Officially the fastest mullet in the business finally has a MotoGP victory to show for it. After nearly three years of trying, Pedro Acosta banished the demons of Saturday’s late Sprint crash to deliver a flawless ride to his maiden premier-class win at the Qatar Airways Grand Prix of Austria — and there could hardly have been a more fitting stage than KTM’s home turf at the Red Bull Ring.
Racing over 28 laps of the Spielberg circuit in dry conditions, Acosta produced a composed, mistake-free performance to finally convert 15 prior podiums into a first Sunday win — a beautiful farewell gift before both rider and factory turn the page on a new chapter together in 2027.
The start belonged entirely to Aprilia, with Jorge Martin, Marco Bezzecchi and Ai Ogura occupying the top three positions in that order as the lights went out. Marc Marquez, by contrast, lost three places by the end of the opening lap, with Acosta pouncing on his future 2027 teammate to snatch fourth after a sluggish getaway from the Ducati man.
Bezzecchi briefly held the race lead at the start of Lap 2, executing a textbook Turn 1 move on teammate Martin, only for the polesitter to snap straight back at Turn 3. Acosta, meanwhile, was on the move — passing Ogura at Turn 6 for third before immediately setting his sights on Bezzecchi’s tailpipes.
It didn’t take long for Acosta to find a way past. On Lap 4, at Turn 2b — the very corner where his Sprint had unravelled 23 hours earlier — Acosta struck to move into second, while Bezzecchi slipped into the clutches of Ogura after running wide at the final corner.
By the end of Lap 7, Martin and Acosta had opened a 1.5s gap over Bezzecchi, who in turn led Ogura by half a second, with Ogura beginning to feel the heat from Marc Marquez behind.
The lead changed hands on Lap 9, as Acosta out-drove Martin on the exit of Turn 1 and down into Turn 2a to take his first lead of the race. Further back, trouble was brewing for Marc Marquez — sideways and wide at Turn 1 shortly after passing Ogura, the seven-time champion lost fourth, then fifth to Brad Binder, before a second wayward moment at Turn 1 saw Fermin Aldeguer come through as well, dropping Marc Marquez to seventh.
Passing the halfway mark on Lap 16, Acosta led Martin by 0.7s, with Bezzecchi around a second further back in third and Ogura still very much in podium contention in fourth, 1.2s off Bezzecchi. Aldeguer and Marc Marquez sat fifth and sixth, 3.4s off Ogura’s pace.
Marc Marquez did fight his way back past Aldeguer for fifth on Lap 20, but with the gap to Ogura stretching to 3.8s, it appeared fifth would be as good as it got for Ducati’s title challenger on the day.
At the front, the gap began to close. Acosta’s lead shrank to 0.7s on Lap 21 as he dipped into the 1:31s while all three chasing Aprilias remained in the high 1:30s — Ogura the fastest of the quartet. Acosta responded immediately, firing in a 1’30.693 that beat both factory Aprilias, though Ogura remained marginally quicker still.
The KTM man then found another gear over the following laps, stretching his advantage back beyond a second as Martin came under increasing pressure from teammate Bezzecchi rather than the race leader. With two laps remaining, Acosta’s cushion stood at 1.4s — a dream maiden MotoGP victory, on home soil with Red Bull KTM, firmly within reach.
Heading onto the final lap, the gap was 1.2s, with just 0.2s separating Martin and Bezzecchi behind. All that remained was for Acosta to bring his RC16 home cleanly — and he did exactly that, crossing the line to become, at last, a MotoGP Sunday winner. It was always going to arrive for the Spanish superstar sooner or later; fitting, then, that he and KTM got to celebrate at least one victory together before their paths diverge.
Martin secured a crucial second place to extend his championship lead to 12 points over Marc Marquez, who could only manage fifth, 7.339s off the win. It was Martin’s Aprilia teammate Bezzecchi who completed the podium, holding off the chasing Martin — sorry, holding off Ogura — by the finest of margins, just 0.192s covering Bezzecchi and Martin at the line after a tense, riveting Grand Prix.
Ogura’s return from injury yielded a superb fourth place, just 0.9s shy of the rostrum — the perfect confidence boost ahead of his home Grand Prix in Japan in under two weeks’ time.
Marc Marquez’s fifth was a little unexpected from the Sprint’s silver medallist, relinquishing the championship lead as he heads towards the venue where he clinched the 2025 title a year ago. Binder backed up Acosta’s triumph with his best result of the season in sixth, giving both sides of the Red Bull KTM Factory Racing garage plenty to celebrate, with Francesco Bagnaia the leading Ducati rider in seventh.
Aldeguer, despite a post-race three-second penalty for causing contact, held on for eighth as the third-placed Ducati rider, ahead of a quiet weekend for Fabio Di Giannantonio, who rounded out his weekend with ninth. Johann Zarco was the top HRC finisher in tenth, with Enea Bastianini, Raul Fernandez, Joan Mir’s stand-in Takaaki Nakagami, Luca Marini and Diogo Moreira collecting the remaining points on offer.
Full Race Classification
- Pedro Acosta (SPA) — Red Bull KTM Factory Racing — 42’16.996 — 172.7 km/h
- Jorge Martin (SPA) — Aprilia Racing — +1.017
- Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) — Aprilia Racing — +1.209
- Ai Ogura (JPN) — SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team — +2.139
- Marc Marquez (SPA) — Ducati Lenovo Team — +7.339
- Brad Binder (RSA) — Red Bull KTM Factory Racing — +8.720
- Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) — Ducati Lenovo Team — +9.686
- Fermin Aldeguer (SPA) — BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP — +12.365
- Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA) — Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team — +14.869
- Johann Zarco (FRA) — Castrol Honda LCR — +16.266
- Enea Bastianini (ITA) — Red Bull KTM Tech3 — +16.640
- Raul Fernandez (SPA) — SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team — +20.940
- Takaaki Nakagami (JPN) — Honda HRC Castrol — +21.032
- Luca Marini (ITA) — Honda HRC Castrol — +22.391
- Diogo Moreira (BRA) — Pro Honda LCR — +24.949
- Pol Espargaro (SPA) — Red Bull KTM Tech3 — +25.148
- Fabio Quartararo (FRA) — Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team — +30.140
- Franco Morbidelli (ITA) — Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team — +34.200
- Alex Rins (SPA) — Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team — +34.413
- Toprak Razgatlioglu (TUR) — Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP — +46.724
- Jack Miller (AUS) — Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP — +1’07.530
Martin’s runner-up finish extends his advantage at the top of the standings to 306 points, 12 clear of Marc Marquez on 294. Bezzecchi sits third on 264, with Acosta’s home win propelling him up to fourth on 234, just ahead of Di Giannantonio (230) and Ogura (222).
It could prove a hugely significant day for Aprilia’s title charge, with both Martin and Bezzecchi collecting a double-podium weekend before MotoGP heads into its unpredictable flyaway stretch. In the teams’ standings, Aprilia Racing now leads with 570 points, ahead of Ducati Lenovo Team (450) and SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team (425). The constructors’ battle remains a dogfight at the top, with Aprilia edging Ducati 442 points to 432, and KTM a distant third on 277.
MotoGP now heads towards the flyaway rounds, with Ogura’s Austrian fourth place setting up a mouth-watering return home to Japan in under two weeks. Martin leads Marc Marquez by 12 points at the summit, with Bezzecchi 42 adrift in third — the title fight showing no signs of settling down as the season enters its decisive phase.
Credit Photo : MotoGP
