MotoGP: Fernández takes the lead on the first lap and wins Sprint in Italy

MotoGP: Fernández takes the lead on the first lap and wins Sprint in Italy

Raúl Fernández won the Sprint of the Italian GP this Saturday (30), the seventh round of the 2026 MotoGP season. The Trackhouse rider, a satellite team of Aprilia, took the lead of the race at the Mugello circuit still in the first of the 11 laps, and stayed in front throughout the entire race, securing first place in the shortest race of the weekend.

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Raúl Fernández

Second place went to Jorge Martín, an Aprilia rider who always stayed less than a second behind Fernández, unable to attempt an overtake. Fabio Di Giannantonio crossed the finish line in third with a VR46 Ducati, followed by Marco Bezzecchi, fourth with Aprilia after starting from pole position. Marc Márquez, on a Ducati, was fifth.

Fermín Aldeguer, with a Gresini Ducati, closed the contest in sixth place, finishing just ahead of Francesco Bagnaia, seventh with Ducati. Ai Ogura, with an Aprilia from Trackhouse, finished eighth after overtaking Pedro Acosta on the final lap, leaving the Spanish KTM rider in ninth, closing the points zone.

The only Brazilian on the MotoGP grid, Diogo Moreira had a good race. The Honda rider from LCR started eighth and advanced to third in the initial meters, maintaining this position for a few laps. With equipment not as strong as his rivals’, the rider of bike number 11 lost performance and finished the race in tenth place.

The MotoGP Italian GP will be held this Sunday (30), with the start scheduled for 9 a.m.

Check out how the Sprint went

The short race of the weekend started with Marc Márquez taking the first position in the initial meters, followed by Raúl Fernández and Diogo Moreira. Shortly after, Fernández took the lead, being followed by Jorge Martín and the Brazilian, with Márquez dropping to fourth place, while Fabio Di Giannantonio appeared in fifth.

From the completion of the first lap, Di Giannantonio and Márquez began exchanging overtakes, with the VR46 Italian prevailing. Fernández, in the lead, started to receive pressure from Martín, while Moreira also began to have the third position threatened by Di Giannantonio. Marco Bezzecchi returned to the top-5 by overtaking Márquez on the third lap.

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Di Giannantonio managed to overtake Moreira still on the third lap of the race, relegating the Brazilian to fourth place. The Italian, however, was already 1.5 seconds behind the leaders. Further back, Fermín Aldeguer, in seventh, held a pack that still included Enea Bastianini and Pedro Acosta, both KTM riders.

Fernández opened a seven-tenths gap over Martín, maintaining the lead, while Bezzecchi overtook Moreira to advance to fourth place at the end of the fourth lap. The Brazilian was also warned for track limits. On the next lap, Bastianini crashed at turn 10 of the Mugello circuit, abandoning the race.

Franco Morbidelli was another who fell in the race, also at turn 10, but on the sixth lap. Moreira continued to be pressured by rivals, this time by Márquez, who was trying to reach the top-5. The current champion’s overtake came on the seventh lap. Up front, Fernández began to see Martín approach, albeit slowly, on the eighth lap.

Joan Mir abandoned the race with problems on the Honda bike, while Aldeguer passed Moreira, taking sixth place. The Brazilian was soon overtaken also by Acosta, Bagnaia, and Ai Ogura, dropping to tenth place with two laps remaining in the race.

Fernández went on to win the race, followed by Martín and Di Giannantonio. In the intermediate pack, there was still time for Ogura to overtake Acosta to cross the finish line in eighth. Diogo Moreira finished the race in tenth.

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