Winners and losers from MotoGP's 2026 Mugello sprint

MotoGP’s Mugello sprint featured some surprise early stars and a victory battle between two stablemates who’d enraged each other last time out.

Here’s our pick of the stars and flops of the day.

Winner: Diogo Moreira (10th)

This will just show on the results sheet as a point-less 10th place. But in the early laps this was the breakthrough ride of what’s already an impressive rookie season.

In Johann Zarco’s absence, Diogo Moreira slotted straight into his team-mate’s usual place in the order - thrusting the LCR Honda much higher up the field than it really should have been, then making himself as hard to pass as he could. And he was a long, long way ahead of the works Hondas too.

The early third place never looked like it would last, and the ultimate 10th place was in the end a bit disappointing, Moreira admitting he simply went too hard too soon. Most rookies do, the first time they’re this close to the front. The best learn fast and can hold their own for longer next time. - Matt Beer

Loser: Marco Bezzecchi (4th)

Not too much damage to the championship point - down three points to 12 - but this was an opportunity lost.

It's felt like a while since Marco Bezzecchi actually looked like the fastest rider in the field but pole here was a good sign.

An average start and too tentative first corner (where he seemed surprised by the arrival of the far more assertive Moreira) left him sixth and he could only recover to fourth.

He didn't think choosing the soft rear tyre while the top two uniquely went all-medium made much difference. This was a race lost at the first corner. - MB

Winner: Raul Fernandez (1st)

This was arguably the most impressive ride of Raul Fernandez's MotoGP career, even though it's worth precisely 48% of the points of his Phillip Island win from last year.

But whereas last year the double long-lap penalty for Marco Bezzecchi - and the absence of Phillip Island specialist Marc Marquez - were crucial factors in Raul getting a relatively clear run to the win, here Fernandez had to make his own luck to a much greater extent.

Making it even more impressive is that Fernandez has come down with some sort of stomach bug - so looked downright pale facing the media after his triumph.

"This morning I didn't really eat too much and yeah, right now I feel super uncomfortable. 

"I don't know, I will go to the medical [centre] to see how I can recover well for tomorrow - because it's important to eat and prepare well for the race." - Val Khorounzhiy

...Loser? Raul Fernandez (1st)

But there was apparently another element to Fernandez's discomfort - as he alluded repeatedly to the fact the victory has come while he's in "not the best moment" and "not the best situation" that he "cannot speak 100% about".

Is it about 2027, The Race asked? "Maybe" was the answer.

The implication was clear that something is going on in the background that has made Fernandez feel he is on shakier ground than anyone has expected - and it's not clear how much of an influence this win will have.

A significant report dropped, also on Saturday, that might be relevant to the situation. Nicolo Bulega is en route to MotoGP after all in 2027, with VR46 Ducati (according to Sky Sports Italy) - which means even fewer spots for established riders, and perhaps an extra competition (from someone like, say, Luca Marini?) for Fernandez's Trackhouse ride. - VK

Loser: Ai Ogura (8th)

Ai Ogura overtaking one or more riders in the final laps of a race is one of the most consistent and familiar sights in 2026-spec MotoGP - but, as he himself acknowledged on Saturday, a charge to eighth was nothing to scream about, and the qualifying underperformance that had necessitated the charge was all on him.

He said Fernandez was going "faster in all the corners" - and that, in addition to failing to put his sectors together in Q1, he just doesn't have the overall performance he wants.

He's still a very trustworthy rider in terms of stretching out his performance over a race distance, but it's tough to put a positive spin on a result like this when the other Aprilias went 1-2-4. - VK

Winner: Marc Marquez (5th)

When he qualified fourth and very briefly surged into the lead at the start, it looked like maybe this would be a very special Marc Marquez comeback.

But this was Marquez firmly in sensible mode, managing his energy levels through the race so he had enough left to avoid a late fade - and executing that strategy very effectively.

It's more points lost to the Aprilias, but we're thinking about that much more than Marquez is.

The highlight for him was that after the race he was able to write some notes down - proof to him that the arm surgery has worked because the nerve problem meant his hands had been shaking too much to write after recent races.

A low key result, but an ideal first step in his latest recovery mission. - MB

Loser: KTM (9th/11th/15th/DNF)

KTM was simply left behind by Aprilia and Ducati on Saturday, and Pedro Acosta had no particular answer over why. He felt he’d managed to catch up with Tech3’s Enea Bastianini, who he couldn’t match on Friday, but then KTM had hit a ceiling.

Bastianini crashed out while battling Acosta as both just tried in vain to cling on with the top pack. - MB

Winner: Jorge Martin (2nd)

Jorge Martin was out of sorts on Friday and admitted his litany of Barcelona crashes had spooked him and he was just expecting to fall pretty much every time he braked.

But getting through Friday crash-free did wonders for Martin, who insists he’s really still learning this Aprilia after his winter injury, and paved the way for a much smoother Saturday.

He went for the all-medium tyre strategy once he saw Fernandez was doing likewise, and learned a bit about where the winner was quicker than him in the race too. And trimmed a bit more out of Bezzecchi’s points lead.

Not a race win, but an important day. - MB

Loser: Pecco Bagnaia (7th)

This was far from Pecco Bagnaia’s worst race in the last year. His weekend hasn’t been especially straightforward so far, and an eventual seventh was OK considering how much ground he lost with a poor start.

But this is Mugello. Bagnaia is the fully fit works Ducati rider. That shouldn’t mean seventh place. - MB

Winner: Alex Rins (12th)

Being best Yamaha was absolutely no comfort to Alex Rins, who felt miserable in qualifying when he saw his best effort was only good for 12th, and found the bike almost impossibly heavy to turn in the race.

He’s not here to be 12th. We get that. He’s a grand prix winner whose MotoGP career has fallen apart.

But getting that bike into Q2, beating Fabio Quartararo (who’s been much more impressive again lately) by 3.6s and two places in the race, chasing a works KTM to the line.

As far as we’re concerned, that’s gold standard Yamaha rider achievements in 2026. - MB

Loser: Franco Morbidelli (DNF)

Fourth and in the mix at the sharp end in the Friday classification, Morbidelli took a backwards step in performance - though it was lesser than the backwards step he ended up taking off the line.

"A really poor start" relegated him towards the back - a recurring issue this year - and he then crashed out "without knowing why" while trying to set up some sort of recovery ride.

"I lost the front in turn 10 without knowing why. I was slower in that corner, but anyway I lost the front. And it's a pity because my pace was really interesting this morning."

His seat appears to have been taken by someone else (Bulega, as mentioned above) for 2027 in the meantime - and while that was the expected outcome, that last sliver of hope will presumably have been the hardest to lose. - VK