2026 MotoGP Round 3 Grand Prix of the Americas: Bezzecchi makes it five straight wins as Aprilia takes consecutive one-twos

       The MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas concluded at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin on 29 March 2026. Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi delivered a dominant performance over twenty laps, starting fourth, taking the lead on the opening lap and winning his fifth consecutive Grand Prix. He became the third Italian rider to achieve five successive wins after Valentino Rossi and Giacomo Agostini. Teammate Jorge Martín climbed from seventh to second, giving Aprilia its first back-to-back Grand Prix one-twos. KTM’s Pedro Acosta secured third, while Marc Márquez, the ‘King of Austin’, fought back after a long-lap penalty to finish fifth.

       At the season’s third Grand Prix, Austin’s fast corners and repeated elevation changes again posed a demanding challenge. Acosta used an exceptional start to take the lead from second on the grid. Bezzecchi quickly moved from fourth to second, while Martín surged from seventh to third, placing the two Aprilias close behind the leader. Polesitter Fabio Di Giannantonio slipped to fourth as the order changed dramatically on the opening lap.

       The first decisive moment came at Turn 11 on lap one. Bezzecchi took the inside line and made slight contact with Acosta’s bike, dislodging a piece from the Aprilia. Both riders stayed in control, and Bezzecchi completed the pass to take the lead. During this race, his sequence of consecutive Grand Prix laps led surpassed Jorge Lorenzo’s modern MotoGP record of 103 from 2015.

       During the middle phase, Bezzecchi gradually established a lead of around one second over Acosta. Martín had a scare at Turn 1 on lap seven, running wide and almost leaving the track, which allowed Di Giannantonio and Francesco Bagnaia to close and draw him into a multi-bike battle. The 2024 world champion quickly regrouped, however, and on lap fourteen passed Acosta after the KTM rider ran too deep into a corner. Aprilia now occupied the top two places, making the race picture much clearer.

       Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura emerged as a major surprise, charging forward from tenth on the grid and passing Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio cleanly to reach fourth, just one place from the podium. At the height of his charge, however, a technical problem forced him to retire with only five laps remaining. He lost the opportunity for his best career result, while Di Giannantonio regained fourth.

       Seven-time premier-class champion Marc Márquez endured an eventful race. His collision with Di Giannantonio in Saturday’s Sprint had earned him a long-lap penalty, after which he dropped to ninth. Drawing on his exceptional knowledge of Austin, he fought back, passing Álex Márquez and Enea Bastianini before prevailing in his contest with Bagnaia to secure fifth and valuable points for Ducati. Factory Honda rider Joan Mir received a long-lap penalty for cutting a corner during a battle, then crashed out shortly afterwards, continuing his difficult start to the season.

       Bezzecchi remained in control in the closing stages. Martín reduced the gap to less than a second on lap seventeen, but Bezzecchi responded by raising his pace and won by 2.036 seconds. The victory brought his consecutive laps led to 121 and made him the first rider since Márquez in 2014 to win the opening three Grands Prix of a season. Martín combined Saturday’s Sprint win with second in Sunday’s race to continue his strong form, while Acosta’s third place brought KTM valuable podium points.