Marco Bezzecchi beat Jorge Martin and Pedro Acosta at COTA, extending his Grand Prix winning streak and delivering another Aprilia one-two.
Bezzecchi takes control in Austin
Marco Bezzecchi controlled the 2026 Grand Prix of the Americas at the Circuit of the Americas, heading an Aprilia Racing one-two ahead of Jorge Martin.
Bezzecchi covered the 20 laps in 40 minutes 50.653 seconds and finished 2.036 seconds ahead of his team-mate. Pedro Acosta placed third for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 4.497 seconds behind the winner.
It was Bezzecchi’s fifth consecutive Grand Prix victory. He became only the third Italian rider to put together such a run, and the first rider since Marc Marquez in 2014 to win a season’s opening three Grands Prix. The result also put Bezzecchi back atop the 2026 MotoGP standings.
Aprilia secured its second straight one-two finish. Martin followed Saturday’s Sprint victory in Austin with second place on Sunday, capping a weekend that showed the depth of the Noale manufacturer’s rider line-up.
Opening-lap clash decides the lead
Acosta launched best from the front row to take the holeshot. Bezzecchi charged from fourth on the grid into second, while Martin made similarly quick progress from seventh and reached third in the opening exchanges.
Acosta then ran deep into Turn 11. Bezzecchi picked the tighter inside line, bringing the pair side by side. The motorcycles touched on the exit and a piece broke away from the Aprilia’s fairing, though both riders stayed upright.
Bezzecchi kept the lead after the contact.
He began to open a gap, while Acosta recovered quickly enough to retain second. Martin remained close to the KTM and continued applying pressure to the young Spaniard.
By half distance, Bezzecchi led Acosta by approximately one second. He kept the opening-lap damage from affecting his pace, controlled the race from that point and eventually stretched his winning margin beyond two seconds.
Martin completes Aprilia one-two
Martin faced a tougher path to second. Following his excellent start, he tried to pass Acosta but could not initially get through. A major moment at Turn 1 forced Martin into a save and pushed him back toward Fabio Di Giannantonio, as Francesco Bagnaia also closed on the group.
Martin recovered and claimed the runner-up spot, completing Aprilia’s maximum possible Sunday result. The 20 points came after his Sprint success and made Austin an especially productive round for the 2024 world champion.
Acosta took the final podium place, 2.461 seconds behind Martin. He could not turn the holeshot into a win, but third gave KTM a strong result after his aggressive first-lap fight with Bezzecchi.
Di Giannantonio finished fourth for Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team, 6.972 seconds behind Bezzecchi. He crossed the line 1.128 seconds ahead of Marc Marquez, who recovered to fifth for Ducati Lenovo Team.
Penalties shape the chasing contest
Marquez carried a Long Lap penalty into the race from his Sprint incident with Di Giannantonio. He completed it without further trouble, then recovered to fifth and finished 8.100 seconds behind Bezzecchi.
The early fight behind the top three was fierce. Di Giannantonio passed Marquez before Bagnaia and Honda HRC Castrol rider Joan Mir also moved ahead of the Ducati rider. Mir later received a Long Lap penalty for taking a shortcut during the battle, but crashed before converting his early pace into a finish.
Enea Bastianini came home sixth, just 0.143 seconds behind Marquez. Alex Marquez placed seventh and Raul Fernandez was eighth on another Aprilia. Luca Marini finished ninth for Honda, with Bagnaia rounding out the top 10 only 0.073 seconds behind Marini.
Those tight margins in the chasing pack differed sharply from Bezzecchi’s command up front. After 20 laps, only 8.243 seconds separated the winner from sixth-placed Bastianini. Still, nobody sustained a challenge to the leading Aprilia after Bezzecchi settled into his rhythm.
A modern-era record falls
Bezzecchi’s fifth straight Grand Prix win also brought a record. By staying in front through the start of lap four, he reached 104 consecutive Grand Prix laps led and surpassed Jorge Lorenzo’s modern-era mark of 103 from 2015.
The milestone came during a run that demanded more than outright speed. At COTA, Bezzecchi made an immediate pass, survived contact with Acosta and managed a damaged fairing before taking control of the remaining laps.
His 25-point score restored his championship lead after three rounds. Martin’s second place also meant Aprilia departed Austin with both factory riders at the heart of the early title fight.
Bezzecchi has now won five Grands Prix in a row. His perfect Sunday record through the first three rounds equals a benchmark last reached 12 years earlier, while COTA delivered another victory and a record-breaking display of Aprilia’s current authority.
What comes next
MotoGP now takes a break before the Spanish Grand Prix at the Circuito de Jerez on April 24-26. Bezzecchi heads to Spain with the championship lead and one of the modern era’s longest sustained winning runs.
Aprilia’s next task is maintaining the balance that delivered consecutive one-two finishes. Martin’s Sprint victory and Grand Prix runner-up result showed that the team’s strength extends across both sides of the garage.
Acosta and KTM depart Texas with a podium and proof that they can race directly against Aprilia, particularly during the opening stages. Di Giannantonio was Ducati’s top finisher in fourth, while Marquez minimized the damage from his penalty by taking fifth.
Bezzecchi leaves Austin with five consecutive Grand Prix victories, wins in each of the first three rounds of 2026 and a new record for consecutive laps led.
