By the time we go green on Sunday, we could be looking at one of the greatest turnarounds in a single season MotoGP has ever seen. 161 days will have passed between Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) being 102 points behind the Championship lead to the #93 facing a coronation under the lights of Lusail in Qatar to retain his title and make it a historic eighth in MotoGP. A remarkable season has just three GPs left to go, but if results go his way on Saturday, the reigning World Champion will be exactly that again going into 2027.
The math for title #8 is straightforward: across the weekend, Marquez must outscore chief title rival Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) by 30 points and the #89’s teammate Marco Bezzecchi by 8. Results genuinely have to go his way, as failure to take at least P5 on Saturday ends any chance of wrapping it up immediately. With Martin’s participation subject to a Thursday medical check after missing the points-scoring operations at the Malaysian GP, it might fall to Bezzecchi to delay the #93’s celebrations. Marquez is a double winner at Lusail in 2014 and 2025, and five of his seven titles have been clinched at the first possible opportunity.
Both Bezzecchi and Martin need to be on their A-game to halt the charge, though 30 points is an uphill task given the 2024 World Champion’s injury struggles and Bezzecchi needing a top five in the Sprint to stay in contention. Their fellow Aprilias might also factor in: Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) was fast for fourth last time out after racing Bezzecchi at full pelt, while teammate Raul Fernandez is subject to a medical check for broken fingers.
Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) sits fourth overall and, while in mathematical contention, needs to outscore Marquez himself by 31 points. From P4 to P6, 30 points cover Acosta, Ogura, and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), who won the 2023 Grand Prix of Qatar. 2024 winner Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) hopes to repeat his podium success of 2025, while Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) completes the top ten in the standings after a top five in Malaysia, returning to the site of his first MotoGP win from 2022. The Italian got ahead of Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) in the standings, though the #54 heads to Lusail pending a Thursday medical check to return to duty.
KTM's charge should be strong again after Maverick Viñales took P2 here in 2025 before a tyre pressure penalty, an encouraging weekend he and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) will look to replicate in 2026, with the latter being a double podium finisher in Qatar. Luca Marini’s (Honda HRC Castrol) P7 was his best finish since Hungary and he seeks more of the same, whereas teammate Joan Mir has been a Qatar GP podium contender previously but remains a question mark due to fitness struggles. Fellow Honda rider Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) can secure Rookie of the Year honours if he scores 15 points, teammate Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) was a mega P4 at Lusail in 2025, and Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) remains a threat as a double podium finisher and long-time GP leader last year.
Rounding out the grid news, while Aldeguer is back, Iker Lecuona continues on super-sub duty for Alex Marquez, who underwent shoulder surgery after Sepang and aims to return for Portimao with BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP. Meanwhile, Yamaha have withdrawn from the Qatar GP, meaning Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP and Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP will not be present. Tune in to see if Marquez makes more history or if Aprilia or Acosta can pause the celebrations.
MotoGP
MotoGP
