ROUND 1 / FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 1, 2026
CHANG INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT / BURIRAM, THAILAND
ROAD RACE I FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
P90
MARQUEZ VS. ACOSTA:
THE FALLOUT
MotoGP exploded back into life
in Thailand with Marc Marquez
and Pedro Acosta contributing to
one of the best-ever Sprints. But
the event was shrouded in contro-
versy after Marquez was forced
to drop one position on the final
lap by the FIM Stewards after a
forceful pass the previous lap. "It's
the new MotoGP," said Marquez.
"If you want to have a lot of penal-
ties, do it, but do it well. Why you
take one minute and a half to give
me the message? Give me the
exit of turn three." He was also
adamant he did nothing wrong.
"It was a perfect move." Asked if
he'd have made the same move
if positions were reversed, Acosta
was unequivocal. "Sure. I mean,
this is what makes MotoGP that
exciting."
DI GIANNANTONIO
VS. MARQUEZ:
THE FALLOUT
There was further controversy
early on when Alex Marquez lifted
Fabio Di Giannantonio off track at
turn three on Saturday when at-
tempting an overtake from behind
on the first lap—and received no
penalty. The Italian was furious
and subsequently visited Race
Direction after to seek an explana-
tion. But as Marquez explained,
"We started to brake in a really
similar point. I knew if I went in, I'd
hit Raul [in front] and all three of
us would crash. Trying to defend
on the outside is not the most
intelligent thing to do." For his
part, Di Giannantonio tried to be
diplomatic. "We must smash each
other's fairings, give elbows in
between the white lines, but with
Briefly...
Bezzecchi (72) did his best
Jorge Lorenzo impression on
Sunday, getting to the front
on lap one and controlling the
pace. His rear tire probably
wouldn't have lasted another
lap, but neither would
Fernandez's (25).
