The Aprilia star beats Acosta and Fernandez to Round 1 glory as a rear tyre puncture ends the reigning World Champion’s podium hopes in Buriram
Marco Bezzecchi and Aprilia Racing are hat-trick heroes in MotoGP for the first time after the Italian dominates a dramatic PT Grand Prix of Thailand to back up his 2025 Portugal and Valencia victories with a Buriram beauty to begin 2026. Tissot Sprint winner Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) finished P2 to make sure he leaves Thailand as the MotoGP World Championship leader, as Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) begins the year with a P3 in a Grand Prix which saw reigning World Champion Marc Marquez suffer a race-ending puncture while in the podium fight. And that means Ducati’s unbelievable record-breaking podium streak of 88 in a row is over - for the first time since the 2021 British GP, no Ducati rider stood on the Sunday rostrum.
BEZ GETS THE LAUNCH, MM93 UNDER ATTACK
After an incredible Sprint on Saturday, it was time for lights out on Sunday and getting the perfect launch from pole was Bezzecchi, with Marc Marquez keeping hold of P2. But not for long. Turn 7 saw Fernandez pinch P2 away from the reigning World Champion and then, a third Aprilia was having a bite at #93. Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) was briefly ahead of the 2025 World Champion, but the latter bit back.
Bezzecchi was into a great early Grand Prix rhythm at the front, with Fernandez 0.9s away at the end of Lap 3. Then, attacking down at Turn 3 on Lap 4, Martin struck again. Marc Marquez was shuffled back to P4 by the 2024 World Champion, and then, Acosta entered the battle.
ACOSTA VS MARTIN VS MARC MARQUEZ
Turn 12. #93 vs #37. Shades of a memorable Sprint scrap. Acosta made a move up the inside stick to climb into fourth, with Marc Marquez down to P5 and as things stood, the current King had zero answers.
As Bezzecchi and Fernandez continued to set a similar pace in P1 and P2, we strapped ourselves in to enjoy Martin vs Acosta. The KTM star had several bites at the cherry on Lap 8 and 9, but Aprilia’s #89 was defending brilliantly.
Then, Acosta did find a way through on Martin. On the exit of a move at Turn 3, Acosta was through but getting a Lap 10 two-for-one deal on the run up to Turn 4 was Marc Marquez. But Acosta wasn’t having any of that. The pre-Grand Prix title leader chose Turn 8 to attack his compatriot, and it was a leap up the inside that worked. Acosta, eventually, was P3.
PODIUM CHASE ON AS DRAMA BEGINS TO UNFOLD
Now though, by Lap 14, the gap to second place Fernandez and leader Bezzecchi had grown. However, Acosta was beginning to catch the Trackhouse Aprilia, with the gap just below two seconds as the Grand Prix entered its final 10 laps.
Behind, Marc Marquez sat 1.4s away from Acosta, with Martin sitting 0.8s back of the leading Ducati. Bezzecchi, meanwhile, was over three seconds up the road and in relative cruise control. It was the Italian’s 25 points to throw away at this stage.
With seven to go, Fernandez’s grip on P2 was loosening. Acosta was now under a second away from the #25, and Marc Marquez was lurking too. Until he wasn’t. As we panned back to watch Fernandez, Acosta and Marc Marquez come through Turn 4, it was clear the latter had a problem. And it became obvious it was a rear tyre puncture. Drama in Buriram, the reigning World Champion was out of the Thai Grand Prix.
Mounting pressure for a podium push, the rear tyre of the World Champion's GP26 blew out in the late stages of the Thai GP
Then, last year’s runner-up was out too. Alex Marquez crashed at the rapid Turn 4, thankfully the #73 was up and walking, but that ended a disappointing weekend at the office for the Gresini Racing star.
More drama then occurred. Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) was forced to retire from the Grand Prix with rear tyre problems too after the 2020 World Champion had strung a very strong race together in the top six, and all of a sudden, there were four Aprilias in the top five, with Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) showing some aggressive late pace.
And so, after a punishing Thai Grand Prix, Bezzecchi made amends for his Sprint error to clinch victory on Sunday and win three Grands Prix in a row for the first time. Acosta’s wait for a Grand Prix win goes on, but that was another sublime performance from the KTM star, who will head to Brazil as the MotoGP World Championship leader. And fair play to Fernandez. After some serious shoulder troubles surfaced in Warm Up, the Spaniard celebrates another P3 to grab a double Round 1 podium.
THE POINTS SCORERS IN THAILAND
Having missed the Sepang Test and considering what he went through in 2025, Martin will be elated to start the campaign with P4, with the very impressive #89 finished three tenths ahead of Ogura. The Japanese rider recovers to round out the top five, with the lead Ducati rider over the line being Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) in P6.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) hands KTM a double top seven finish in P7, as Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) leaves it late – the final corner of the final lap to be precise – to pocket P8 from Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). It’s P9 on Sunday for the 2022 and 2023 MotoGP World Champion, as Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) completed the top 10.
Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) and Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) were P11 and P12 across the line, with rookie Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) pocketing points on debut with a P13 ahead of the Brazilian’s home round next. Rounding out the points-paying positions were Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP duo Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins.
Round 1 = completed. What a start to the year that was in MotoGP, as Acosta heads to Brazil as the World Championship leader after a drama-filled opening chapter. Boy, it's good to be back. Check out full results here, and get ready to go again in just over two weeks!
PHOTOS: PT GRAND PRIX OF THAILAND
Gonzalez denies Guevara in tense stand-off for Buriram glory
A dramatic start to the Moto2 season saw two red flags at Buriram before a tense final two laps welcomed a head-to-head battle between Manuel Gonzalez (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and Izan Guevera (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2). Last year’s runner-up took gold in the opening encounter ahead of Guevara, whilst Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) took third.
From P2 on the grid, it was a perfect start for Guevara as he grabbed Moto2’s first holeshot of 2026. He didn’t hold the lead for long though as he ran wide at Turn 3 along with polesitter Senna Agius (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) and Ivan Ortola (QJMOTOR – PONT GRUP – MSI), allowing Holgado into P1 from fourth. However, on Lap 3, an incident at Turn 9 involving Agius, David Alonso (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) and Filip Salac (OnlyFans American Racing Team) brought out the red flag. Alonso was taken to the medical centre with arm pain whilst Agius and Salac could take the restart from pitlane.
With the distance reduced to just 11 laps, it promised to be elbows out from the start. Holgado got to Turn 1 first and led the field down to Turn 3 where there was more drama. Sergio Garcia (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) tucked the front, leaving class rookie Luca Lunetta (SYNC Group SpeedRS Team) nowhere to go. This brought out the second red flag of the Grand Prix with a new distance of seven laps set to sort out the order.
For the final start for a seven-lap dash, it was Holgado who once again led the charge but was soon behind Guevara who got under him at Turn 3. The battle was fierce as Gonzalez pushed through on Holgado on Lap 2 before going after Guevera; Holgado was third with Ortola fourth, all four riders in the leading group.
After stalking Guevara, Gonzalez pounced on the penultimate lap at Turn 7 with a bold move but the #28 wasn’t giving up as he tried to fight back at Turns 8, 9 and 12. Onto the final lap and it was last year’s runner-up who held the advantage and despite Guevara’s best efforts at the final corner around the outside, Gonzalez held on to repeat his season-opening victory from 2025 and take charge in 2026. Behind them, Holgado rounded out the first podium of the season whilst Ortola and Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) rounded out the top five.
Celestino Vietti (Sync SpeedRS Team) took P6 ahead of Alonso Lopez (ITALJET Gresini Moto2), Daniel Muñoz (Italtrans Racing Team) and Deniz Öncu (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team), with Ayumu Sasaki (Momoven Idrofoglia RW Racing Team) completing the top ten.
Find here full results from Moto2 in Buriram and come back for more from Brazil in a couple of weeks!
Almansa defeats Quiles in last corner showdown for maiden Moto3 win
A classic start Moto3’s 2026 campaign? Just what we ordered. It was very much a case of the calm before the storm as David Almansa (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) battled to a maiden victory in a final corner, last lap thriller ahead of Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team). 0.003s and the joint-closest finish, Valentin Perrone (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) opened his account with a podium behind the duelling Spaniards up ahead.
The first holeshot of the season went to polesitter Almansa, who let the brakes off to hold P1. It was a drag race down to Turn 3 against Quiles but the #22 held firm and lead the opening lap of the season. Behind, there was drama for Ryusei Yamanaka (AEON Credit – MT Helmets – MSI) who crashed at Turn 5 on Lap 2, the same corner that ended hiss Thai GP last year. Lap 3 saw another rider fall from the top ten as Guido Pini’s (Leopard Racing) debut with his new team saw him crash at Turn 12 but the Italian sophomore remounted and rejoined the action, eventually finishing 20th.
Five laps in and what looked like a breakaway group of four – consisting of Almansa, Quiles, Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) – had been reeled in. They now had rookie sensation Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia) and Argentinean Perrone for company with approximately one second covering the top six. At the end of Lap 6, a mistake from Carpe allowed Fernandez through before another mistake allowed Pratama into fourth and the Indonesian didn’t stop there. He forced his way under Fernandez to take P3 at the end of Lap 7, sitting in a provisional podium position on his debut.
As half distance approached the front two had scarpered. At the end of Lap 11, our first change in the lead as Quiles decided to take over at the front from Almansa at Turn 12, now giving his fellow Spaniard a chance to study his own strengths and weaknesses. It didn’t last long though, as Quiles ran off at Turn 1 to gift his rival the lead straight back. Both were matching each other’s lap times, the only riders in the 1’41s – a true head-to-head to get us started in 2026. Seven seconds behind, there were passes in abundance with Fernandez, having dropped to sixth, climbing back into third with three to go.
Onto the last lap and after a Turn 12 error from Quiles, Almansa sported a half a second advantage as they took in the final 4.5km of Buriram. However, Quiles wasn’t finished and put in an outstanding final lap to get back on terms for one final attack into the last corner. Defending his line, he forced Quiles to let the brakes off and it looked like he got the job done but on the run to the line, Almansa had better drive to snatch his first victory in Moto3 by just 0.003s, equalling the closest finish of all-time in Moto3. In the scrap for third, Perrone fought his way ahead of Carpe, likewise in a final corner pass whilst Pratama took top Honda honours in fifth on his debut, ahead of Fernandez.
Outside the top six, Brian Uriarte (Red Bull KTM Ajo) was a strong seventh ahead of Marco Morelli (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), Joel Esteban (LEVEL UP – MTA) and David Muñoz (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) who rounded out the top ten. Just missing out on the top ten by 0.206s, it was 11th for rookie Casey O’Gorman (SIC58 Squadra Corse).
Check out full results here and come back for more from Brazil in two weeks!