Raul Fernandez emerged victorious in Mugello. © APA/afp / ANDREAS SOLARO

Ice-cold in round one: Fernandez shines in the sprint

Raul Fernandez won the MotoGP sprint at Mugello. A maneuver in the first lap gave him the lead and the victory.

30 May 2026

From: sn

The Spaniard from the Trackhouse Aprilia team took the lead in the first lap and never relinquished it over the eleven laps of the race. Behind Fernandez, Jorge Martin finished second. The Aprilia rider thus reduced the gap to championship leader Marco Bezzecchi to twelve points.

Fabio Di Giannantonio finished third on the VR46 Ducati. Bezzecchi, after his pole position, had to settle for fourth place, just ahead of Marc Marquez, who had even taken the lead briefly with a strong start.

Choosing the right tires makes all the difference.

The tire strategy was also crucial: Fernandez and Martin were the only drivers to opt for the medium compound front and rear, allowing them to pull away from the rest of the field early on. Behind them, Fermin Aldeguer, Francesco Bagnaia, Ai Ogura, and Pedro Acosta completed the points-scoring positions.

MotoGP rookie Diogo Moreira, after briefly holding third place, dropped back to tenth and narrowly missed out on points. Toprak Razgatlioglu finished 17th, while Fabio Quartararo could only manage 14th.

Enea Bastianini and Franco Morbidelli both crashed out at turn ten. Joan Mir had to retire his Honda early due to a technical problem. The Italian Grand Prix will be run over 23 laps on Sunday.