Lusail (Qatar) (AFP) – Spaniard Marc Marquez (Ducati) moved closer to an eighth MotoGP crown by winning the Qatar GP sprint race on Saturday, while his compatriot Jorge Martin (Aprilia) was heroic by finishing third after a crazy comeback despite a fracture.

Published on: 07/11/2026 - 7:40 p.m.

Just two weeks after breaking the radius of his right arm at the wrist, the Madrilenian, who had to give up participating in the Malaysian GP last week due to pain, this time managed to hold his place.

Uncomfortable at the start of the day, where he took 11th place in qualifying, Martin put in an incredible performance during the sprint race.

"I'm very proud of the work I did. I broke my wrist 14 days ago and it was the adrenaline that pushed me today (Saturday). I even fought against Marc (Marquez) but ultimately I didn't have enough power. For me, it's like a victory, I hope it will inspire people around the world," he said.

Despite his 11th position on the grid, he managed the feat of finishing third after even being in the lead ahead of Marquez for a few turns. He then held off Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati-VR46) magnificently but ended up giving in to yet another attack from the Italian at the start of the last lap.

This overtaking, which seems trivial, in reality changes many things in the title race since it offers Marc Marquez a first opportunity to be crowned an eighth time in MotoGP, which would allow the Catalan to equal the Italian legend Giacomo Agostini, and to overtake his best enemy, the Italian Valentino Rossi, who also has seven titles in the premier category.

Only one scenario can allow Marquez, who is now 49 points ahead of Martin in the championship, to be titled on Sunday: a victory combined with the fact that Martin does not score any points, either by falling or by finishing beyond 15th place.

Given what the Madrilenian achieved on Saturday, this scenario is not the most plausible, especially since only 17 drivers should start the Grand Prix.

Heavy fall and two fractures for Bagnaia

To the absence of the four Yamaha riders, the Japanese manufacturer having decided to skip the event due to "the (security) situation in the Middle East" and the "travel restrictions currently in force at group level", was added that of Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), victim of a spectacular fall during the sprint.

At the last corner of the first lap of the race, the Italian was hit by the Spaniard Fermin Aldeguer (Ducati-Gresini) and fell very heavily on the track after going over his handlebars. This incident led to a red flag and a second start on the grid.

“Initial examinations carried out at the Lusail circuit medical center revealed two fractures in his right foot, at the level of the fourth and fifth metatarsals. The rider will be transferred to a hospital in Doha to determine whether these fractures require surgery,” Ducati said.

Marquez had success during the sprint race since he was unintentionally hit by Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia), who had started in pole position. The Italian tried to dive on the inside to overtake the Catalan at the start of the fourth lap, but he fell after contact between the two bikes, while the Spaniard managed to stay on his wheels.

"My airbag went off during the impact (with Bezzecchi, editor's note) and that destabilized me a little. But apart from that, everything went very well for me. These points scored are very important", underlined the Catalan, now closer than ever to an eighth crown.

nb/cpb/

© 2026 AFP

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