Losail (Qatar) (AFP) – The Italian rider Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) won the MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix this Sunday and the Spanish Marc Márquez (Ducati) will have to wait to revalidate his champion title, which he could achieve within two weeks in Portugal.

First modification: 11/08/2026 - 18:55

With his second place at the Losail circuit, on the outskirts of the Qatari capital, Márquez has 431 points and is 60 ahead of his compatriot Jorge Martín, who finished in a creditable seventh place despite racing with a fracture in his right wrist.

"My strategy was just to try to manage the race in the first five laps," Marquez said. "I saw that in one part of the race I was super fast, but I knew that by driving with that style I was eating up the front tire," he added.

To achieve his eighth title in the premier category of motorcycling and equal the record of the legendary Giacomo Agostini, Márquez needed his compatriot Martín not to enter the points.

The defending monarch will achieve his eighth crown if he finishes two units ahead of Martín in the Portimão sprint in two weeks.

bitter victory

Third in the world rankings, Bezzecchi was left without title options despite the victory this Sunday, his sixth of the season.

The Italian, who started from pole and controlled the race at all times, is 74 points behind Márquez, the same number he could add at most in the two remaining Grands Prix (Portugal and Valencia).

But he will not be able to surpass the Spaniard in the event of a tie on points because Márquez surpasses him in the first differential, that of number of victories.

"It feels incredible. I'm very happy. It was the performance we deserved," Bezzecchi said. "It's been a fantastic weekend for us. I've been super fast and super comfortable on the bike."

The Italian was knocked out when he fell in the sprint race on Saturday when he was trying to overtake Márquez himself in a desperate attempt to put pressure on the Catalan.

"It's a shame about yesterday, but it's part of the game and coming back like this makes everything even better," he added.

Ovation for Martinator

The Spanish Raúl Fernández (Aprilia-Trackhouse) completed the podium in Doha.

"Third position would have been good, but I saw that Fernández was suffering, so you never know, I attacked and four more points," said Márquez.

Martín could not repeat his heroics on Saturday, when he rose from eleventh on the grid to almost overtake the eventual winner, Márquez, before finishing third.

Racing this weekend for the first time since suffering a broken right wrist, Martinator received a warm ovation from his team after keeping the title fight alive for at least two weeks.

© 2026 AFP

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