From crash to triumph: Bezzecchi’s perfect redemption—now the final step to become champion

Fallen in the Sprint, winner in the race: Bezzecchi redeemed himself in a big way in Austin, also reclaiming the lead in the overall standings.

Marco Bezzecchi won his third consecutive long race of the 2026 MotoGP championship. Counting the two he won at the end of 2025, he’s now up to five. What’s more, he led every lap and set a new record: 121 consecutive laps in the lead, beating Jorge Lorenzo’s previous mark of 103. He’s the first rider to win six GPs with Aprilia, which scored a one-two on Sunday in Austin with him first and Jorge Martin second at the finish. The rider from Rimini also retook the top spot in the overall standings from his teammate and now leads by 4 points. There are plenty of reasons to smile, though it’s crucial that Bez doesn’t repeat mistakes like those in the Sprint races in Thailand and the United States, which ended with 0 points, throwing away fairly safe podiums. To win a championship, mistakes must be kept to an absolute minimum.

Bezzecchi badly wanted the victory at COTA, both to make up for the Sprint crash and because he was chasing a big result on a circuit he likes: "On Saturday I made a mistake that shouldn’t have happened - he told Sky Sport MotoGP - but the team stood by me, because I was pretty down after the Sprint. I had managed things well, but then I got carried away and made a silly mistake. It was important to have a good race, I’m happy and emotional, I’d long dreamed of doing well here. It’s a track I’ve always liked, but I’d never managed to finish as I wanted. It was fantastic."

Even though he led from start to finish, the MotoGP race win in Austin was anything but a walk in the park: "It wasn’t easy - he confirms - far from it. It was a tough race, this track can easily make you err with its heavy braking zones and tight hairpins, because it pushes you to do a bit more on the brakes, especially when the fuel tank gets lighter. My focus was sky-high for the whole race. I tried not to make even the slightest mistake. I was highly motivated after throwing away the Sprint, I wanted to bring home everything I could. The contact with Acosta? I saw he was going wide, I dove up the inside and when I lifted my head I’d already run into him. I was sorry, but that’s how it went."

The rider from Romagna revealed that he had the opportunity to exchange messages with Andrea Kimi Antonelli and Jannik Sinner, two other Italian athletes enjoying a very positive moment: "Kimi and I spoke this morning. I couldn’t watch the race live, but when I woke up I saw the results and sent him a message right away. Sinner surprised me. I’m a fan of his; he contacted me after Brazil and it was an incredible satisfaction to be able to get to know him and exchange a few words, even if only via messages. I hope we’ll have a chance to meet. It’s great to have support from these Italian pride figures."

MotoGP now takes a break for a few weeks and will be back in action at Jerez on the weekend of April 24–26. It will be interesting to see whether Aprilia remains the benchmark in Europe as well or if Ducati responds, especially with the reigning champion Marc Marquez, who will use the break to try to reach 100% physical condition. In the meantime, the Noale-based team is enjoying another one-two finish, after the one in Brazil, and the fact that its two factory riders are at the top of the overall standings.