Ducati rider took the highest points from Motegi after overtaking champion Jorge Martin at the end of the race. Marc Marquez achieved a victory that will mark his championship race in the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix. After finishing the sprint race, the Ducati rider in the main race passed champion Jorge Martin and took the highest points from Motegi. Although Jorge Martin secured a critical 20 points in second place, the gap between the two narrowed to just 2 points. The championship battle in MotoGP came almost down to the wire.
Race Start and First Moves
One of the biggest uncertainties at the start of the race was tire choice. Despite insufficient data on the hard tires suggested by Michelin, all riders chose the same tire, and the 24-lap race began under largely unknown conditions. Jorge Martin took a good start in pole position and led the first corner. Marc Marquez immediately moved into second place behind him, while Marco Bezzecchi secured third place.
Championship Duels and Critical Moments
Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez began to pull away from each other from the first laps. In the fifth lap, the gap between the championship contenders was only one fourth. When the race arrived, Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez were stronger for Marco Bezzecchi. As the gap widened, Marc Marquez maintained his attacking pace. The expected move came on lap 11. Marc Marquez made a controlled overtake on Jorge Martin's inside line on turn 9. This result counted as Marc Marquez's 79th Grand Prix victory in his career and his third place finish in Motegi. Jorge Martin did not allow his competitor to escape. The Aprilia rider narrowed the gap to the one-tenth level in the middle section of the race, but Marc Marquez responded quickly to the pressure. Marc Marquez responded to the pressure in the fastest lap. After Jorge Martin began to close the gap, Marc Marquez increased his pace, putting in a strong lap of 1:43.291 and regaining his advantage. In the final laps, Marc Marquez did not allow Jorge Martin to get into attacking range, and at the end of 24 laps, he took first place with a checkered flag of 41:31.467. With Jorge Martin in second place and Marco Bezzecchi in third place with a gap of 2,252 seconds, Raul Fernandez took fifth, home favorite Ai Ogura took sixth, and Pedro Acosta took seventh. Francesco Bagnaia was in eighth place, Fermin Aldeguer was ninth, and Luca Marini entered the top 10 in Honda. [Toprak Razgatlıoğlu] finished seventeenth in the first MotoGP main race of the Motegi weekend. National athlete Toprak Razgatlıoğlu received a warning due to track limits but no penalty was applied. Teammate Jack Miller rejoined the race after a crash and finished nineteenth. Toprak finished behind his teammate in the main race of the tough Japanese weekend. Zarco incurred penalties and then crashed. The French rider crashed later but managed to rejoin the race and finished twentieth in the standings with two laps behind. Diogo Moreira and Alex Marquez did not finish. The championship result of the Motegi weekend was more decisive. Marc Marquez, who was 12 points behind Jorge Martin in Japan, narrowed the gap to just 2 points with his sprint and main race victories. Martin maintained his lead in the championship by taking second place on Sunday, but there was almost no margin for error. The next race to be held in Mandalika is the Indonesian Grand Prix. Jorge Martin leads from Japan with an advantage to Motegi; however, Marc Marquez is now only two points behind. The final part of the 2026 MotoGP championship battle is almost starting from zero.
Results
2026 Japan GP — MotoGP™ Race
- #1 Rider: Marc Marquez Ducati Lenovo Team +1.363
- #2 Rider: Jorge Martin Aprilia Racing +2.252
- #3 Rider: Marco Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing +2.330
- #4 Rider: Enea Bastianini Red Bull KTM Tech +2.330
- #5 Rider: Raul Fernandez SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team +14.815
- #6 Rider: Ai Ogura SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team +15.210
- #7 Rider: Pedro Acosta Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +16.928
- #8 Rider: Francesco Bagnaia Ducati Lenovo Team +20.333
- #9 Rider: Fermin Aldeguer BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP +23.545
- #10 Rider: Luca Marini Honda HRC Castrol +25.677
- #11 Rider: Brad Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +25.853
- #12 Rider: Fabio Quartararo Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team +30.867
- #13 Rider: Somkiat Chantra Honda HRC Castrol +31.333
- #14 Rider: Maverick Viñales Red Bull KTM Tech +33.995
Figures
- Marc Marquez is in second place in the 2026 MotoGP season with 331 points (Ducati Team).
- Archive: Marc Marquez reaches 79 victories: Rossi's record of 10 victories (October 4, 2026)
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Go to sourceCompiled by Şükrü Utku Poyraz
