2026 US MotoGP, COTA - Race Results

Marco Bezzecchi makes history for Aprilia with a fifth consecutive MotoGP victory in the 2026 US Grand Prix at COTA.

Starting fourth after a penalty for obstructing Marc Marquez in qualifying, Bezzecchi made a strong launch, then took the lead after an opening lap clash with Pedro Acosta on the back straight.

That contact left Bezzecchi with rear aero damage but didn’t appear to slow him down.

The Italian smashed Jorge Lorenzo’s 2015 record of 103 consecutive laps in the race lead and banished the disappointment of his Sprint crash by keeping his RS-GP ahead to the chequered flag.

The result also puts Bezzecchi back into the world championship lead.

• COTA: New 2026 MotoGP World Championship standings

Behind Bezzecchi, team-mate and Sprint winner Jorge Martin kept the pressure on Acosta, seizing second place on lap 14 of 20.

Rather than retaliation, Acosta soon had another Aprilia on his tail in the form of Ai Ogura. But the Japanese struck some kind of technical issue just as he was poised to complete an Aprilia one-two-three.

Ogura’s loss was Acosta’s gain, and the KTM rider duly completed the podium. after being stripped of third by a tyre pressure penalty in the Sprint.

Pole qualifier Fabio di Giannantonio, riding in a special VR46 livery, again lost out at Turn 1, but soon muscled his way back ahead of Marc Marquez for fourth.

Ogura’s retirement returned di Giannantonio to fourth, as the top Ducati.

After losing out in early battles with the likes of di Giannantonio and Francesco Bagnaia, Marc Marquez dropped from seventh to eleventh when he served a long lap penalty for taking Diggia out in the Sprint.

The seven-time COTA MotoGP winner spent the closing laps embroiled in a battle for fifth with team-mate Francesco Bagnaia and Tech3’s Enea Bastianini.

Marquez won that fight while Bagnaia faded all the way back to tenth.

Further back, Toprak Razgatlioglu scored his first MotoGP point for 15th place and top Yamaha.

After Martin’s medium rear tyre gamble carried him to a last-gasp victory over Bagnaia in the Sprint, all riders used medium rubber front and rear for the grand prix.

The postponement of Qatar means that round four of the season will now be the Spanish MotoGP at Jerez from 24-26 April.

* Rookie

Warm-up:

Marco Bezzecchi keeps Aprilia on top during warm-up for the 2026 US MotoGP at COTA.

Bezzecchi, who lost the title lead to team-mate Jorge Martin after crashing from second late in the Sprint, got the better of Marc Marquez by 0.089s on his final lap of the ten-minute session.

Seven-time COTA MotoGP winner Marquez has a long lap penalty to serve in this afternoon’s race for taking down pole qualifier Fabio di Giannantonio on the opening lap of the Sprint.

Marquez practised the penalty loop in warm-up before briefly moving to the top of the timesheets.

After Jorge Martin, the only rider to pick the medium rather than soft rear tyre, swept past Francesco Bagnaia on the final lap of the Sprint, all riders selected the medium rear (and front) for warm-up.

KTM’s Pedro Acosta, who lost a Sprint podium after a tyre pressure penalty, moves up to second on the grid while Bagnaia joins the front row.

However, Acosta began the day with a fast crash at Turn 2 in warm-up, followed shortly after by a lowside for Jack Miller at Turn 1.

Miller's Pramac Yamaha team-mate Toprak Razgatlioglu was an impressive fifth in warm-up, behind di Giannantonio and Enea Bastianini, who was promoted to third on Saturday after Acosta's penalty.

Bezzecchi and Luca Marini have two-place grid penalties for obstructing Marc Marquez in qualifying, demoting them to fourth and eleventh on the grid.

* Rookie

Official COTA MotoGP Records:

Best lap: Fabio di Giannantonio, Ducati, 2m 0.136s (2026)

Fastest race lap: Marc Marquez, Ducati, 2m 2.221s (2025)