Winners and losers from MotoGP’s decisive San Marino Grand Prix

September 14, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

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The San Marino Grand Prix marked another turning point in the 2026 MotoGP season, as Marc Marquez and Ducati moved to the top in their respective standings.

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What was expected to be a close two-way fight for victory ultimately became a one-man affair when Marco Bezzecchi faltered after a clean start from pole position.

With 14 races complete and the calendar potentially reduced to 21, a new narrative is emerging in the championship as the season enters its final third.

Winner: Marc Marquez

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Marc Marquez may not be as fit as he was just 12 months ago, but with five victories in seven races, his results are not too dissimilar to his dominant 2025 title-winning campaign.

He took 21 points out of Jorge Martin’s lead at Aragon last time and another 19 over the Misano weekend to wipe out a 40-point deficit in just two weekends. Factor in his results just prior to the summer break and it’s easy to see how he has come from being more than 100 points down to leading the championship (on countback) in such a short span of time.

The Spaniard’s recent form must be giving Aprilia sleepless nights. In three consecutive races (including sprints), he passed Marco Bezzecchi in the same fashion at the start. And when he couldn’t pull off the same move in Sunday’s grand prix, he was gifted victory just a few corners later.

Marquez may be lacking in qualifying, Aprilia riders have taken poles in six out of the last eight weekends, but he is fast becoming near-unbeatable in race trims - at least on tracks that don’t put significant stress on his right arm.

Loser: Marco Bezzecchi and Aprilia

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Marco Bezzecchi had been doing everything right since he returned from injury at the British GP a month ago. When the chips were down after a brutal summer, he responded brilliantly with four consecutive podium finishes across the Silverstone and Aragon weekends.

It appeared he would be maximising his chances at Misano as well after putting his Aprilia on pole position again. You could have even forgiven him for losing the lead to Marquez (again) at the start of the sprint. But the crash that sent him out of Sunday’s race on the opening lap was a typical Bezzecchi error, showing he still hasn’t learned to stop fumbling at crucial junctures.

When up against a rider like Marquez, and with your own physical level is compromised, there is really no room for mistakes. With potentially just seven more rounds remaining, with Qatar set to be cancelled, making up the lost points from Misano wouldn’t be easy.

Aprilia’s management might be even more concerned than Bezzecchi, however. After the highs of Mugello in May, this was an embarrassing showcase from the Noale factory at its second home race. To be fair, Jorge Martin was doing well to pick up the pieces after Bezzecchi’s crash until he developed arm pump. But if that problem requires surgery down the line, that could be even more worrisome for the rider and his team.

Aprilia also couldn’t count on Trackhouse at Misano, with Raul Fernandez having an underwhelming weekend and Ai Ogura absent again due to injury. That affected Aprilia in more ways than one, and it has now lost the lead in the manufacturers’ standings to Ducati.

Winner: Pedro Acosta

Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

If his Silverstone and Aragon performances were enough, Pedro Acosta yet again showed his mettle at Misano to finish on the podium.

Seventh in qualifying - behind Honda’s Luca Marini - did lower expectations, while his sixth-place finish in the sprint also left much to be desired. But after KTM completed a top-to-bottom overhaul of the bike to fix the braking issues that had been plaguing him all weekend, Acosta quickly rediscovered his old form to mix at the front.

It was almost remarkable to see Acosta in the same frame as the Marquez brothers in the closing stages of the race, given how far back he had started.

Only Acosta and KTM know how he is able to drag such impressive results out of the RC16, which is clearly nowhere on the same level as Aprilia and Ducati’s 2026 challengers.

Loser: Francesco Bagnaia

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

In Francesco Bagnaia’s own words, this was another “humiliating” weekend for him in MotoGP. The last two weekends had already left little hope for a quick turnaround, but seeing Bagnaia struggle to this extent at his home track wouldn’t have been easy for his fans or Ducati itself. Even Bagnaia couldn’t keep his anger in check, as he banged his fuel tank after a mistake on his qualifying lap.

In the sprint, he ended up as the slowest Ducati in the field, finishing 17 seconds behind race winner Marquez. That equated to a deficit of more than a second per lap. His race time was also nine seconds slower than in 2024, even as the outright pace improved by eight seconds.

If Saturday wasn’t bad enough, race day brought little joy. For the third consecutive weekend, Bagnaia ended a grand prix on the ground, losing the front end of his GP26 yet again.

A lack of rear grip has been holding back the Italian all year, and no suitable explanation has been found as to why he has been struggling so much in comparison to the other riders on the same bike.

Winner: Luca Marini

Luca Marini, Honda HRC

Qualifying had been Luca Marini’s biggest weakness this season. Prior to San Marino, he had progressed to Q2 only twice this year. When you compare those figures from the rest of the Honda contingent, the difference is quite stark.

But just like last year, he was quick over a single lap at Misano, qualifying an excellent sixth on the grid. This set the foundation for the rest of the weekend, including a hard-fought ninth place in the sprint.

On Sunday, he spent much of the race swapping positions with the much faster Ducati of Fabio di Giannantonio, who was in recovery mode after dropping to 10th at the start. Severe vibration late in the race left Marini powerless in the closing stages, but he came home in ninth place to bag a solid haul of points.

With Johann Zarco and Diogo Moreira crashing, and Joan Mir forced to withdraw due to health reasons, Marini was the last-man standing for Honda at Misano.

Loser: Franco Morbidelli

Franco Morbidelli, VR46 Racing Team

This was a tough weekend for most Italian riders on the grid, including Franco Morbidelli. Despite having home support and his mentor Valentino Rossi in the garage, the 31-year-old came away with few positives from the weekend.

A long-lap penalty - issued for impeding Enea Bastianini in practice - essentially wrecked his weekend, leading to a lengthy rant on social media. But ultimately, Morbidelli simply didn’t have the pace to fight in the top 10, as he slipped down the order in both races.

He spent much of the sprint battling with LCR’s Diogo Moreira, eventually finishing behind him in 12th. Sunday was even worse after the penalty, as he crossed the finish line 28s down on race winner Marquez. The only rider he could beat to the finish was Maverick Vinales’ stand-in Pol Espargaro, with even Toprak Razgatlioglu outperforming him in the grand prix.

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