06:50
100th win for Gigi Dall’Igna
Marc Marquez puts a special sticker on his Desmosedici in parc ferme, celebrating the 100th Ducati win under Gigi Dall’Igna's leadership.
Live updates for the Japanese MotoGP race at Motegi.
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MotoGP Japan, Race - As it happened
Live race updates for the 2026 Japanese MotoGP at Motegi.
Live coverage from Sunday's Japanese MotoGP race at Motegi.
Key Moments:
- New MotoGP world championship standings
- Marc Marquez wins: FULL RESULTS
- Marc Marquez takes the lead on lap 11/24.
- Bezzecchi drops away, leaving Martin vs Marc Marquez.
- Martin holds off Marc Marquez at the start, Bezzecchi 3rd.
- Tyre choice the big talking point for the grand prix.
- Motegi warm-up: FULL RESULTS
- Marc Marquez leads warm-up, all riders try hard rear for the first time,
Race Start:
- 2:00pm (local) / 6:00am (UK) - Japanese Grand Prix (24 laps).
MotoGP title leaders Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez will start first and second on the grid in this afternoon’s Japanese Grand Prix.
Martin leads Marquez by a reduced seven points after the reigning champion won the Sprint.
Meanwhile, Martin battled late-race tyre issues, then was demoted from second to third by a post-race penalty for exceeding track limits.
However, the Aprilia star got the better of Marquez in qualifying, smashing the lap record on the new Japanese asphalt.
The front row is a replica of the Red Bull Ring with KTM’s Austrian winner Pedro Acosta in third.
Acosta and Fabio di Giannantonio were taken out by Alex Marquez on lap one of the Sprint, with the Gresini rider given a double long lap penalty for today's race.
Tyre choice will be a big question mark for the Grand Prix, with Michelin withdrawing the soft rear option and recommending the hard, which no one had used before Sunday.
04 Oct 2026
09:51
Bagnaia talks hard tyre
Pecco Bagnaia: MotoGP riders at fault after Motegi hard-tyre “surprise”
Pecco Bagnaia, 2026 Japanese MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
08:49
Same mistake catches out Alex Marquez
Alex Marquez explains foot “mistakes” behind Motegi MotoGP crashes
Alex Marquez, 2026 Japanese MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
07:05
Motegi MotoGP: Points
Japan: New 2026 MotoGP World Championship standings
Marc Marquez, Jorge Martin, 2026 Japanese MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
06:50
Motegi MotoGP: Results
2026 MotoGP Japan, Motegi - Race Results
Start, 2026 Japanese MotoGP.
© Gold and Goose
06:44
Marc Marquez wins
Marc Marquez wins the Japanese MotoGP from Jorge Martin, cutting Martin's title lead to just two points.
Marco Bezzecchi holds off a charging Enea Bastianini for 3rd place.
06:43
Last lap
Marc Marquez looks safe ahead of Jorge Martin, but Enea Bastianini is almost within range of Marco Bezzecchi for 3rd!
06:41
Podium battle
Marc Marquez +0.990s Jorge Martin +1.2s Marco Bezzecchi +0.5s Enea Bastianini.
06:38
Beast time?
Enea Bastianini in fourth is the fastest rider on track. He's in 4th place and 3.5s behind Marc Marquez with 3 laps to go.
06:38
Johann Zarco crash
Johann Zarco is the latest to crash out.
06:37
Acosta loses out to Trackhouse duo
Pedro Acosta tries to pass Raul Fernandez for 5th, but the battle results in Ai Ogura retaking 6th!
06:36
Jack Miller, Alex Marquez crash
Jack Miller (21st) and then Alex Marquez (8th) crash in quick succession.
Miller rejoins.
06:34
Marc Marquez fastest lap
This is classic Marc Marquez. The reigning champion sets the fastest lap of the race and is now 1.1s clear of the Aprilia. He's trying to break Martin with 6 laps to go and avoid a late-race showdown.
Can Martin respond?
06:32
Standings - Lap 16/24
Two-thirds of the race gone...
1. Marc Marquez
2. Jorge Martin +0.640s
3. Marco Bezzecchi +1.895s
4. Enea Bastianini +4.243s
5. Raul Fernandez +10.857s
6. Pedro Acosta +11.325s
7. Ai Ogura +11.582s
8. Alex Marquez +12.749s
9. Francesco Bagnaia +16.252s
10. Fermin Aldeguer +17.473s
11. Luca Marini +19.139s
12. Brad Binder +19.493s
13. Fabio Quartararo +21.640s
14. Maverick Viñales +23.024s
15. Johann Zarco +23.212s
16. Somkiat Chantra +24.213s
17. Franco Morbidelli +28.370s
18. Fabio Di Giannantonio +28.687s
19. Toprak Razgatlioglu +29.771s
20. Alex Rins +30.283s
21. Jack Miller +32.954s
06:30
Martin responds
Martin responds and sets a lap faster than both Marquez and Bezzecchi. The lead is down to 0.6s.
06:30
Acosta up to 6th
KTM's Pedro Acosta finally finds a way past home star Ai Ogura for sixth place.
06:29
Red sectors
10 laps to go, and there are plenty of riders still setting their fastest (red) sectors. There's still a lot of tyre management going on.
That includes Marco Bezzecchi, who was 0.3s quicker than Martin last time around.
06:26
Marc Marquez piles on the pressure
Lap 14/24: Marc Marquez is edging away from Jorge Martin, his lead is up to 0.8s
06:24
Standings - Lap 12/24 (halfway)
1. Marc Marquez
2. Jorge Martin +0.563s
3. Marco Bezzecchi +2.244s
4. Enea Bastianini +4.217s
5. Raul Fernandez +8.729s
6. Ai Ogura +9.007s
7. Pedro Acosta +9.078s
8. Alex Marquez +10.903s
9. Francesco Bagnaia +13.348s
10. Fermin Aldeguer +14.952s
11. Luca Marini +15.229s
12. Brad Binder +15.501s
13. Fabio Quartararo +16.745s
14. Maverick Viñales +19.527s
15. Johann Zarco +19.852s
16. Somkiat Chantra +20.719s
17. Franco Morbidelli +21.938s
18. Fabio Di Giannantonio +22.380s
19. Toprak Razgatlioglu +24.269s
20. Alex Rins +24.789s
21. Jack Miller +25.814s
06:21
Marc Marquez leads
Lap 11, Marc Marquez makes his move, attacking Jorge Martin for the lead at Turn 9. Martin gives him room.
This is a crucial stage of the race now. Can Marquez escape or will Martin match him?
06:19
Moreira crash
After the high of a maiden Sprint rostrum, rookie Diogo Moreira crashes out of the grand prix.
06:18
"Followed by #10"
Jorge Martin gets a coded dash message from Aprilia: "Being followed by #10".
But what does it mean? He's definitely not being followed by Luca Marini...
06:15
Standings - Lap 8/24
Is Marco Bezzecchi starting to lose touch?
Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco have now completed both long laps...
1. Jorge Martin
2. Marc Marquez +0.264s
3. Marco Bezzecchi +1.259s
4. Enea Bastianini +3.609s
5. Raul Fernandez +6.132s
6. Ai Ogura +6.530s
7. Pedro Acosta +6.907s
8. Diogo Moreira +7.527s
9. Alex Marquez +8.143s
10. Francesco Bagnaia +9.844s
11. Luca Marini +10.446s
12. Fermin Aldeguer +11.155s
13. Brad Binder +11.541s
14. Fabio Quartararo +11.960s
15. Franco Morbidelli +13.527s
16. Maverick Viñales +13.820s
17. Fabio Di Giannantonio +14.540s
18. Johann Zarco +14.750s
19. Somkiat Chantra +15.308s
20. Alex Rins +16.586s
21. Jack Miller +16.912s
22. Toprak Razgatlioglu +17.456s
06:12
Marc Marquez in a factory Aprilia sandwich
Marc Marquez's red Ducati remains the filling in a factory Aprilia sandwich, with title leader Martin ahead and Bezzecchi just behind.
06:11
Alex Marquez hands 4th to Bastianini
Alex Marquez pulls into the long lap lane and hands fourth place to Enea Bastianini, who is now two-seconds behind Bezzecchi in third.
Alex Marquez rejoins in fifth but has another to serve.
Further back, Zarco also does his first long lap, dropping to 15th.