RAUL FERNANDEZ DOMINATES SILVERSTONE TO CLAIM FIRST 2026 MOTOGP WIN
Raul Fernandez made a perfect comeback on Sunday at Silverstone, taking a dominant victory in the British Grand Prix. The Trackhouse rider led from the first corner to the chequered flag and claimed his second MotoGP Grand Prix victory, as well as his first win of the 2026 season.
Starting from second on the grid, Fernandez made an excellent launch and immediately took the lead from Marco Bezzecchi. Behind them, Jorge Martin and Ai Ogura battled through the opening corners, while Marc Marquez briefly moved into third before Martin responded.
Fernandez quickly escaped from the field. By the third lap, the Spaniard had already set a new race lap record and opened a gap of around two seconds at the front. From that moment, nobody was able to seriously challenge him for the victory.
The race behind him was much more complicated. Ogura, who had started from third, lost several positions during the opening laps and dropped to seventh. Alex Marquez moved forward to fifth, while Pedro Acosta also remained in the fight near the front.
The race then saw several crashes in a short period. Enea Bastianini fell at Turn 17, Iker Lecuona crashed at Turn 12 and Cal Crutchlow went down at Turn 6. Francesco Bagnaia also suffered a crash at Turn 7 on Lap 8, the same corner where he had fallen during last year’s race.
On Lap 9, Jorge Martin moved ahead of his Aprilia teammate Bezzecchi, while Alex Marquez continued his progress. However, disaster struck for Ogura when the Trackhouse rider crashed at Turn 16, ending his race and costing him a major opportunity to score points in the championship.
Alex Marquez then made a mistake at Turn 1 and dropped down the order, although he recovered to fourth by passing Acosta again. Marc Marquez remained involved in the battle behind them, but the reigning World Champion was unable to fight for the podium.
At the front, Fernandez continued to control the race. With five laps remaining, he had more than four seconds over Martin and Bezzecchi. Martin slowly reduced the gap, but the Aprilia rider never came close enough to put the leader under real pressure.
Fabio Di Giannantonio produced a late charge in the closing stages and battled Marc Marquez for position. The VR46 rider eventually got ahead of the reigning champion and then began chasing Acosta.
Fernandez crossed the finish line 2.5 seconds ahead of Martin to secure his first Grand Prix victory of 2026. Bezzecchi completed an all-Aprilia podium, giving the manufacturer the top three positions in the race.
The result also made Fernandez the 12th different winner of the British Grand Prix in the last 12 editions. Silverstone has now produced a different MotoGP winner in every race since 2015.
Martin’s second place was also important for the championship. The Aprilia rider extended his lead over Bezzecchi to 31 points, while Marc Marquez finished seventh and now sits 40 points behind the championship leader.
Alex Marquez finished fourth as the leading Ducati, ahead of Acosta and Di Giannantonio. Marc Marquez was seventh, followed by Brad Binder, who scored his first back-to-back top-10 finishes of the season. Luca Marini was the leading Honda in ninth, while Diogo Moreira completed the top ten.
The result was particularly painful for Ogura, who had entered the Grand Prix second in the championship. His crash means he leaves Silverstone without the points he needed to keep pressure on Martin.
With the second half of the season now underway, Martin has strengthened his position at the top of the standings. Bezzecchi remains second, while the three Aprilia riders now occupy the top three positions in the championship.
There are still 10 rounds remaining in the 2026 season, leaving plenty of time for the championship picture to change again.
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