Marquez wins Qatar sprint after contentious Bezzecchi clash
Reigning MotoGP champion Marc Marquez took another step towards the 2026 title after winning the Qatar Grand Prix sprint - following a controversial collision with Marco Bezzecchi.
Marquez and Bezzecchi came together on the fourth lap of the race after a red-flag restart, as Marquez - running ahead of the Aprilia rider - left room on the corner apex by taking a wider line than Bezzecchi.
Bezzecchi tried to sneak past on the apex, but as Marquez returned to the racing line the pair collided - and Bezzecchi's Aprilia slid out from under him.
The incident was investigated by the stewards, but they quickly took no further action, to the seeming discontent of Aprilia racing boss Massimo Rivola as he learned of the verdict on the broadcast.
CONTACT BETWEEN @marcmarquez93 & Bezzecchi 😱😱😱 The #72 has gone down and @88jorgemartin is now 2nd 🤯 #QatarGP 🇶🇦 https://t.co/4RqDRdj59w
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 7, 2026
In the original race start, Bezzecchi had headed Marquez from pole, but the race was neutralised for a major crash involving Fermin Aldeguer and Pecco Bagnaia.
Bagnaia had briefly featured in second place but was shuffled down to fifth, before being struck from behind by Aldeguer - who was in the process of lunging at Pedro Acosta for sixth.
Bagnaia was taken to the medical centre and did not take part in the restart.
The second time around, Bezzecchi's launch off the grid was really poor - and Marquez capitalised immediately, then fought off a Bezzecchi counter-attack on the second lap before their collision on lap four.
In the meantime, the injured Jorge Martin had made his way up from 10th to what became second - but keeping the pressure up on Marquez proved unrealistic.
Instead, Martin came under attack, and was ultimately overtaken by, Fabio Di Giannantonio.
He now trails Marquez by 49 points, with Bezzecchi another 30 down. A Marquez win on Sunday coupled with a Martin non-score would give Marquez the title - but no other outcome would.
Raul Fernandez had an issue disengaging his ride height device at the start, but ultimately salvaged fourth place, fighting off Johann Zarco and Pedro Acosta - who in the very end stayed just narrowly ahead of Fernandez's Trackhouse team-mate Ai Ogura.
The final points-paying positions on offer went to Enea Bastianini and Gresini stand-in Iker Lecuona - benefitting from the double long-lap penalty incurred by Aldeguer for the Bagnaia collision.
Race results
1 Marc Marquez (Ducati)
2 Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) +0.862s
3 Jorge Martin (Aprilia) +1.519s
4 Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia) +2.700s
5 Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) +3.720s
6 Pedro Acosta (KTM) +4.664s
7 Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia) +4.858s
8 Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM) +5.582s
9 Iker Lecuona (Gresini Ducati) +8.082s
10 Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda) +9.220s
11 Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) +9.429s
12 Brad Binder (KTM) +9.483s
13 Luca Marini (Honda) +12.727s
14 Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati) +12.874s
15 Maverick Vinales (Tech3 KTM) +13.483s
16 Jake Dixon (Honda) +19.373s
DNF Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia)
DNF Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati)
