Martin wins Austrian MotoGP Sprint after Acosta crash

Jorge Martin won the Sprint race at the 2026 MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix. The Aprilia rider took victory after early drama and a crash for the race leader.

Martin started from pole position but lost several places on the opening lap. He ran wide at the first corner, and Marc Marquez then passed him aggressively at turn two, pushing Martin down to eighth place.

From there, Martin began a relentless charge back through the field. He made a series of decisive passes at turn one, overtaking Francesco Bagnaia, Ai Ogura, Alex Marquez, Marco Bezzecchi, and finally Marc Marquez. After recovering to second place, he inherited the lead when Pedro Acosta crashed out.

The Race Unfolds

Pedro Acosta had taken the race lead after the initial skirmishes. The KTM rider built a lead of 2.5 seconds over the first ten laps. His race ended on lap 12, however, when he lost the front of his bike entering the turn two chicane. Acosta remounted in 13th place but retired to the pits shortly after.

With Acosta out, Martin was left with a comfortable margin. He cruised to the finish line to secure his second Sprint win in the last four events. Marc Marquez finished second, one second behind, with Marco Bezzecchi a further six-tenths of a second back in third.

The Battle for Points

The fight for fourth place was won by Ai Ogura, with Alex Marquez taking fifth. Francesco Bagnaia finished sixth; he was the only rider starting from the first four grid rows to select the medium-compound rear tyre. Johann Zarco, Fermin Aldeguer, and Brad Binder filled the next three positions, with Binder claiming the final championship point in ninth. Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the top ten.

Qualifying Session

Jorge Martin secured pole position for the Sprint during Saturday's qualifying. He, Marc Marquez, and Pedro Acosta all set lap times in the 1 minute 27 second bracket. Marco Bezzecchi led the session early but ultimately qualified fourth. Ai Ogura and Alex Marquez completed the second row of the grid.

Francesco Bagnaia progressed from the first qualifying session to secure seventh on the grid. He was followed by Fabio Di Giannantonio and Fabio Quartararo. Johann Zarco also advanced from Q1 to qualify tenth, ahead of Brad Binder and Fermin Aldeguer. The full results from the Sprint and qualifying sessions were published by Bike Sport News.