Marc Marquez gives worrying outlook for title rivals after Japanese MotoGP win

Marc Marquez saw his 2026 MotoGP title challenge boosted by a third sprint and grand prix double since Aragon, after the nine-time world champion passed Jorge Martin for victory at Motegi. 

Unable to get ahead of Martin into turn one, as he did in the sprint on Saturday, Marquez instead played a patient game during the 24-lap grand prix.

With Michelin removing the soft rear tyre from the allocation ahead of today’s race, it was unclear who the hard casing would suit.

Every rider on the grid opted for a medium front and hard rear combination, and it quickly became apparent that Marquez was in the mix with that same tyre strategy.

After setting a new fastest lap on the fifth tour, Marquez swiftly jumped onto the rear tyre of Martin, before making his move at turn nine a few laps later.

Speaking after his third grand prix win in four races, Marquez said: “Happy to achieve the 37 points again. 

“On Friday the feeling was good, but after a small modification in the sprint race I started to feel better and better. 

“The target was clear in the race; try to lead as soon as possible and when I was leading, try to control the race pace as I wanted. 

“When Martin was pushing a bit, I was pushing [too], but trying to control the risk and the pace.

Marquez also admitted that his strategy was to lead from the front, and although that didn’t materialise, the factory Ducati rider remained patient.

“The ideal point was the first corner,” added Marquez. “But today his start was good. My start was not as good as yesterday. 

“I was patient on the first lap because with the H tyre; we [only] had experience with the hard tyre in the warm-up, so I tried to understand the limit, and after three laps I started to push to close the gap, to overtake him, and to control the race pace.”

By winning his fourth MotoGP race at Motegi, Marquez played a starring role in Gigi Dall’Igna’s continued success with Ducati, with the Ducati Corse boss having now reached 100 victories with the Italian marque.

Marquez said: “100 victories with Ducati for Gigi [Dall’Igna] - I’m enjoying his work with his staff. 

“He is leading but he has a great staff. We are together, trying to push and to work on all the small details to fight with these two guys. 

While Marquez has closed to within two points of series leader Martin, the next round in Indonesia could prove challenging for the Spaniard, who is yet to finish a grand prix at Mandalika in his career.

One of the most demanding circuits on the calendar when it comes to tyre degradation, Mandalika is expected to suit Aprilia more than Ducati. 

Speaking ahead of the next race, Marquez said: “I have never finished a race there in Indonesia. I have been a bit unlucky but last year in the sprint race I felt not so bad after a long lap penalty. 

“We need to understand what we can do and I’m feeling better and better. Since Aragon the feeling was great. We just had a small problem in Austria, but we were there again.”