MotoGP Thai Sprint Race: Acosta wins after Marquez penalty, Bezzecchi crashes out
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Andrew McLarneyMotoGP Reporter
Andrew McLarney is an accredited MotoGP reporter with four years experience as a professional writer across the sports and video game industries. His experience as a K1 Premier League competitor evolved into a fascination with all forms of combat sport and eventually motorsport — with MotoGP becoming his primary focus. On top of that he is also an avid follower of MXGP and AMA Supercross/Motocross.
The first sprint race of the 2026 season did not disappoint as the riders took to the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand.
Pedro Acosta claimed his first victory in MotoGP after a dramatic battle with Marc Marquez in which the reigning world champion was penalized and forced to drop a position on the final lap.
The controversial decision caused the world champion to cast a sarcastic gesture towards the track-side stewards, and clearly he feels that the overtake was a fair move.
Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi, who started from Pole position, crashed out on lap 2 under pressure from Marquez. The Italian will still be a favourite for tomorrow's race despite dropping points.
Pramac's Toprak Razgatlioglu was the only other crasher of the session, but managed to rejoin and finish the race - he briefly climbed to 15th and was ahead of both Alex Rins and Fabio Quartararo before losing the front and sliding off the track.
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Elsewhere, it was a strong showing for Trackhouse who finished 3rd and 4th, with Raul Fernandez rounding off the podium and Ai Ogura finishing ahead of factory rider Jorge Martin.
| Position | Rider (Team) |
| 1 | Pedro Acosta (KTM Factory Racing) |
| 2 | Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo) |
| 3 | Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing) |
| 4 | Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Racing) |
| 5 | Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) |
| 6 | Brad Binder (KTM Factory Racing) |
| 7 | Joan Mir (Honda HRC) |
| 8 | Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46) |
| 9 | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) |
| 10 | Luca Marini (Honda HRC) |
| 11 | Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing) |
| 12 | Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda) |
| 13 | Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda) |
| 14 | Franco Morbidelli (VR46) |
| 15 | Jack Miller (Pramac Yamaha) |
| 16 | Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) |
| 17 | Enea Bastianini (KTM Tech3) |
| 18 | Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha) |
| 19 | Maverick Vinales (KTM Tech3) |
| 20 | Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pramac Yamaha) |
| 21 | Michele Pirro (Gresini Racing) |
| DNF | Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) |
The full 2026 Thailand Grand Prix main race is set to take place tomorrow Sunday 1 March at 09:00am CET (08:00am GMT).
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