Fabio Di Giannantonio wins chaotic Catalunya Grand Prix after three race starts

Just before the race start, Brad Binder returned to change the bike after a warm-up due to technical problems. The race start went well for Pedro Acosta, who managed to hold onto first place, but Alex Márquez was catching up to him, only to momentarily lose his position to Raul Fernandez. However, Fernandez managed to be faster on acceleration out of the turn and took second place for now.

Behind them, Jorge Martin was fighting with Alex Márquez and Morbidelli. However, Martin made a mistake and ran wide, dropping to sixth place.

After lap 1, the top 10 looked as follows: Acosta, R. Fernandez, A. Márquez, Zarco, Martin, Morbidelli, Di Giannantonio, Bezzecchi, Quartararo, Marini.

There was a battle for second place between Fernandez, Alex Márquez, and Zarco. Meanwhile, at the front, Acosta started to build a gap to the other riders. Entering lap 3, Alex Márquez almost overtook Fernandez, but because of his early braking, he lost the position. This only helped Zarco close up even more, and he even tried an overtake, but he ran wide and pushed Alex too, giving Martin an easy overtake on both riders. However, Martin lost the positions at the next turn to Zarco, while Alex Márquez dropped to fifth place because of Zarco.

The overtake chaos allowed Raul Fernandez to create a gap of over 0.900s while catching up to Acosta. On lap 4, Alex overtook Zarco and moved into fourth place.

On lap 5, Fernandez overtook Acosta, taking the lead of the race. The duo at the front had a gap of over one second to the group of four riders behind them, which included Alex Márquez, Martin, Zarco, and Di Giannantonio.

The championship leader, Marco Bezzecchi, dropped to 10th after running wide at a turn due to heavy braking. Entering lap 7, Acosta tried to overtake with late braking, but he ran wide at the turn, allowing Fernandez to retake the lead. Further down the order, Di Giannantonio, who had been trailing Zarco for a long time, overtook him and moved into fifth place.

However, Alex Márquez in third place caught up to the leading duo. Shortly after, Acosta returned to the lead of the race, while entering lap 10, Alex Márquez overtook Fernandez at Turn 1.

The first yellow flag was caused by Enea Bastianini crashing in sector 1.

On lap 12, Alex Márquez tried an overtake at Turn 1, but Acosta was brilliant under late braking, so he managed to hold onto his lead.

There was a red flag on lap 12 after a rear tyre explosion for Acosta, which caused Alex Márquez to suffer a heavy crash, while Di Giannantonio also crashed due to debris.

The race was set to be restarted, and race control updated that Alex Márquez was conscious.

The race directors announced that the race would be restarted for 13 laps, with the order based on the standings from lap 11. Another update confirmed it would be a quick-start procedure and that the pit lane would open at 14:48. Besides Alex Márquez and Bastianini, everyone else would continue in the race.

The second start of the race went well for Acosta, who managed to hold onto his lead, while Raul Fernandez dropped down the order. At Turn 1, there was another incident that brought out another red flag involving Bagnaia, Marini, and Zarco. Zarco made contact with the rear tyre of Marini, sending both riders down and taking Bagnaia with them.

The race would be restarted again for 12 laps, keeping the grid positions from the previous start. Johann Zarco would not take part in the second restart, as he was rushed to the medical centre for further examinations.

The third race start went well for Acosta, who managed to hold onto his position, but also for Jorge Martin, who improved to second place. Fernandez dropped to third. There was contact between Fernandez and Jorge Martin, causing Martin to crash out of the race while Fernandez dropped to 18th place. Luckily, Martin managed to rejoin the race.

At the front, Acosta was leading, with Mir in second place and Bagnaia in third. Di Giannantonio, who was in fifth place, caught up to Quartararo and managed to overtake him.

The incident between Martin and Raul Fernandez was left without further investigation.

On lap 4, Di Giannantonio overtook Bagnaia and moved into a podium position. Ai Ogura fought his way up into sixth place. At the front, Acosta was being hunted down by Joan Mir and Di Giannantonio.

On lap 6, the top 10 looked as follows: Acosta, Mir, Di Giannantonio, Bagnaia, Aldeguer, Ogura, Quartararo, Bezzecchi, Marini, Moreira. Acosta made a small mistake, allowing Mir and Di Giannantonio to close up. Di Giannantonio then overtook Mir and prepared to attack Acosta for the lead.

With three laps to go, Di Giannantonio attempted an overtake into Turn 1, but Acosta defended brilliantly. However, Di Giannantonio eventually made it stick, overtaking Acosta and taking the lead of the race.

Entering the final lap, Joan Mir made a move on Pedro Acosta, and even Fermín Aldeguer attacked Acosta at the next turn. It looked as though Ai Ogura could also overtake Acosta.

At the final turn, Pedro Acosta crashed out of the race after making contact with Ai Ogura. The incident was investigated, ending with Ogura recieving a 3-second penalty for causing the crash.

It was Fabio Di Giannantonio who won the Catalunya Grand Prix. In second place finished Joan Mir, with Fermín Aldeguer rounding out the podium.

2026 MotoGP Catalunya Grand Prix