Third place for Aprilia Racing in Qatar sprint

Nov 8, 2026 Michael Le Pard News

bezzecchi

A STOIC JORGE MARTÍN THIRD, MARCO BEZZECCHI OUT AFTER CONTACT
Aprilia Racing’s Saturday at the Lusail International Circuit in Qatar had its ups and downs, with a sprint restarted after a red flag.

Jorge Martín rode an extraordinary sprint from eleventh on the grid. The Spaniard was already up to sixth by the end of the opening lap and kept coming until he reached the front. He held his ground all the way to the flag to take third, his ninth sprint podium of the season. A result all the more remarkable given that he was back racing just fourteen days after breaking his radius in the Phillip Island sprint.

Marco Bezzecchi took pole position with a time of 1:50.028, a new circuit record. It was the Italian’s fifth pole of the season and his tenth with Aprilia. He had never before qualified in the top ten at Lusail in MotoGP. For Aprilia Racing, it was a twenty-fifth pole in the top class and a first in Qatar. Bezzecchi’s sprint ended on lap four. Contact from Marc Márquez at Turn 1 brought the Italian down, forcing him out and ending any chance of fighting for the win.

The two SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team riders complete the day’s tally, with Raúl Fernández fourth and Ai Ogura seventh, leaving Aprilia with three RS-GP26s in the top ten on Saturday in Qatar.
I wanted the soft tyre for the restart, so I decided to take that risk. I tried to look after it, even though I’d hardly run the soft at all, and I used all the bike’s strengths to come back through the field. I even got to the front. I gave it everything I had, even if the last few laps were harder, with the tyre and with the hand. I’m very proud. It wasn’t easy, but we did a great job. Tomorrow will be hard, but I’ll do my best.
There’s not much to add to what’s already in the images. I tried to take my line. I was on the inside, and a second later I was on the ground. There’s no point getting angry right now, I’d only be wasting energy. It’s something outside my control, something I have no say over. So let’s keep our focus on the Sunday’s race.
The day started well: we had a very competitive race pace in FP2, and in qualifying we set the circuit record with Marco’s pole position. Then, unfortunately, there was an unlucky incident in the sprint. It’s a shame we’re the ones who pay for it, as we so often do. Jorge’s result was very positive. We were bold and brave in choosing to change tyres for the restart. He took an excellent podium, particularly given his physical condition. This result gives us confidence for tomorrow, and we hope to put things right with Marco in the long race.

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