VOLUME 63 ISSUE 13 MARCH 31, 2026 P91
pressure on. Behind them, battles
raged between Di Giannantonio,
Marc Marquez and Bagnaia, with
penalties and incidents affecting
several riders, including Joan Mir
(Honda HRC Castrol), who later
crashed out.
At the front, Bezzecchi steadily
built a gap, while Martin eventually
passed Acosta to secure second,
giving Aprilia another dominant re-
sult. Further back, Ai Ogura (Track-
house MotoGP Team) impressed
with aggressive
moves before
maining. That promoted Martin
into second and within striking
distance of Bagnaia. On the final
lap, Martin closed rapidly and
executed a move at turn 12 to
take the lead, pulling clear to
secure his first Sprint win with
Aprilia and first since 2024.
Behind them, Acosta crossed
the line in third but was later
penalized for a tire-pressure
infringement, promoting Enea
Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3)
to the final podium position.
Mir crashed out on the final lap
while battling for third, adding to
the race's high attrition.
Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini
Racing MotoGP) completed the
top four, ahead of Luca Marini
(Honda HRC Castrol) with Ai
Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP
Team), Raul Fernandez (Track
-
house MotoGP Team), Johann
Zarco
(Castrol Honda LCR) and
Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini)
rounding out the points.
SUNDAY MOTOGP
Bezzecchi continued his remark-
able run with a fifth consecutive
Grand
Prix victory at Circuit of
the Americas, becoming only
the third Italian to achieve the
feat. He also secured a third
straight win to start the season,
a milestone last reached by
Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo
Team) in 2014. Teammate
Martin completed a second suc
-
cessive 1-2 for the factory, while
Acosta finished
third.
Acosta made a strong launch
to lead early, but Bezzecchi
quickly took control after a close
exchange between the pair. Mar
-
tin slotted into third, keeping the
saw that there was no space on
the outside, and I tried to jump in to
just let the bike go and turn outside
of the circuit." Marquez was fully
accepting of the penalty that came
his way. "Always, I try to be fair,
and I made a mistake, and I need
to have a penalty, and tomorrow I
will do that penalty."
DUCATI DEBUTS NEW
REAR SPOILER
No one saw Ducati's tough start
to the season coming. The fac-
tory that dominated the Sepang
test in February has been fight-
ing to catch up to Aprilia as its
rival manufacturer has set the
early pace. In Austin, the Bologna
factory unveiled a new rear aero
design, a mini-spoiler at the rear
of the bike, plus winglets below
where the rider's legs sit, two
things first brought in by Aprilia.
Pecco Bagnaia, who finished
second in Saturday's Sprint, was
pleased with the introduction. "I
feel that you have more stability in
the fast corners, and exiting from
the fast corners, I can sit there and
feel more comfortable," he said.
Briefly...
(Above) Joan
Mir (36) rode the
wheels off the
Honda but crashed
in both races.
Again. (Left)
Marc Marquez
(93) had to fight
back from his
long-lap penalty in
Sunday's race after
taking out Fabio Di
Giannantonio
in Saturday's
Sprint race.
