2026 MotoGP Japan, Motegi - Race Results

Marc Marquez beats title rival Jorge Martin for victory in the 2026 Japanese MotoGP at Motegi.

Martin led the opening ten laps before Marc Marquez made his winning pass, then controlled his advantage over the Aprilia rider to the chequered flag.

Martin’s Aprilia team-mate Marco Bezzecchi narrowly held off Enea Bastianini for third.

After some riders suffered blistering in the Sprint, Michelin withdrew the soft rear tyre and recommended using the heat-resistant hard compound.

• Japan: New 2026 MotoGP World Championship standings

That hard tyre was used for the first time this weekend during an extended warm-up, while the medium also remained available.

All riders ultimately picked the medium front and hard rear tyres.

Alex Marquez and Johann Zarco had to serve double long lap penalties during the race, then crashed.

Sprint runner-up Diogo Moreira joined Alex Marquez on the DNF list, while Jack Miller fell and rejoined.

The Indonesian Grand Prix at Mandalika, where heat-resistant tyres will again be in use, start on Friday morning.

* Rookie

Warm-up:

Marc Marquez leads an extended warm-up session for the 2026 Japanese MotoGP at Motegi during the first laps of the weekend on the hard rear tyre.

The session was doubled from ten to twenty minutes after Michelin withdrew the soft rear, following blistering for some riders in the Sprint.

The medium rear remains available but needs to be ‘managed’ in the grand prix, with Michelin recommending riders use the hard compound.

But that special heat-resistant tyre, the same as last time in Austria, hadn’t been used at all on Friday and Saturday, hence the extended warm-up.

The tyres used for each rider's best lap time are given in the table below.

Update: Johann Zarco has been given a double long lap penalty for trying to restart his bike at the side of the track in warm-up.

* Rookie

Official Motegi MotoGP Records:

• Best lap: Jorge Martin, Aprilia, 1m 42.371s (2026)
• Fastest race lap: Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati, 1m 44.412s (2025)

Jorge Martin leads Marc Marquez by a reduced seven points after the reigning champion won the Motegi 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.

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.

Replacements and wildcards

Maverick Vinales is back for Tech3 KTM after missing the last four rounds due to his ongoing shoulder injuries.

However, Joan Mir remains absent. The HRC rider is continuing his ‘recovery and observation period following medical concerns first raised after the San Marino GP’.

Honda test rider Takaaki Nakagami, who replaced Mir at the Red Bull Ring, was due to take part as a wildcard this weekend. However, Nakagami fractured his collarbone in an out-lap highside at the start of a damp FP1.

Honda WorldSBK rider Somkiat Chantra, who raced in MotoGP with LCR last season, has been given a surprise call-up to ride alongside Luca Marini in the HRC team this weekend.

Honda will use a special 60th anniversary livery on Sunday.