Winners and losers from MotoGP’s United States GP

March 30, 2026

In many ways, the United States Grand Prix was the first real litmus test of the 2026 MotoGP season. While some may have expected a shake-up at the front, the competitive order largely mirrored what had already unfolded in Thailand and Brazil.

That leaves one manufacturer firmly established at the top of the pecking order, while MotoGP’s former benchmark faces an increasingly steep challenge to respond to as the series heads to Europe.

Here are the winners and losers from the 2026 US GP.

Winner: Aprilia

Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

If there remained any doubts about Aprilia’s competitive level after Brazil, those were completely dispelled at Circuit of The Americas. On a more conventional track and using Michelin’s standard rear tyres, the RS-GP was just as quick in race trim at Austin as it had been in the opening two rounds of the season. Although the European leg of the season is yet to begin, it’s now becoming increasingly hard to deny that Aprilia has displaced Ducati as MotoGP’s benchmark.

In terms of pace alone, the Aprilia was already a match to the Desmosedici at several races last year, but the Noale factory is now executing races well to seize every opportunity that comes its way. This, in large part, is down to the fact that Aprilia is no longer overtly reliant on Marco Bezzecchi to get the job done. Jorge Martin’s rapid return to form has caught many by surprise, while Ai Ogura is finally beginning to show the promise that made him a Moto2 champion.

Make no mistake, Bezzecchi is still the spearhead of the programme, and his ability to bounce back from setbacks in the sprints is unmatched. The Italian’s strategy of going aggressive in the early stages has worked highly effectively so far. But Martin is now genuinely pushing Bezzecchi at the front, while Ogura is also knocking on the podium door. If only Raul Fernandez could qualify well, Aprilia’s depth could soon make it extremely difficult to beat.

Loser: Ducati

Marc Marquez, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

The manufacturer that went on an unprecedented streak of 88 consecutive podium finishes between 2021 and 2025 is now in trouble. The US GP marked the second time in three events that it failed to break into the top three.

The contrast with last year’s Austin race is stark. In 2025, Ducati locked out the top four spots at the Americas GP, with the highest-placed non-Ducati finishing almost 12 seconds down on race winner Francesco Bagnaia. This time, the Borgo Panigale brand was staring at a seven-second deficit to the front – a remarkable swing of roughly 18 seconds in relative terms.

Fabio di Giannantonio has been in exceptional form this year, and his pole position on Saturday was arguably the highlight of Ducati’s weekend. But outside of di Giannantonio’s ascent, not much is going the way of the Italian manufacturer. The biggest concern is the form (and fitness) of seven-time world champion Marc Marquez, who was made to look rather ordinary (by his high standards) at Austin. Notwithstanding the long-lap penalty, Marquez was never in the groove over the weekend, and he sounded rather deflated while appearing for his post-race media interviews.

Elsewhere, the picture looks even bleaker for Ducati. Bagnaia couldn’t convert his sprint race promise into a top result on Sunday, Alex Marquez is struggling to make an impression this year, Fermin Aldeguer is still playing catch-up and Franco Morbidelli is easily the weakest link in the line-up. It’s fair to say that Ducati has its work cut out in the three-week gap to Jerez.

Enea Bastianini, Red Bull KTM Tech 3

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Enea Bastianini’s performances at Austin fell largely under the radar, but he was easily among the standout riders of the weekend. Qualifying may not have gone his way as he ended up as the slowest rider in Q2, but his charge through the field was reminiscent of his Gresini and Ducati years.

On Saturday, he jumped from 12th on the grid to finish fourth on the road, which became third after Pedro Acosta was penalised for a tyre infringement. On Sunday, he even took the fight to Marc Marquez, the man who replaced him at Ducati, eventually finishing just two tenths behind him in sixth. The fact that even Pedro Acosta mentioned Bastianini unprompted in the press conference shows just how impressive the 2022 US GP winner was last weekend.

Acosta himself deserves credit for once again emerging as the only rider to threaten Aprilia on Sunday. The RC16 is clearly a step or two behind the RS-GP and the Desmosedici, but Acosta has been right on the money. Much like in Thailand and Brazil, the Spaniard qualified well, kept the frontrunners honest in the early stages and saved his tyres long enough to remain competitive until the finish. It’s hard to find any fault in his riding at this stage of the season.

Loser: Franco Morbidelli

Franco Morbidelli, VR46 Racing Team

Photo by: Hasan Bratic / Anadolu via Getty Images

Seventeen seconds separated the highest- and lowest-placed Ducati riders in Sunday’s race at Austin, and both came from the same team.

Franco Morbidelli endured another fraught weekend in the US GP, but his results were made to look worse by those of Fabio di Giannantonio on the other side of the VR46 garage. While di Giannantonio claimed back-to-back poles, Morbidelli struggled on fresh tyres and couldn’t even escape Q1, struggling to 21st on the grid. In the sprint, he couldn’t even beat Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha, although the main race offered some consolation as he recovered to 14th place.

At a time when VR46 is working on finalising its line-up for next year, the contrast between the two riders could have serious implications for Morbidelli’s future at the team. The Italian has amassed just 14 points from the opening three weekends, only one more than Fermin Aldeguer, who missed testing and the Thai GP. When you take into account the fact that di Giannantonio has already accumulated 50 points in the same period, Morbidelli isn’t left with much to say in his defence.

Toprak Razgatlioglu, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Toprak Razgatlioglu had already shown some promising signs in the first two rounds of the year, even though he was held back by the limitations of the machinery at his disposal. But the US GP weekend was special for more reasons than one.

First, he scored his maiden point in MotoGP, as he climbed to 15th in Sunday’s race. But more significantly, he outgunned his more experienced Yamaha stablemates, beating not just team-mate Jack Miller but also the factory duo of Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins.

While Quartararo suffered a late tyre drop-off that sent him tumbling down the order, Razgatlioglu’s smooth riding style worked in his favour, and he finished only a second down on Franco Morbidelli’s Ducati.

The Turk also impressed with his one-lap pace, and while he failed to break into Q2 this time, he was only two tenths slower than Quartararo. While fighting for a solitary point may not be rewarding for the three-time World Superbike champion, he is increasingly emerging as the second-best rider within the Yamaha roster, behind Quartararo himself.

Joan Mir, Honda HRC

Photo by: Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Joan Mir may have no regrets about missing out on a potential podium with a crash in the sprint, but he was certainly disappointed when he fell again in Sunday’s race. Make no mistake, his qualifying attempt on Saturday was heroic, and getting that Honda to the second row was no mean feat. But points are ultimately what count, and Mir came away with zero from the weekend.

The Spaniard admitted that he was having to take risks to compensate for Honda’s lack of speed on corner exits. But three grand prix DNFs aren’t how he would have liked to start the season, especially when he is clearly the fastest rider in the Honda camp.

It’s also worrying for the Japanese manufacturer that Luca Marini and Johann Zarco aren’t performing on Mir’s level. While Marini did take advantage of others’ misfortune to climb to fifth in the sprint, a poor start – due to a lack of feeling on the clutch – left him 14th on the opening lap in Sunday’s race. He could only recover to ninth, while Zarco crashed out in the opening laps.