After Bezzecchi’s mistake, I was a bit too confident and then Martin attacked me,” Marquez said. “But then I regained the confidence again. I kept the pace and I’m happy because 37 points here means a lot.”

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Aprilia’s home event spiraled further as Acosta passed Martin, knocking him off the podium, before Aldeguer also moved ahead. “With Marc, it’s true that it was really difficult to attack him because the last sector from him was unbelievable,” Alex said.

As Marc Marquez took the checkered flag ahead of his brother, a grim-faced Bezzecchi looked on from the Aprilia garage, now 33 points adrift of the joint leaders after having topped the standings earlier in the season.

( With inputs from Reuters)

Published on Sep 13, 2026

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