> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.the-race.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Bezzecchi dominates but Marquez on brink of title - URL: https://www.the-race.com/motogp/bezzecchi-dominates-but-marquez-on-brink-of-title/ - Published: 2026-11-08T16:54:56.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-08T17:35:43.000Z - Description: Marco Bezzecchi took victory in Qatar - but Marc Marquez took another massive step towards the 2026 crown - Author: Valentin Khorounzhiy - Tags: MotoGP, #marco-bezzecchi, #aprilia, #jorge-martin, #marc-marquez, #secondary_feature_1 Aprilia MotoGP rider Marco Bezzecchi took victory in the Qatar Grand Prix - but Ducati's Marc Marquez took another massive step towards the 2026 crown. Marquez's second place means any point he scores or Bezzecchi drops from this point on, across the final two rounds at Portimao and Valencia, will eliminate Bezzecchi from title contention. The injured Jorge Martin laboured to seventh, meanwhile, and is now 60 points back from Marquez, with 74 available. Bezzecchi had kept the lead from pole at the start, with an Aprilia 1-2 established as Raul Fernandez worked his way past Marquez - shortly after having lunged past Trackhouse team-mate Ai Ogura at Turn 1. Marquez paced himself quite gingerly through the opening phase of the race, allowing the Aprilias to break away and even ceding third place to Pedro Acosta on the third lap. But Acosta, seemingly in trouble with front tyre pressures and desperately trying to get temperature into the rubber, rolled out to let Marquez back through a few laps later. Marquez then shook off his KTM pursuer as the race ticked over into its second half, then came up on and overtook Fernandez - who is still managing an index finger injury - for second. Fernandez held on to third place despite the threat of team-mate Ogura from behind, Ogura the second of three riders who Acosta waved through while trying to keep his tyre pressures in the right window. The third was Tech3 KTM rider Enea Bastianini, who Acosta ended up surrendering fifth place to. Martin, two weeks on from his wrist fracture, was clearly hanging on at the end but still protected seventh from Fabio Di Giannantonio - whose race, at one of his best tracks, completely unravelled after he was caught up on the outside of Fernandez's Turn 1 move on Ogura at the start. Johann Zarco was the lead Honda rider in ninth, followed by Gresini stand-in Iker Lecuona in 10th - both Lecuona and his future Ducati World Superbike team-mate Franco Morbidelli picking up places late on from Fermin Aldeguer, who is nursing a hand injury. The shoulder-limited Maverick Vinales and Honda stand-in Jake Dixon completed the 14 finishers, Dixon picking up his first two MotoGP points at the end of a solidly competitive weekend. He was aided by two retirements - one for LCR Honda's Diogo Moreira, who struggled with a reported arm issue, and one for KTM's Brad Binder, out with a reported gearbox issue. ## Race results 1 Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) 2 Marc Marquez (Ducati) +3.083s 3 Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia) +3.614s 4 Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia) +4.885s 5 Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM) +6.948s 6 Pedro Acosta (KTM) +7.413s 7 Jorge Martin (Aprilia) +14.023s 8 Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) +15.517s 9 Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) +16.257s 10 Iker Lecuona (Gresini Ducati) +17.958s 11 Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati) +20.275s 12 Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) +20.576s 13 Maverick Vinales (Tech3 KTM) +21.095s 14 Jake Dixon (Honda) +28.734s DNF Brad Binder (KTM) DNF Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda) DNS Luca Marini (Honda) DNS Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati)