2026 MotoGP Round 7 Italian Grand Prix Sprint: Raúl Fernández takes his first Sprint victory as Aprilia finishes one-two

       The MotoGP Italian Grand Prix Sprint took place at Mugello on 30 May 2026. Trackhouse rider Raúl Fernández took the lead on the opening lap and withstood a late attack from fellow Aprilia rider Jorge Martín of the factory team to claim his first career Sprint victory by 1.289 seconds. Aprilia converted its front-row strength into a one-two finish, while VR46 rider Fabio Di Giannantonio took third as the leading Ducati rider.

       At the start, Ducati’s Marc Márquez, returning from injury, surged forward from fourth on the grid to lead into Turn 1. Polesitter Marco Bezzecchi made a poor getaway and immediately dropped out of the leading positions. At Turn 3, Fernández made a decisive move on the inside to take the lead, with Martín also passing Márquez to move into second. Before the opening lap was over, Diogo Moreira and Di Giannantonio also passed Márquez, pushing him further down the order.

       In the first half of the race, Fernández and Martín formed an Aprilia leading group and quickly pulled away from the chasing pack. Martín stayed close, but Fernández gradually extended his advantage through the middle phase, opening a gap of almost one second by lap seven. In the closing stages, the 2024 champion fought back hard and briefly reduced the gap to 0.4 seconds. Fernández nevertheless held firm, using a consistent rhythm through the second sector on his medium rear tyre to retain the lead and take the win.

       Martín finished second and further reduced his championship deficit to Bezzecchi. Di Giannantonio recovered strongly from seventh in qualifying, making his way forward to secure third and turn a disappointing qualifying result into a podium. Despite his poor start, Bezzecchi steadily recovered in the second half and finished fourth, limiting the damage in the championship.

       Márquez took fifth and scored points on his first weekend back, while Gresini Ducati rider Fermín Aldeguer finished sixth. Factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia dropped outside the top ten at the start but made a series of late passes, overtaking Pedro Acosta on the final lap to finish seventh. Trackhouse rider Ai Ogura also passed Acosta on the last lap to take eighth. Acosta finished ninth and remained the highest-placed KTM rider.

       LCR rookie Moreira impressed early on but lost pace later and finished tenth, just outside the points. Tech3 rider Enea Bastianini crashed out at Turn 10 on lap five. Joan Mir and Franco Morbidelli also retired, making them the race’s three non-finishers.

Sprint results