Italy's Marco Bezechi wins MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix for the first time

Italian rider Marco Bezechi won the MotoGP category title at the Qatar Airways MotoGP Qatar Grand Prix, the 20th round of the 2026 MotoGP World Championship, hosted by Lusail International Circuit over three days under floodlights.

The 28-year-old Aprilia Racing team rider Bezeki won the main race title after finishing first after covering the 22-lap race for 118.36 kilometres in 41:29.173 minutes.

This is Pizecchi's first title in the MotoGP category at the Qatar Grand Prix, becoming the sixth Italian rider to win the title at Lusail Circuit after Valentino Rossi (4 titles), Andrea Dovizioso (two titles), Enia Bastianini, Fabio Di Gianantonio and Francesco Bagnaia, each with a single title.

With this victory, the Italian Bezechi of the Aprilia Racing team broke the Ducati team's dominance at the Lusail International Circuit, after winning the last four race titles in Qatar.

Tonight's win was Bezecki's sixth out of 20 rounds at the 2026 World Championship, after winning the Thailand, Brazil, America, Italy and Indonesia Grand Prix, his 12th in MotoGP and his ninth with Team Aprilia.

Italian Pezechi took first place in the main race of the Qatar Grand Prix, after recording a time of (41.29.173) minutes, a difference of (3.083) seconds ahead of his closest rival Marc Marquez, the driver of the Ducati team, who is the leader of the overall standings of the World Riders' Championship, who came in second place with a time of (41.32.256) minutes.

The Track House rider finished third and fourth respectively, with Spain's Raul Fernandez coming in third place with a time of (41.32.787) minutes, a difference of (3.614) seconds from the lead, while Japan's Ai Ogura came in fourth place with a time of (41.34.058), while Italian Enia Bastianini, the rider of the Tech 3 team that won the Qatar Grand Prix in 2022, completed the list of the top five places after recording a time of (41.36.121) minutes.

Pedro Acosta, a rider of the Red Bull Factory Racing team, came in sixth place with a time of (41.36.586) minutes, while the Spaniard Jorge Martin, who was in second place in the overall standings, who had little hopes of competing for the world title, came in seventh place with a time of (41.43.196) minutes.

Italian Fabio Di Gianantonio, the winner of the 2023 Qatar Grand Prix, was in eighth place with a time of (41.44.690) minutes, while France's Johan Zarco of LCR Honda finished ninth with a time of (41.45.430) minutes, while Spain's Iker Licuna completed the top ten with a time of (41.47.131).

With the end of the Qatar MotoGP Grand Prix, Spain's Marquez is on the cusp of winning the world title for the eighth time in his history after consolidating his lead in the overall riders' standings with 431 points, 60 points behind his closest rival Jorge Martin, who was second with 371 points.

Italy's Marco Bezechi, winner of the Qatar Grand Prix, strengthened his position in third place in the overall standings with 357 points, while Spain's Pedro Acosta came in fourth place with 309 points, and Japan's Ai Ogura completed the list of top five places with 294 points.

Italian cyclist Marco Pezechi expressed his happiness with his first victory in the Qatar Grand Prix, noting that this victory is of particular importance to him, especially after the disappointment he suffered in the sprint race on Saturday.

Bezecki explained that the race at Lusail International Circuit was great for him, saying, "I was very motivated after what happened in the sprint, and I felt capable of winning, and I was happy to achieve this success."

Spanish cyclist Marc Marquez expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of his participation in the Qatar Grand Prix, where he made the most of it by scoring 32 points, in an important step to strengthen his position at the top of the overall standings and get closer to winning the World Championship title.

He stressed his full focus during the last two rounds of the World Championship, and his quest to win the Portuguese Grand Prix, noting that he will seek to finish the two races in the best possible way and avoid unnecessary mistakes and risks.

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