More from a press release issued by Aprilia:
Aprilia Racing makes history in the USA with another one-two.
The weekend on the Circuit of the Americas comes to a close with a historic result for Aprilia Racing, taking their second consecutive one-two.
Marco Bezzecchi, starting from the fourth spot on the grid due to a penalty from Q2, was the protagonist of an extraordinary race. After contact during the first lap which damaged the rear wing of his RS-GP26, the Italian rider moved into the lead at the end of the first lap, maintaining the position all the way to the chequered flag. With this result, he takes his fifth win in a row, becoming the third rider of the modern era to manage the feat after Valentino Rossi and Marc Márquez.
For Bezzecchi this is also his sixth victory in the top class with Aprilia Racing, in addition to being the first rider to win the first three Grand Prix races of a season – an achievement that had not been accomplished since 2014. The Italian rider is now the first in the modern MotoGP era to win five consecutive GP races, remaining in the lead from the first to the last lap. In fact, Bezzecchi rode the last five GP races entirely in the lead and, with today’s result, now has a total of 121 laps in the lead, surpassing the previous record held by Jorge Lorenzo (103).
Completing the one-two was Jorge Martín, who rode a solid race to finish second. This is the Spanish rider’s second consecutive podium in a long race with Aprilia Racing and his second podium finish of the weekend, after winning the sprint race on Saturday.
This is Aprilia Racing’s eleventh victory in the top class – their second in Austin after Maverick Viñales’ win in 2024 – and their fifth consecutive. The manufacturer from Noale has now also taken their third one-two in the top class and, for the first time in their history, two one-two finishes in a row. With today’s victory, Aprilia Racing now has 305 wins in World Grand Prix Motorcycle Racing.
Marco Bezzecchi: “Saturday I made a mistake that I should have avoided, but the team was very close to me. Today it was important to ride a good race. I’m extremely happy and thrilled. I have been dreaming about doing well on this track that I’ve always liked for a long time, but I had never managed to finish the way I wanted to until now. Riding such a great race was incredible.”
Jorge Martin: “I am truly happy and extremely grateful to Aprilia. I gave my all and that makes me very proud. Saturday, I achieved the goal of winning the sprint race and I gave it my all on Sunday as well. Marco was incredible: I tried to make up ground behind him, but I was pushing too hard physically and I had to slow down in the last three laps. I have always struggled on this track, so to be on the podium here after my absence last year is fantastic.”
Massimo Rivola – CEO Aprilia Racing: “It was a memorable Sunday for Aprilia Racing, with two truly outstanding riders and an extremely competitive bike. I am very pleased with the demonstration of the synergy between the work carried out in Noale and on track. Clearly, all of this does not reduce our drive — on the contrary, it gives us even more motivation to continue developing the bike. What happened today is something historic, destined to go down in the record books. However, we still need to keep improving, because what happened to Ai Ogura is difficult to accept. I’m very sorry for him, for Justin Marks and Davide Brivio of the Trackhouse MotoGP Team. Today there was the chance to see three Aprilias on the podium and, when these opportunities arise, you have to take them.”
More from a press release issued by VR46 Team:
Di Giannantonio ends the United States GP in fourth place. The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, on track with a special livery, was very close to the podium on Sunday in Austin with Di Giannantonio, who finished the race in fourth place. Morbidelli ended in fourteenth position.
The United States GP concluded with a fourth-place finish for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, which went on track on Sunday in Austin with a special livery designed by Aldo Drudi. Fabio Di Giannantonio fought for the podium, finishing fourth and as the top Ducati rider. Franco Morbidelli placed fourteenth after a comeback race.
Di Giannantonio made the most of his pole position start (secured by breaking the lap time record), immediately joining the battle for the podium. Fabio showed an excellent pace, managing to stay with the leading group and defend his position with great determination. The rider frome Rome crossed the finish line in fourth place, confirming himself once again in Austin as the best Ducati rider at the finish. Di Giannantonio is fourth in the World Standing with 50 points.
A challenging race for Morbidelli, who started from twentieth position. After a difficult start, Franco showed great determination on a very demanding track, gaining positions. Consistently improving lap after lap, the Italian-Brazilian rider crossed the finish line in fourteenth place. With today’s result, he is thirteenth in the World Standing with 14 points.
The Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team will return to the track in three weeks following the extended break caused by the postponement of the Qatar GP. MotoGP returns to Europe for the Spanish GP, which will take place from 24th to 26th April at the Circuito de Jerez.
Fabio Di Giannantonio: “Overall, it was a positive weekend, I’m very happy. We arrived here in Austin and I wasn’t at 100% of my physical condition, so I have to thank Christian, the physiotherapist, and the whole team for the work they did to help me recover with my shoulder. We’ll need to undergo some tests to understand what’s going on, because I struggled a bit physically. Aside from that, we’re in great shape, we’re putting pressure on the front riders even though there’s still a gap at the moment. We need to work both with the team and Ducati to close that gap. We know where we need to improve and we’re already doing it. We’re still missing something in the race. It’s not the result we wanted, because when you’re competing at a high level you always aim for the podium, but today I gave my best and fourth was the maximum we could achieve. There are still many positives to take home: I got pole position and set many fast laps. I’m really happy.”
Franco Morbidelli: “It was a tough weekend. We struggled every day, although less and less each day. Today in the race we managed to score two points: it’s not what we want, but it was important to finish the race to gather information and data. The feeling with the bike wasn’t great this weekend, we didn’t have rear grip. But, we started from further back and improved more and more as the days went on. That’s a positive aspect. Now we have a few weeks off, we’ll keep training and working with the team to do better and return to our best.”
Pablo Nieto – Team Manager: “Overall, Austin was a good weekend for Diggia and we should be happy. We were missing something, because we were fighting for the win with him, and it’s a pity we didn’t make it on the podium. But he took pole position and achieving this kind of result is really great, I believe we’re working very well. Right now, our rivals have made a significant step forward, but we’re very close. Franco struggled a lot during this weekend in the United States, but he improved greatly during the race. If he continues like this, we’ll see him back in the top positions.”
More from a press release issued by Ducati Lenovo Team:
Marc Márquez and the Ducati Lenovo Team bounce back to fifth in the Grand Prix of the United States. Francesco Bagnaia tenth.
The Ducati Lenovo Team tackled the final day of the Grand Prix of the United States at Austin’s Circuit of The Americas. Marc Márquez finished the race in fifth position, while Francesco Bagnaia was tenth at the flag.
Márquez got a great start from sixth place on the grid, moving up two positions. After dropping down to seventh, he then served his long-lap penalty and rejoined in eleventh. Marc then made his way back to fifth place, which he defended up to the finish line. Bagnaia stayed in touch with the group battling for the podium while maintaining a good pace, before starting to lose ground in the second half of the encounter. In the final stages, Pecco struggled with grip and eventually finished tenth.
As the third Grand Prix of the season draws to a close, Marc Márquez is fifth in the standings with 45 points. Francesco Bagnaia is ninth, 20 points behind his teammate. The Ducati Lenovo Team is fourth in the teams’ classification (70 points), while Ducati is second in the constructors’ championship (69 points).
The Ducati Lenovo Team will make its European debut of the season on April 24th, for the opening day of practice for the Estrella Galicia 0,0 Grand Prix of Spain at the Circuito de Jerez – Ángel Nieto.
Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 5th: “Unfortunately we paid the price for yesterday’s mistake. A long-lap penalty in MotoGP, especially early on in the race, drops you down into the middle of the field. I wasn’t feeling comfortable in the first laps and I was close to making the same mistake again, but then as the grip faded I started to ride well and have fun, battling with several riders. We must keep in mind that this was only the third Grand Prix of a very long season, but we also have to admit that Bezzecchi, right now, is really fast. We have to keep inching closer to the front and focus on the small details, as we’re not missing much and I know I can do better than this.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 10th: “Already from the warm up, I didn’t have the same feeling, as I was struggling to carry the same speed into the corners as in previous days. I wasn’t fully comfortable at the start of the race: there was less rear grip, but I tried to manage it. I saw that Diggia was trying to bridge the gap to the leaders and I tried to stay with him, but then the grip got clearly worse. With four laps to go, I tried to push a bit harder in order to defend myself from Marc (Márquez) and Enea (Bastianini), but the final two laps were a nightmare: I had a near crash every time I leaned into the right-hand corners. Unfortunately, we can’t make the bike stop and turn the way we’d like, so we need to continue working in these areas.”
More from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Tech3:
Bastianini charges through the pack to finish sixth at COTA.
The third round of the 2026 MotoGP™ World Championship has concluded in the United States, with the Circuit of the Americas delivering another action-packed weekend.
Under the hot Texan conditions, Enea Bastianini lined up 12th on the grid, determined to build on the positives from Saturday’s Sprint, where he claimed P3, and convert them into a strong Sunday result.
A solid launch allowed ‘La Bestia’ to gain positions in the opening laps, and the Italian soon found his way into 10th. Showing patience and control, Bastianini kept the riders ahead close while managing his tyres around the demanding COTA layout.
The race continued to unfold in Bastianini’s favour as a crash for Joan Mir promoted him to P8. Maintaining his strong pace, the Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider continued his attack and soon advanced into 7th after passing Álex Márquez.
In the closing stages, the #23 rider entered a nail-biting three-way battle for P5. Continuing to push until the chequered flag, Bastianini ultimately crossed the line in 6th, just behind Marc Márquez after a determined late-race charge.
The result marks a significant step forward for Bastianini and his second best weekend with the Tech3 team to date, highlighting improved race pace and growing confidence with the KTM RC16.
Enea Bastianini: “I am very happy with this result because it was not an easy race. At the start, I lost the rear in Turn 3 and then, after some contact, the airbag deployed, which made things difficult for a while. After that, I tried to find my pace lap by lap and close the gap to the riders in front.
“At the end, I caught Marc, and it was a hard fight because he was pushing a lot in the final laps. I tried to get closer out of Turn 11 to have a chance into Turn 12, but we were missing a bit of acceleration. Still, we were competitive under braking and that is a positive.
“We can be satisfied with this weekend. I made a mistake in Qualifying, which made the race more difficult, but it is good to be back fighting close to the front again. Now we must keep working and continue like this in Europe.”
Nicolas Goyon, Team Manager: “We are very happy with our weekend in Austin. The team leaves with smiles on our faces, which is a real relief after two complicated races.
“I would like to congratulate Enea on the job he has done all weekend. It was great to see him enjoying the bike, building confidence, and delivering a strong race. He improved his pace and worked his way into the fight with Pecco [Bagnaia] and Marc Márquez, which was great to watch.
“P3 in the Sprint and P6 in the main race are positive results for us as we leave Austin. We now have a break, which will give Maverick time to recover from his shoulder surgery, and we hope to be back in great shape in Jerez.”
More from a press release issued by BK8 Gresini Team:
BK8 Gresini Racing Team scores points at the Americas GP.
RACEDAY
- ALEX MARQUEZ 7th
- FERMIN ALDEGUER 11th
Alex Marquez: “Today I made a few overtakes, so I’m a bit more satisfied compared to yesterday. It was the result I expected today; we didn’t have the pace to be among the best, and starting from the third row I couldn’t ask for more. We still scored points and brought home the best result possible. Right now we need to keep working and continue improving to reach the level of the front runners. With the factory bike it always takes a bit more time to get everything perfectly set up.”
Fermin Aldeguer: “It was a complicated weekend and physically tough. In the sprint I already felt the lack of pace on a MotoGP bike, but we scored points and managed to race and finish all the races without crashing. Today was tough, a very long race, but we have to be satisfied. Last year, after three races, we didn’t have this many points.”
More from a press release issued by Honda HRC:
Points keep coming for Marini in America.
Luca Marini produced a metronomic performance, attacking until the end for a last-minute ninth place at the Circuit of the Americas. Meanwhile teammate Joan Mir fell while chasing the top five at Round Three.
Another unpredictable Sunday was waiting for the MotoGP World Championship as the riders rolled onto the grid, the sun shinning but a wind whipping up around them. All eyes were on the critical first corner as lights went out.
Starting in 11th place, Luca Marini had extra work to do and found himself sandwiched between a KTM and a Gresini machine into the tight first corner of COTA after struggling off the line compared to Saturday. From here the race was a series of intense battles and passes until the #10 arrived on the edge of the top ten, settling in behind Raul Fernandez as the pace of the grid leveled out.
Seeing a fast-fading Bagnaia just ahead of him, Marini kept his rhythm until the very end to steal ninth place from the double MotoGP World Champion. A pair of point scoring finishes at the US GP moves Marini to tenth in the World Championship standings, five points behind 2025 MotoGP runner-up Alex Marquez. He leads Johann Zarco by ten points in the fight for top Honda.
Joan Mir’s Sunday followed a similar script to Saturday, the #36 starting well and locking horns with almost every Ducati on the grid. A well-saved moment early in the race sent him wide through the opening sector and earned him a Long Lap Penalty as a result. He would crash from the top ten before serving the penalty, fortunately avoiding any injury. With three points, Mir holds 19th in the World Championship standings.
After three races away from home, the Honda HRC Castrol team will now return to Europe and prepare for the Spanish GP, April 24 – 26 in Jerez. Three weeks of rest, recovery and development to arrive in the best position possible to continue the fight.
Luca Marini: “Today was pretty straight forward, everything came from the start. I was already minus two positions, and I made a really bad start, which is very strange because the starts have been one of our strongest points on the Honda. It’s something we need to check because I lost some positions. The positive is I had some really nice battles further back as it was quite a chaotic race in the opening laps – it was fun, but when I arrived to Fernandez, the pace of everyone was very close. Today the wind changed direction, so it changed our braking points, I focused on hitting my marks and in the last lap I saw Bagnaia was not having an easy time. This race shows that the level of everyone has improved a lot and we still have work to do to break into that top eight.”
Joan Mir: “A disappointing way to finish a weekend that had a lot of promise. I was in a position yesterday and today to attack, recover a lot on entry and see what was possible. When I am alone I can ride well and fast, in the slipstream with these bikes you have to risk twice as much to make up time. Finally the front went, we need to improve the rear to gain something more on corner exit because this can happen when you are riding the front so hard. I like knowing I have a chance, this is good and we have improved a lot compared to when I first started with Honda and I know that we can keep working together to improve more and more.”
More from a press release issued by Pro Honda LCR:
Pro Honda LCR rider Diogo Moreira delivered a solid performance on Sunday at COTA, finishing 13th.
- Starting from 14th on the grid, Moreira made an excellent start and quickly moved into contention for the top 10.
- Tyre management and the track’s unique layout played a significant role, making the 20-lap race especially demanding.
- In the closing stages, continuing to push while gaining experience, Moreira crossed the line in 13th position, securing points for the third consecutive time in just his third MotoGP race.
More from a press release issued by Prima Pramac Yamaha:
Another Challenging Race in Austin for Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP with a Silver Lining. Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP endured another demanding race at COTA, but both riders showed resilience, with Toprak Razgatlıoğlu scoring his first MotoGP point.
It was another tough race for Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP at the Circuit of the Americas, as Toprak Razgatlıoğlu and Jack Miller — starting from 17th and 19th positions respectively — spent the race battling within a close group that included the other Yamaha riders.
Despite running toward the back of the field, both riders remained competitive within their group and, importantly, were able to complete the full race distance. This represents a small but meaningful step forward for both the riders and the development of the Yamaha YZR-M1.
The main positive of the day came from Toprak Razgatlıoğlu, who scored the first point of his MotoGP career. While the Turkish rider is clearly aiming for much stronger results, the achievement offers a degree of encouragement after a challenging start to the season and reflects an improving feeling with the bike.
Jack Miller also battled throughout the race and, in the closing laps, was able to make a move to gain another position, eventually crossing the finish line just behind his teammate.
Although the overall result does not yet match the team‘s ambitions, the race provided further valuable data and confirmed incremental progress as the development work continues.
Toprak Razgatlıoğlu: “Today was a very tough race for everyone, but I was pushing more than 100% because I really wanted to score my first point. In the end, I achieved it, and I‘m very happy. Another positive is that I‘m starting to enjoy riding the bike more during the race, and I‘m learning a lot. I followed Fabio for several laps and was able to understand more about his riding style and the track, which is very important for me at this stage.
Race by race, weekend by weekend, we are improving, and that makes me happy. Of course, this is just the beginning — now the goal is to keep learning and start fighting for better results. We now have a few weeks before the next race, so I will continue training and come back ready to keep working, starting from Spain.”
Jack Miller: “Overall, we made some steps forward over the weekend, and I‘m quite happy with the general set-up of the bike. There are still some areas, especially in the DNA of the bike, that we need to keep working on and refining, but for now we‘re doing the best we can with what we have.
The important thing is that we‘re starting to understand the bike better and build a clearer direction for the future. We know there‘s still work to do, but we‘re staying focused and continuing to push the project forward.
Now I‘m looking forward to getting back to Europe — having races closer together should help us keep the momentum, bring some updates, and continue developing in the right direction.”
Jack also delivered a solid performance, and from the halfway point of the race both riders showed they had the pace to stay close to the top ten. That‘s an important indication for us. This is our starting point, and it‘s from here that we need to continue building. We know it won‘t be easy, but we‘ve already reduced the gap significantly compared to the first races. Now we have to keep our heads down, continue working, and bring the team and our riders closer to where they belong.”
More from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha:
Tough Day At The Office for Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP on Texas Race Day.
Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP’s Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins struggled to make progress in the 20-lap Grand Prix of the United States Race. They finished in P17 and P18 respectively.
The Grand Prix of the United States Race didn’t play out as the Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team had hoped. Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins took the chequered flag in 17th and 18th place respectively.
Quartararo launched from P16 and held this position for the majority of the 20-lap contest, though he briefly climbed up to P15 after Ai Ogura had a technical issue on lap 15. El Diablo was in the company of Toprak Razgatlíoğlu and focused on defending his position from him. El Diablo did so successfully until lap 18. Losing one more position to Jack Miller on the final lap, he finished in P17, 27.136s from first.
Starting from P21, Rins was not able to make up positions in the tight Turn 1 and settled at the back of the pack. He climbed up a position on lap 5 but had to relinquish it on lap 8, and afterwards it became a lonely ride for him. With three rivals unable to reach the finish line, Rins took the chequered flag in P18, 38.701s from the winner.
Today’s results put Quartaro in 17th place in the championship standings with 6 points. Rins is in 18th with 3 points. Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP are in 10th position in the team classifications, with 9 points, and Yamaha is fifth in the contructor rankings with 9 points.
The team will enjoy three weeks off before travelling to Jerez for the Grand Prix of Spain, held from 24–26 April.
Fabio Quartararo: “I didn’t expect the tyres to drop like that at the end. I was managing the tyres, but they still dropped in the last five laps. Yamaha knows what we need and what we need to do. Toprak impressed me all weekend, though. The way he rides is really smooth and very much his style, like we’ve seen in WorldSBK – it’s good.”
Alex Rins: “We had an electronic issue in today’s race that was affecting the bike. In the beginning I was feeling good. I was in front of Miller, and I was going to catch Toprak. But on lap 8, I started to encounter an issue, and that’s it. It was quite tough to manage.”
Massimo Meregalli: “All in all, it’s been a tough race weekend. I don’t want to say that ‘it’s a GP to forget’ because we need to learn from the difficulties we faced. We knew before coming here that COTA is one of the tracks that highlight our areas of improvement. Following the Sprint and the Race, we now have data with the new bike that we can analyse. While these are not ‘fun’ races for the riders or our team, they are crucial for future bike development. We will use the three weeks leading up to the Spanish GP to regroup and prepare, so we can give it our all again in Jerez.”
More from a press release issued by CASTROL Honda LCR:
Castrol Honda LCR rider Johann Zarco endured a difficult Sunday at COTA, crashing at the early stages of the race.
- Starting from 15th on the grid and determined to fight for points, Zarco made a strong launch.
- However, on lap two, he suffered a crash at Turn 9 due to another rider’s mistake.
- Despite the incident, the Frenchman was able to rejoin the race, gathering valuable data and riding on strong laptimes, ultimately retiring at the end of the race.
More from a press release issued by ELF Marc VDS:
Aron Canet takes solid points for 13th place in a shortened Moto2 race, while Deniz Öncü was 20th.
- After an overcast Saturday, the sun returned to Austin on Sunday with the third Moto2 race of 2026 taking place in perfect conditions and ambient temperatures of 25 degrees.
- The Moto2 race was red flagged two laps in after a 7-rider collision at Turn. The restart was held over the shortened distance of 10 laps, rather than 16.
- A strong crowd was in attendance at the spectacular Circuit of the Americas on Sunday with the main grandstand close to being full.
- Having made excellent improvements on Saturday, Aron was confident starting Sunday. He made a solid getaway in the restart. After losing two places on lap 2, he climbed as high as 11th on lap 6.
- The Spaniard was pushed back to 13th on the closing lap, but this was the best feeling he had found so far this year. This should be a solid platform to achieve good results back in Europe.
- This result puts Aron 16th in the championship standings with 5.5 points.
Aron Canet: “I’m super happy. This was the best race of the year so far. It’s not the result that I want. It’s not the result that the team wants. But for me I know we need to make improvements step by step and everything won’t come immediately. We have to keep working at it as this weekend I could feel we were getting closer. I’m really happy because we understood many things this weekend and we’ve found a good direction to work in. Let’s try and continue on this line at Jerez.”
- Deniz’s task for the day was made difficult when he crashed on the exit of Turn 11 on the sighting lap of the restart. Thankfully, he was able to remount and make the second start.
- After that the Turkish rider struggled to find his best rhythm over the ten laps. But he collected important experience in Austin that will serve him well from the next round in Spain.
- This result leaves Deniz 17th in the championship standings with 3.5 points.
Deniz Öncü: “We’ve finished this American GP. It wasn’t an easy weekend for me. But we’ve tried a lot of things to improve my feeling. Today, before the race start, I had a highside on the sighting lap. I still managed to come to the grid and I just made the race start. I can’t say it was a positive weekend. But we tried many things. Also, it looks like we have some ideas to follow at the next round at Jerez. We’ve never been too down, even if this weekend didn’t go as planned. We’ll stay strong and I’ll keep pushing, keep working and make sure I’m fully ready for Jerez.”
More from a press release issued by MT Helmets:
Danish fights back to gain 12 positions and score points in Austin.
The World Championship headed to the Circuit of the Americas in Austin for the United States Grand Prix, the third round of the calendar after Thailand and Brazil.
The AEON Credit MT Helmets–MSi riders were unable to shine in Saturday’s sessions and had to start the race from the back of the grid.
Ryusei Yamanaka started from the seventh row, while Hakim Danish lined up last after a crash in Q1 prevented him from fighting for a place in Q2.
The race was held in dry conditions, with strong winds playing a role in the moments leading up to the start. In this context, Hakim Danish made a strong start, gaining five positions on the opening lap. The Malaysian rider maintained a consistent pace, allowing him to steadily move forward and cross the finish line in 13th place, scoring further points in his rookie Moto3 season.
Meanwhile, Ryusei Yamanaka finished 18th in a race where starting positions proved decisive and limited the Japanese rider’s chances of progressing through the field.
The World Championship now heads into a three-week break before the start of the European leg. The next round will be the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, from April 24 to 26.
Hakim Danish: “I had a heavy crash in qualifying and had to start from the back of the grid, which affected the entire race. Even so, I didn’t give up and managed to gain several positions, especially in the opening laps. It was a demanding race, particularly in terms of tyre management on such a technical circuit. Overall, I’ve learned a lot this weekend.”
Ryusei Yamanaka: “It was a difficult weekend overall. We couldn’t find the feeling we were looking for, and that affected both our qualifying and race performance. Now it’s time to reset and prepare for the Spanish Grand Prix, at a track I really like and where I hope to take a step forward.”
