At the Circuito de Jerez, the MotoGP race brought both excitement and surprises. Alex Márquez made a strong comeback, taking a memorable victory at his home track. Marco Bezzecchi finished second, with Fabio Di Giannantonio completing the podium. The race also saw drama for Marc Márquez, who crashed his Ducati and missed out on the fight at the front.
More from a press release issued by BK8 Gresini Team:
Ops, we’re back!
- RACE DAY
ALEX MARQUEZ 1º 🥇
FERMIN ALDEGUER 9º
- WORLD SSTANDINGS
ALEX MARQUEZ 7° – 53 points
FERMIN ALDEGUER 15° – 20 points
ALEX MARQUEZ #73: “If there was a track where I could rediscover my feeling, it was Jerez. Magic happens here, and that’s exactly how it went. I felt good right from Friday, but I didn’t expect to be this fast. We did an amazing job together with the team—we worked hard, and getting two consecutive wins is absolutely incredible. I attacked right from the start, both Marco and Marc, and then I found a strong rhythm. These 25 points give us a lot of confidence and at least put us back among the top 7 in the overall standings. Now we’ll try to build race by race.”
FERMIN ALDEGUER #54: “Many positive things from this race. Starting from 12th, I knew it wouldn’t be easy, and after a disastrous start the situation got even worse. But I still managed to put together a good race—the top 10 is definitely important, though we still need to find a solid base with this new bike. We’re definitely lacking something physically; after Austin I was completely drained, but we were coming off a double-header. I feel better now, but we’ll see tomorrow morning how I feel for the tests.”
More from a press release issued by Aprilia:
Fourth consecutive race podium in 2026 for Aprilia Racing. Four Aprilias in the top six in Jerez: Marco Bezzecchi second and Jorge Martin fourth. Trackhouse MotoGP Team’s Ai Ogura fifth and Raul Fernandez sixth.
The weekend at Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto ended with a positive balance for Aprilia Racing. Marco Bezzecchi rode a solid race, finishing second and taking his sixth podium in a row, including the ones in 2025. This is the Italian rider’s fourth consecutive podium in the first four GP races of the season, becoming the first rider ever to do so in the top class since 2016. It is also his best personal MotoGP result in Jerez, as well as Aprilia Racing’s, which improves the previous third-place finish achieved in 2022 with Aleix Espargaró.
Positive race for Jorge Martín as well who, after starting from the tenth spot on the grid, was protagonist of an outstanding start which placed him in fourth position, thereby tying his best result on the Andalusian track.
Lorenzo Savadori, riding in a wild card slot, was forced to retire during the seventh lap due to his less-than-optimum fitness after the accident in the sprint race.
Also worth a mention is the performance of the Trackhouse MotoGP Team riders, with Ai Ogura and Raúl Fernández fifth and sixth across the finish line to complete a result with four Aprilias in the top six spots.
Marco Bezzecchi: “I gave it my all this weekend, but unfortunately it was not enough to battle for the win. During the race I managed to improve and maintain a competitive pace. In any case, I’m satisfied. The team did an outstanding job like always and I thank them. Now we’ll be looking ahead to the test.”
Jorge Martin: “The start was extremely good. I tried to manage the tyre, but from the early laps, the feeling with the rear wasn’t the best: I was lacking grip both under braking and under acceleration. In any case, I tried to give one hundred percent in this race. I can’t wait for the test on Monday in order to continue taking steps forward.”
Lorenzo Savadori: “The impact during the sprint race was rather violent, but fortunately, I didn’t suffer any fractures. However, I was unable to ride during the race. I couldn’t manage to lean off the bike to do the turn angles and to pick the bike up. Consequently, I was unfortunately forced to retire.”
Massimo Rivola – CEO Aprilia Racing: “It was a Sunday where we demonstrated great consistency, with four Aprilias in the top six spots. The most positive aspect is seeing that we were not discouraged after a poor Saturday where everything possible happened. This gives us even more strength to tackle the upcoming races with the awareness that if we work every day seeking to give our maximum, we will achieve the maximum; so now we’re already focused on having a good test on Monday.”
More from a press release issued by Pertamina Enduro VR46 Team:
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team claims the second podium of the season in the Spanish GP with Fabio Di Giannantonio, who is third in Sunday’s race and in the Top3 of the World Standing. Franco Morbidelli is twelfth.
The Spanish GP ends on a positive note for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, that proves to be competitive in Sunday’s race too and claims the podium with Fabio Di Giannantonio, who is third both at the finish line and in the World Standing. On dry track, Franco Morbidelli recovers some positions and ends in twelfth place.
A complicated start from the front row, forced Di Giannantonio to lose some places in the early stages of the race, but he showed a great rhythm right away, by entering again in the fight for the top places. The rider from Rome kept a good pace throughout all the race, crossing the finish line in third place and claiming his second podium of the season. With this result, Di Giannantonio is third in the World Standing with 71 points.
After his Sprint podium, Morbidelli had a solid race on Sunday, starting from the sixth row. At the difficult Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto, Franco completed many overtakes, recovering positions throughout the 25 laps of Sunday’s race. The Italian Brazilian rider crossed the finish line in twelfth position and collected some important points. Morbidelli sits now in thirteenth place in the World Standing with 25 points.
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team stays at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto for the Official IRTA Test Day that will take place on Monday. Then, MotoGP will go to Le Mans, where the French GP will take place from 8th to the 10th May.
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO: “I am really happy with the level we’re showing. I’m just a bit upset because I made a mistake at the start: the team did a great job during all the weekend and in these months, but this little mistake didn’t allow us to really fight. For sure, it’s a great podium and we must be very happy. We are also in the Top3 of the World Standing and it’s great. But we think we could have done more without that mistake. Of course, when you start to collect such great results, a third place is not enough, but it’s an amazing result, anyway. We’re doing a great job; we just must keep the focus on and the feet on the ground. The season is still very long, but let’s keep working like this.”
FRANCO MORBIDELLI: “Today’s race was tougher, but I expected that. Yesterday we secured a podium, but for today’s race we kept working on some changes that didn’t work as we wanted, although they were useful for understanding how to solve the issue of lack of rear grip. I perform better in the final laps of the race because the tyres are so used and the bike becomes more manageable and smoother. We made some steps, but we still need to work on improving the first part of the race. We’re working very well and we proved it yesterday with the podium in the Sprint, but in dry conditions we’re still struggling a bit. Ducati and the team are working to solve this problem; in that sense, tomorrow’s test day will be very full and crucial.”
PABLO NIETO: “The Spanish GP was a crucial weekend, the first European race is always very difficult, and you can understand your value. We proved to be very strong with Di Giannantonio during all the weekend and in every condition, even on wet where we used to struggle. This second podium is a great result to end the race weekend. Yesterday, we claimed a great third place with Franco in a Sprint where we had to be smart. We must still improve, but I am very happy with the steps we made with him. I think we must be very satisfied with the job we’ve done. Now, let’s focus on Monday’s test, another crucial day to keep working on the bike.”
More from a press release issued by Castrol Honda LCR:
Castrol Honda LCR rider Johann Zarco finished 7th in Sunday’s race at the Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto.
- Starting from 2nd on the grid, Johann Zarco made a solid start and quickly established himself within the front group, in contention for the podium.
- The Frenchman showed strong pace throughout, consistently fighting at the front and running 5th, defending his position with determination.
- In the final stages, tyre wear became a limiting factor, making it harder for him to keep pushing. Zarco eventually crossed the line in 7th place, securing valuable points, finishing as the top Honda rider on the timesheets, and achieving his best result in 2026 after the first four races.
More from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Tech3:
Bastianini leads KTM charge with strong points-scoring run in Spain.
Enea Bastianini produced a pacy performance to register an eighth-place finish for Red Bull KTM Tech3 in today’s Grand Prix of Spain, starring in front of a sold-out, sun-kissed 96,540-strong crowd at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto during round four of the 2026 MotoGP™ World Championship.
Having lined up a season-best seventh on the grid amongst the 23 high-calibre contenders in the sport’s premier class, Bastianini made a solid start to the 25-lap contest – the milestone 40th running of the Andalusian race.
Swiftly settling into an entertaining three-way tussle for sixth with Pedro Acosta and Raúl Fernández, he showed particularly impressive pace through the final sector of the physical and tortuous 4.42km, 13-turn lap.
After conceding a spot to Fernández, the Italian got the better of Acosta to lead the KTM charge, rapidly pulling away to make seventh position his own. As the race progressed, however, Bastianini found himself under threat from a hard-charging Ai Ogura, with the pair thrilling fans by engaging in a wheel-to-wheel duel before the Japanese rider made his move stick.
Thereafter confidently consolidating eighth position aboard his #23 KTM RC16, ‘La Bestia’ closed the gap to fellow former Moto2 World Champion Johann Zarco to under a second-and-a-half by the chequered flag – in so doing, jumping from 12th to tenth in the World Championship standings.
Next up is Red Bull KTM Tech3’s home event at Le Mans’ Bugatti Circuit – round five of the 22-round campaign and the second stop on the calendar’s European leg on 8-10 May – where the squad hopes to be back to full strength with the return of Maverick Viñales on the sister bike alongside Bastianini. Prior to heading back to France, there is a day of testing at Jerez tomorrow (27 April).
Enea Bastianini: “It’s been a solid weekend from my side. I can be happy, because we were competitive in every session – whether it was cold or hot and also with the wind in today’s race. To be honest, my expectation for the Grand Prix was a bit higher. I was thinking about the top five, but after a few laps, I felt a lot of drop-off from the front tyre so it was impossible to push it from then on. Still, we remained consistent to the end and since Austin, we have taken a good step forward; my main problem during the first two rounds of the season was a lack of all-round grip, but now, it feels much better. Let’s continue in this way!”
Nicolas Goyon, Team Manager: “Enea produced a really strong performance at Jerez. We were looking forward to seeing what he could do after his excellent results in Austin, and it has been another very positive weekend. He had his best qualifying of the season so far – which is so important around this track – and then ran very well in sixth place in the Sprint race until the rain came. We thought maybe we could challenge for the top five in the Grand Prix given how well he manages tyre degradation, but the top guys were just slightly out of reach so eighth and top KTM rider was still a good result. Enea is feeling happier on the bike after a tough start to the year, and climbing into the top ten in the championship will give him even more confidence. Now, it will be really important to maintain this level of performance. The test tomorrow offers us the perfect opportunity to confirm the improvements we have made and set ourselves up well for the rest of the season.”
More from a press release issued by Honda HRC Castrol:
Honda HRC Castrol takes points in challenging Spanish GP.
Contact and long lap penalties restricted both Luca Marini and Joan Mir from doing anything more, the pair leaving the first European Grand Prix of the year with a 13th and 15th place finish respectively.
From before sunrise, the hills and grandstands of the Circuito de Jerez – Angel Nieto began to fill with close to 100,000 fans, eagerly awaiting what would unfold. The hottest conditions of the weekend introduced a new element to Sunday, Honda HRC Castrol making the most of morning Warm Up to prepare for the 25-lap Spanish Grand Prix.
Starting well, Luca Marini found himself squeezed heading into the first corner and resulting contact removed much of the aerodynamics on the lefthand side of his Honda RC213V. Settling into a rhythm to recover the positions he lost while also working to fully understand the condition of his machine, Marini put on a respectable march forward and he closed in on the likes of Rins, Quartararo and the points. Taking 13th at the line, the #10 leaves Spain with 27 points in the World Championship standings.
Double Long Lap Penalty looming, Joan Mir pushed from the off to open as much margin as possible before completing his penalty by lap eight. Consistent pace had the 2020 MotoGP World Champion close in on the factory Yamaha pair ahead, easily passing Rins and looking for a way past Quartararo until the final corner. 15th rewards Mir with a single point and his first Sunday race finish of the 2026 season.
The Honda HRC Castrol team will remain in Spain for the first post-race test of the year, a critical moment to make improvements before three Grands Prix in rapid succession.
Luca Marini: “Unfortunately at the start of the race I had contact with some other riders and our bike’s aerodynamics were damaged. Without the left side of the aero, everything was compromised – from wheelie in under acceleration to getting the bike stopped. We did what we could in this situation. Zarco showed how important Qualifying is, from second on the grid he could fight for sixth or seventh, so we need to keep working on our Friday and Saturday to improve Sunday. We keep improving and see what we can learn from the post-race test.”
Joan Mir: “Considering the Double Long Lap Penalty, the result is about as good as we could have hoped for. Our main objective was to finish the race because the conditions, the grip and everything were very critical today and with the weather we didn’t have the perfect package. Not the weekend or the result we aimed for, but some good information and at least we made some good overtakes during the comeback at the end. Now a day of testing with a few things to work on.”
More from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins engaged in battles in the 25-lap Grand Prix of Spain Race. They finished in P14 and P16 respectively.
The 25-lap Grand Prix of Spain Race riding conditions were in direct contrast with those of the Sprint completed less than 24-hours earlier. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins pushed in the Spanish sunshine and took the chequered flag in 14th and 16th place respectively.
Quartararo had a good launch from P17 and pushed on in the first half of the race. He managed to climb as high as P12 but got under pressure in the final 10 laps from chasing rivals. The Yamaha man skilfully kept Joan Mir at bay on the last laps to finish in P14, 29.532s from first.
Starting from P21, Rins was keen to make inroads in the early laps. By lap 13, he was in 14th place. However, chasing rivals were looming while he experienced a tyre drop, making the final third of the race tough for Rins. He ultimately ended it in P16, 32.921s from the winner.
Today’s results put Quartararo in 16th place in the championship standings with 11 points. Rins is in 19th with 3 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP are in 10th position in the team classifications with 14 points, and Yamaha is fifth in the constructor rankings with 14 points.
The team will be back in action at the Jerez track tomorrow for the one-day IRTA test.
Fabio Quartararo: “I tried to ride in a different way to see if that would help, but it didn’t really. Tomorrow we will continue the work from the weekend.”
Alex Rins: “It was a tough weekend. From my side, I’m kind of happy because our pace was better than I expected. Overall, I was trying to fight until the rear tyre dropped, but when also the front tyre dropped, it became difficult for me to ride and lean like I wanted to. Let’s see what we have available to try at tomorrow’s test and if we can improve the bike a little.”
Massimo Meregalli – Team Director: “All in all, it’s been a tough race weekend, but today we did what we could in the Race. We knew that the feeling wasn’t great in the dry, so we expected it to be a long race today. Fabio and Álex made good starts and capitalised on the pack being close together at the time. While our riders still couldn’t battle to their full potential, especially Fabio showed some expert defensive riding in the final laps, and overall the riders got the maximum result within our capabilities. We will be back at the Jerez track tomorrow for the one-day IRTA test. Thankfully, it looks like we will have good riding weather again, so we should be able to complete our full testing programme.”
More from a press release issued by Pro Honda LCR:
Pro Honda LCR rider Diogo Moreira finished 17th in Sunday’s race at the Circuito de Jerez Ángel Nieto.
- Starting from 23rd on the grid, Moreira faced a challenging comeback over the course of the 25-lap race.
- The Brazilian rider reported feeling strong during the early stages, where he was able to push and make progress through the field.
- However, in the closing laps, tyre degradation became a key factor, making it difficult for him to maintain his pace. Despite the late struggles, Moreira crossed the line in 17th position, gathering valuable data and already looking ahead to the Monday test.
More from a press release issued by Prima Pramac Yamaha:
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP Concludes Challenging Weekend in Jerez.
Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP endured a demanding race in Jerez, with penalties and technical challenges affecting the final outcome as the team now turns its focus to crucial post-race testing.
It was a difficult weekend for Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP at Jerez, as both Jack Miller and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu were unable to build on the progress shown at COTA. Solutions that had appeared promising did not deliver the expected results on track, while the changing weather conditions on Saturday further limited the team‘s ability to carry out consistent development work.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, who started the race with a long lap penalty following his involvement in a crash during Saturday‘s Sprint, initially made up positions at the start. However, after serving the penalty, he rejoined near the back of the field with a significant gap to the pack and was unable to recover, maintaining that position until the chequered flag.
Jack Miller, who was once again engaged in close battles in the latter part of the field, faced additional challenges due to a rear brake issue that limited his ability to push further. Despite his efforts, he crossed the line in 18th position after a demanding race.
With the race weekend concluded, the team will remain in Jerez for an important day of testing on Monday. This session will be a key opportunity to continue the development and set-up work on the Yamaha YZR-M1, building on the data gathered since the first tests in Sepang and aiming to take another step forward.
Jack Miller: “It was one of those weekends for us. The race itself didn‘t feel too bad — I got a decent start, but I made a mistake in the last corner on the first lap where I carried too much closing speed. After that, I was starting to find a rhythm and make my way forward.
I had just passed Diogo and put in a couple of strong laps, but then I lost the rear brake. That obviously made things difficult, especially in the heavy braking zones, and Diogo was able to come back past me. In the faster, flowing corners I actually felt quite good, but overall it limited what I could do.
Tomorrow we resume work and will be trying different new things that hopefully can be a new step in the right direction.”
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu: “It was a really difficult race. I struggled at the beginning to find my rhythm, especially with the new tyre and had the same issue with engine braking that I have had in the past — the bike wasn‘t stopping the way I wanted. But towards the end of the race, my feeling improved and I was able to do better lap times over the last few laps. Now we need to analyse the difference between the start and the end of the race to understand what changed.
At the moment, the main issue for me is still the engine braking. It‘s something I‘ve been feeling consistently, and we need to solve it. Once we fix that, we can then focus on improving the turning and rear grip. We will keep working together as a team to find solutions, starting from the test tomorrow.”
Gino Borsoi – Team Director: “It was definitely not an easy weekend. To be honest, I was convinced we could have done better at this circuit, especially considering some of the positive signs we had seen in the previous race with a few improvements to the bike. However, the whole weekend turned out to be quite complicated.
The changing weather certainly didn‘t help, but overall we weren‘t able to find the right set-up for both riders. We struggled yesterday and again today in the race. In particular, Saturday presented a good opportunity that we weren‘t able to take advantage of.
It‘s been a difficult weekend, and now we need to use it as a moment to reflect, understand where we can improve, and make sure we don‘t miss opportunities when they arise. It will require a collective effort from the whole team, and hopefully this will help us move forward in the future.”
More from a press release issued by Yamaha Factory:
Augusto Fernández Perseveres in Spanish GP Race.
The Yamaha Factory Racing Team had planned on using the perfect riding conditions of the Grand Prix of Spain Sunday to the fullest. With a clear objective – collect race data at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto – wild-card entry Augusto Fernández started the 25-lap MotoGP Race, but contact on lap 2 caused rear-brake failure. The test rider still managed to finish the race in 20th place.
The Yamaha Factory Racing Team completed their Grand Prix of Spain testing programme in today’s 25-lap MotoGP Race. Wild-card entry Augusto Fernández took the chequered flag in P20 despite his rear brake being damaged due to contact with another rider on lap 2.
The goal for the perfectly sunny 25-lap race was to secure racing data. Fernández started from P16 and fell back to P22 in the opening stages. Riding with a damaged rear brake after lap 2, the number 47 still opted to finish the race. He ultimately crossed the finish line in 20th place, 1’05.023s from first.
More from a press release issued by Ducati Lenovo Team:
A challenging Sunday for the Ducati Lenovo Team at Jerez: Marc Márquez crashes on lap two, Francesco Bagnaia forced to retire.
The Ducati Lenovo Team wrapped up the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Spain at the ‘Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto’ with an unexpected result, following Saturday’s one-two finish in the Sprint. Marc Márquez crashed out of the race on lap two while running second, while Francesco Bagnaia was forced to retire on lap thirteen.
Márquez made a strong start from pole position and held the lead into turn one. After attempting to pull away on the opening lap, he was caught and passed by his brother Alex before losing the front of his Desmosedici GP at turn eleven. Bagnaia lost one position at the start but climbed back up to ninth in the first half of the race. On lap thirteen, Pecco encountered a technical issue that forced him to return to the pits.
As the fourth Grand Prix of the season comes to a close, Marc Márquez sits fifth in the championship standings with 57 points, while Francesco Bagnaia is ninth, 23 points adrift of his teammate. The Ducati Lenovo Team is fifth in the teams’ standings (91 points), with Ducati second in the constructors’ championship (106 points).
The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back in action tomorrow at Jerez for a one-day official test, while the fifth Grand Prix of the 2026 season will take place at Le Mans (France) on May 8–10.
Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – DNF: “I’m fine physically. We enjoyed this Grand Prix of Spain from Thursday to Sunday, so it’s a pity that the race ended so early. I did something different at turn eleven, which caused the crash. I was trying to manage the situation, as I knew Alex (Márquez) was quicker, and the goal was to finish in third or fourth place. We struggled in terms of feeling and pace in the first three races, while this has been our strongest weekend so far this season. We were competitive in the wet, but there’s still work to do in dry conditions, and we’ll start addressing that already tomorrow.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – DNF: “We were lucky yesterday, not so much today. I didn’t get a great start but tried to recover positions, and I was lapping at a solid pace — not enough for the podium, but a top-seven finish was within reach. I tried to follow the lines of Enea (Bastianini) and Ogura, who were ahead of me, and our pace was similar. Unfortunately, I had an issue with a detail of the bike from the start, and it worsened lap after lap. In the end, I had to return to the pits because I couldn’t get the bike to stop properly. I believe this issue won’t happen again going forward. Tomorrow we’ll work to get closer to Alex’s pace and evaluate the solutions available to us.”
