13:16
Lap 8/25
Bezzecchi now 1.4s behind Marquez and with Di Giannantonio well and truly for company.
Di Giannantonio not able to fashion a passing opportunity yet but still 17 laps to go.
Marc Marquez leads Alex Marquez, 2026 MotoGP Spanish Grand Prix, Sprint. Credit: Gold and…
© Gold & Goose
2026 Jerez MotoGP reaction LIVE: Alex Marquez wins after Marc Marquez crashes out
Live updates from the 2026 Spanish MotoGP race at Jerez, the first European round of the season.
Live coverage of the 2026 Spanish MotoGP race at Jerez, which is due to start at 14:00 local time this afternoon.
Key Moments
- Alex Marquez wins Spanish GP
- Bezzecchi and Di Giannantonio take podium spots
- Bagnaia retires with bike issue
- Marc Marquez crashes after early lead
- Martin recovers from grid penalty
Marc Marquez starts from pole position today and will be looking for his first 'double' of the year after taking victory in the Sprint yesterday. It would also be his first grand prix win of the year, in fact his first since Misano last September. Additionally, it would be his first win at Jerez since 2019, before the crash in 2020 that broke his right humerus.
Alex Marquez was leading the Sprint yesterday when he crashed although it is hard to know what his chances of winning would have been like if he stayed on given he would have been a lap later than the three podium finishers to stop to change bikes. Either way, Marquez's pace is strong this weekend and even starting fifth today he has a chance to repeat his victory of 12 months ago.
On the front row it's Johann Zarco and Fabio Di Giannantonio who join Marquez. Zarco spoke after the Sprint of his disapproval of Marquez's move to cross the track into the pits, saying he'd effectively gone backwards on-track to do it.
The Frenchman also proved to be somewhat of a roadblock yesterday, so expect some urgency from those caught behind him early on to clear him without losing too much time. Di Giannantonio, for example, proved yesterday his podium potential in dry conditions but lost over a second to Marc Marquez while trying to pass Zarco.
Championship leader Marco Bezzecchi made it three DNFs from four Sprints yesterday. He started fourth but was 17th after the start because he span his rear tyre on a tear-off from Alex Marquez, something which Paolo Bonora says should prompt a change in the regulations surrounding tear-offs being pulled on the warm-up lap.
Bezzecchi's crash was a separate matter, the Italian going down after changing bikes with what he felt like was a cold front tyre. His teammate, Jorge Martin, fared no better, retiring after the first lap with brake issues. Martin qualified seventh yesterday but starts 10th today after picking up a three-place grid penalty for riding slowly on the racing line during Practice on Friday. He nonetheless is confident of his chances of fighting forwards this afternoon.
26 Apr 2026
13:14
Bezzecchi wide
Bezzecchi made a mistake at turn one, I think, because he's suddenly over a second behind Marquez and only a couple of tenths in front of Di Giannantonio.
13:12
Watch: Marc Marquez's Jerez MotoGP race crash
Watch Marc Marquez's crash out of the Spanish GP.
13:12
Acosta damage
Acosta is battling with Bastianini and Ogura, has just dropped behind the Japanese to ninth. Looks like he's lost his right front wing.
13:09
Lap 4/25
Marquez leading Bezzecchi still at the front, 0.7s or so clear. Di Giannantonio now up to third after passing Martin at turn six. The Italian could trouble Bezzecchi yet, too.
13:06
Bagnaia 11th, so Ducati factory team's wait for a podium will most likely extend further from Motegi last year.
13:06
Marquez OUT
Marc Marquez has crashed at turn 11, he's out. He's up and okay but that's race over for the Sprint winner.
13:05
Lead change
Alex Marquez leads on lap two, makes his move at turn six. Can anyone keep hold of his pace?
13:04
Lap 1/25
Marc Marquez leads the opening lap, Bezzecchi's 121-lap unheaded streak is over.
Bezzecchi third now after being passed by Alex Marquez, then it's Martin in fourth.
13:02
Race start
It's lights out in Spain and we are underway for 27 laps of Jerez.
Holeshot for Marc Marquez, it's Bezzecchi and Alex Marquez. Martin too in 5th.
13:00
Warm-up lap
Riders are off on their warm-up lap ahead of the Spanish GP.
12:58
Confirmation of medium-compound front-rear combinations for the whole grid.
12:56
Davide Tardozzi told the world feed broadcast that Alex Marquez is the favourite.
Michele Masini jokes back a few minutes later that it's Marc Marquez who's the favourite.
Certainly it's the factory Ducati rider with the better track position at the start.
12:49
Tyres, conditions
10 minutes to go until the start. Tyre information is not showing for Augusto Fernandez but every other rider is with the medium-compound front and medium-compound rear combination at the moment, so probably fair to assume Fernandez is the same.
Hottest conditions of the weekend so far with 24C air and 36C track temperature.
12:43
Grid
Starting order for today's Spanish Grand Prix is as follows:
| 1 | Marc Marquez | ESP | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP26 |
| 2 | Johann Zarco | FRA | Castrol Honda LCR | Honda RC213V |
| 3 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Pertamina Enduro VR46 | Ducati GP26 |
| 4 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia RS-GP |
| 5 | Alex Marquez | ESP | Gresini Racing | Ducati GP26 |
| 6 | Pedro Acosta | ESP | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 |
| 7 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 | KTM RC16 |
| 8 | Raul Fernandez | ESP | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia RS-GP |
| 9 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati GP26 |
| 10 | Jorge Martin | ESP | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia RS-GP |
| 11 | Ai Ogura | JPN | Trackhouse Racing | Aprilia RS-GP |
| 12 | Fermin Aldeguer | ESP | Gresini Racing | Ducati GP25 |
| 13 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM RC16 |
| 14 | Joan Mir | ESP | Honda HRC Castrol | Honda RC213V |
| 15 | Luca Marini | ITA | Honda HRC Castrol | Honda RC213V |
| 16 | Augusto Fernandez | ESP | Yamaha Test Team | Yamaha YZR-M1 |
| 17 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha YZR-M1 |
| 18 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Pertamina Enduro VR46 | Ducati GP25 |
| 19 | Toprak Razgatlioglu | TUR | Prima Alpine Pramac Yamaha | Yamaha YZR-M1 |
| 20 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia RS-GP |
| 21 | Alex Rins | ESP | Monster Energy Yamaha | Yamaha YZR-M1 |
| 22 | Jack Miller | AUS | Prima Alpine Pramac Yamaha | Yamaha YZR-M1 |
| 23 | Diogo Moreira | BRA | Pro Honda LCR | Honda RC213V |
12:40
Mir, Razgatlioglu penalties
Toprak Razgatlioglu received a penalty for his crash with Lorenzo Savadori in the Sprint. The Pramac star will have to take a trip through the long lap penalty loop this afternoon.
Joan Mir has a double long lap penalty for riding his bike back to the pits after being shown the black-and-orange flag during FP2 yesterday. When the flag is shown to a rider, the regulations state they must pull off the track immediately.
Franco Morbidelli was also given a penalty for riding his bike in an unsafe condition after it was smoking at the end of Q1 yesterday. Morbidelli's penalty does not affect this weekend, though, being a fine and a suspension from the opening five minutes of FP1 at Le Mans.
12:35
Sighting lap
Pit lane is open in Jerez and the riders are heading out for their sighting lap ahead of this 27-lap Spanish Grand Prix.
12:33
The favourites?
Who are the favourites in this one? Well, it's pretty easy to work out. Despite the wet qualifying yesterday, the favourites are almost all at the front of the grid.
Marc Marquez, in fact, is right at the front on pole position. He was able to use Johann Zarco yesterday to create a gap at the front. Zarco qualified second but doesn't have the dry weather pace to contend for the podium, most likely, so getting around the LCR rider early will be key for Marquez's rivals.
Chief among those is Alex Marquez who has been the fastest rider all weekend, including this morning in Warm Up. The Gresini rider won this race last year when his brother crashed, but will need to be effective in the first laps today in order to cut through the pack from fifth before his front tyre starts to cook.
Fabio Di Giannantonio has also been strong this weekend and starts from the inside of the front row. He lost a lot of time passing Zarco yesterday and you feel he can't afford that today if he wants to win.
Marco Bezzecchi will of course need a better start than he had yesterday to stand a chance, but he is still unbeaten in 2026 and often finds his best form on medium tyres on a Sunday.
Jorge Martin also thinks he has a chance at winning today despite starting 10th. He is the exception to the rule of the favourites being packed at the front of the grid thanks to his three-place grid penalty for riding slowly on the line during Practice.
12:25
Bonora calls for rule changes
Aprilia's Paolo Bonora said this morning during the MotoGP Warm Up session that the championship needs to make rule changes in two aspects.
Firstly, Bonora wants a tightening of the regulations regarding pit lane entry after Marc Marquez cut across the inside of the final corner after crashing yesterday to get to the pits and change bike. Marquez, of course, went on to win the Sprint.
Secondly, Bonora said MotoGP needs to develop its regulations around the discarding of tear-offs on the warm-up lap after Marco Bezzecchi's start was hampered yesterday by a tear-off from Alex Marquez that Bezzecchi picked up on the exit of the final corner before rolling up to the grid.
Full story here.
Marc Marquez waits to cross the track after crashing in 2026 Spanish MotoGP Sprint. Credit:…
© Gold & Goose
12:12
Yamaha debuts leg wings
Yamaha has been the latest MotoGP factory to bring its first version of the 'leg wings' that Aprilia debuted at Silverstone last year.
The Iwata factory is actually the last brand to debut its version after Ducati brought its first iteration to the US GP in March.
Full story here.
Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio Quartararo, leg wings, 2026 Spanish MotoGP.
11:54
Moto2 finish
The Moto2 race has just finished in Jerez. Senna Agius took the win, his second in a row, and Manuel Gonzalez made it an Intact GP 1-2. Collin Veijer led the first half of the race but finished third in the end.
11:51
Welcome to live coverage of today's MotoGP race from Jerez, which is due to start in just over an hour at 14:00 local time.