08:15
Acosta sets sights on Martin
KTM's title leader Pedro Acosta is starting to threaten Jorge Martin for third.
Pedro Acosta, Marc Marquez, 2026 Thai MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
Thai MotoGP, Buriram reaction LIVE: Aprilia begins 2026 on top, Ducati nightmare
Live updates from Sunday’s season-opening 2026 Thai MotoGP at Buriram.
Key Moments
- Marco Bezzecchi wins from pole, Marc Marquez retires
- Pedro Acosta aiming for first grand prix win after sprint success on Saturday
- Thai MotoGP, Buriram - Race Results
After Saturday’s thrilling Sprint, MotoGP faces its first full-length grand prix of the season at Buriram in Thailand on Sunday afternoon.
KTM’s Pedro Acosta was a surprise winner in the Sprint, brilliantly taking the fight to reigning champion Marc Marquez after Aprilia’s pre-race favourite Marco Bezzecchi crashed from an early lead.
Acosta looked to have lost out on victory when a firm block pass from Marquez sent the youngster wide with a lap to go. But Marquez was penalised one place for “causing contact”, allowing Acosta to claim his first premier-class victory.
Bezzecchi, fastest in every session he took part in before the Sprint, will now be desperate to make amends for his error – the Italian’s third Saturday accident - when he again starts from pole position in the grand prix.
Marquez and Acosta will be looking to pick up where they left off, while Trackhouse Aprilia’s Raul Fernandez also targets a double podium to kick off the new season.
Further back, Marquez’s factory Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia could only reach ninth place from a lowly 13th on the grid, but his recovery hopes should be aided by the longer 26-lap grand prix distance.
Fabio di Giannantonio’s Sprint podium hopes effectively ended with contact from Alex Marquez on the opening lap, while Joan Mir was the top Honda in seventh.
Yamaha’s one-second per lap deficit with the new V4 continued in the Sprint, when Jack Miller was 13.4s adrift in 15th place, but beat factory star Fabio Quartararo.
Honda LCR tookie Diogo Moreira will score his first MotoGP points if he can repeat Saturday’s 13th place, while WorldSBK champion Toprak Razgatlioglu crashed and rejoined on his way to 20th for Pramac Yamaha.
The 2026 Thai MotoGP starts at 3:00pm local time (8am UK).
01 Mar 2026
08:14
Top rookie/Top Yamaha
Further back, rookie Diogo Moreira is 14th for LCR Honda and Fabio Quartararo the leading Yamaha rider in 15th.
Toprak Razgatlioglu is 20th, but ahead of Maverick Vinales and Michele Pirro.
08:13
Lap 6/26
- Marco Bezzecchi
- Raul Fernandez
- Jorge Martin
- Pedro Acosta
- Marc Marquez
- Fabio di Giannantonio
- Joan Mir
- Alex Marquez
- Francesco Bagnaia
- Brad Binder
08:12
Diggia behind Marquez
Marc Marquez is still the top Ducati rider, but now has fellow GP26 rider Fabio di Giannantonio on his tail.
08:11
Bezzecchi's lead
Marco Bezzecchi is now 1.3s clear of Raul Fernandez, who is 1.5s ahead of Jorge Martin, Pedro Acosta and Marc Marquez.
08:11
Acosta vs Marquez
Pedro Acosta passes Marc Marquez into the final corner - scene of many of their Saturday passes - the Ducati rider is down to 5th.
08:09
Martin vs Marquez
Jorge Martin attacks Marc Marquez for third place again, and is through! This is also helping Raul Fernandez and Marco Bezzecchi ahead.
08:07
The top 10
Lap 3/26...
- Marco Bezzecchi
- Raul Fernandez
- Marc Marquez
- Jorge Martin
- Fabio di Giannantonio
- Pedro Acosta
- Alex Marquez
- Joan Mir
- Francesco Bagnaia
- Brad Binder
08:07
Marc Marquez regroups
Marc Marquez has retaken third from Jorge Martin, but Marco Bezzecchi is pulling away up front with Raul Fernandez also clear of Marquez.
08:06
Marc Marquez under attack
Raul Fernandez and then Jorge Martin pass Marc Marquez for second and third.
It's now an Aprilia one-two-three, with Marco Bezzecchi 0.8s ahead.
08:05
Acosta down to 7th
Sprint winner Pedro Acosta has lost one place to 7th.
08:04
Race Start
The red lights go out and it's Marco Bezzecchi who snatches the holeshot at Turn 1, ahead of Marc Marquez, Raul Fernandez and Jorge Martin.
08:03
Tyres confirmed
Official info from Michelin:
"All riders Soft front / Medium rear. Air temp. 34°C - Track temp. 58°C"
08:02
The warm-up lap begins
The warm-up lap begins in front of the huge Buriram grandstands.
07:59
5mins to go
The riders get their last pre-race hugs and handshakes as the grid clears.
07:58
Starting grid
A reminder of the starting grid...
1 Marco BEZZECCHI
2 Marc MARQUEZ
3 Raul FERNANDEZ
4 Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO
5 Jorge MARTIN
6 Pedro ACOSTA
7 Alex MARQUEZ
8 Ai OGURA
9 Franco MORBIDELLI
10 Joan MIR
11 Brad BINDER
12 Johann ZARCO
13 Francesco BAGNAIA
14 Luca MARINI
15 Diogo MOREIRA
16 Fabio QUARTARARO
17 Maverick VIÑALES
18 Jack MILLER
19 Alex RINS
20 Enea BASTIANINI
21 Toprak RAZGATLIOGLU
22 Michele PIRRO
07:55
Tardozzi speaks
Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi tells MotoGP pit lane reporter Jack Appleyard that Marc Marquez is "unfortunately not physically 100%" with his healing shoulder, and is losing out in all the changes of direction in sector 4 as a result.
However, tyre consumption will be the big thing in the grand prix.
07:48
Tyres
After the whole field picked soft rubber front and rear for the Sprint, the initial tyre choice is soft front and medium rear for all riders in the grand prix.
07:42
Acosta lines up Marquez at the final corner
Pedro Acosta cheekily dives under Marc Marquez into the final corner on the way to the grid, the location of their Sprint incident. Marquez appears not to notice.
07:39
Riders head to the grid
With just under half-an-hour before the race starts, the pit lane opens and riders head to the grid.
07:33
Raul Fernandez update
Raul Fernandez, who set the fastest time in warm-up despite injuring his shoulder, is back for the race.
"This is something that sometimes happens to him, also last year," Trackhouse Aprilia team director Davide Brivio told MotoGP pit lane reporter Jack Appleyard.
"He had some medical checks, he's okay. [The shoulder] goes out and comes back - somehow. He has some bandaging, but just as a precaution. Hopefully, it doesn't happen again in the race.
"But anyway, he set the fastest time in warm-up after it happened!"
Fernandez was a close third behind Pedro Acosta and Marc Marquez in Saturday's Sprint and will be starting from the front row again in the grand prix.
07:20
Moto2 podium
The Moto2 podium ceremony is taking place after victory for Manuel Gonzalez in a race that was restarted twice due to red flags.
David Alonso, whose nasty accident with Senna Agius and Filip Salac caused the first stoppage, is confirmed as having no broken bones.
07:15
Where Bezzecchi makes the difference
Meanwhile, pole qualifier Marco Bezzecchi will be out to make amends for his costly crash from the lead. In this video, Neil Hodgson and Sylvain Guintoli highlight where the Aprilia rider makes the difference vs Marc Marquez:
07:14
The Marquez-Acosta clash
This was the big talking point after Saturday's Sprint: The penultimate lap clash between Marc Marquez and Pedro Acosta, which saw Acosta run wide and Marquez given a drop one place penalty, which cost the reigning champion victory and gave Acosta his first MotoGP win:
07:09
Three and a half months after the Valencia finale, and just 24 hours since a thrilling Sprint race, the opening grand prix of the 2026 MotoGP season starts at Buriram in just under one hour.