Lusail (Qatar) (AFP) - Spaniard Marc Marquez will have to wait at least two more weeks to secure his eighth title in the MotoGP World Championship, after he finished Sunday's Qatar Grand Prix in second place behind Italian Marco Betsicki.

Published on: 08/11/2026 - 18:49

The Ducati rider had a chance to clinch the title this weekend, after winning the Sprint race on Saturday, but he needed his closest competitor for the title, Spaniard Jorge Martin, to finish the race outside the points positions.

However, Martin, Betsicki's teammate in the Aprilia team, succeeded in occupying seventh place, keeping the title race open, despite being 60 points behind the leaders, only two rounds before the end of the season.

Marquez can now equal the record in the MotoGP category, and take one title ahead of his historic Italian rival, Valentino Rossi, if he succeeds in finishing the Sprint race in Portimao, two weeks later, at least two points ahead of Martin.

"My strategy was simply to try to manage the race during the first five laps," Marquez said after the race.

He added, "I realized that I was very fast in one stage of the race, but I knew that continuing to drive in this manner would lead to wearing out the front tire."

He continued, "Third place was acceptable to me, but I noticed that (Raul) Fernandez was facing difficulties, so you cannot know what might happen. I decided to attack, and was able to score four additional points."

For his part, Betsiki, who started from first place, achieved his sixth victory this season, reducing the gap separating him from Marques to 74 points.

Despite this victory, the Italian cyclist's chances of competing for his first world title seem almost non-existent, as the difference between him and the leader is equal to the total points that are still available in the remaining two rounds of the championship.

Betsicki had missed the opportunity to put more pressure on Marques during the Sprint race, after he suffered a fall while trying to overtake the Spanish cyclist.

"It feels great, I'm very happy. We gave the performance we deserved," the Italian said.

He added, "It was a great weekend for us. I was very fast and felt very comfortable on the bike."

He continued, "It is unfortunate what happened yesterday, but that is part of the nature of racing, and coming back in this way makes everything more wonderful."

On the other hand, Martin was unable to repeat the remarkable performance he presented on Saturday, when he started from eleventh place on the starting grid, and succeeded in making his way to the front, before coming close to overtaking Marques, who ultimately won the Sprint race, while his compatriot settled for third place.

Despite this, Martin received warm applause and a distinguished reception from his team members, after he succeeded in keeping the competition for the title alive, in his first appearance on the racetracks since suffering a fracture in his right wrist.

© 2026 AFP

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