Márquez on his way to an Aragon double – but he will only have his anti-clockwise advantage twice more this year
Michelin
Everyone expected Marc Márquez to win at anti-clockwise Aragon, which he did, but it was obvious his powers are depleted due to his much-mangled right arm and shoulder.
On his previous two visits to the track, gloriously situated in the Aragon region’s semi-desert landscape, Márquez simply disappeared to win the 2024 and 2025 races by almost five seconds.
This time his winning advantage was less than two seconds, because while he could attack Aragon’s 10 left-handers with his usual speed, he doesn’t have the strength to save slides with his right elbow like he used to, so he had to be more conservative in the track’s seven right-handers.
This has important implications for the outcome of the 2026 MotoGP world championship, the last of the 1000cc era, which features six anti-clockwise circuits among the 22 venues.
Four of those have already been and gone – COTA, Balaton, Sachsenring and Aragon – of which Márquez completed sprint/race doubles at three. He probably would’ve done the same at COTA, but the US GP took place before he underwent a sixth arm/shoulder surgery since Jerez 2020 to fix issues with the radial nerve.
Only two anti-clockwise circuits remain – Phillip Island and Valencia – among the last nine rounds. Therefore, despite his recent form – winning four of the last six grands prix – the next three months may be tougher for Márquez than many fans might expect.
Of course, the seven-times champion has also won at clockwise circuits this year. He won the Czech Grand Prix at Brno and sprints at Goiania and Jerez.
For the record, Márquez has won four Sunday races and five sprints. Championship leader Jorge Martin, who leads Márquez by 19 points, has won three sprints, at COTA, Le Mans and Silverstone, and a single grand prix, at Le Mans. Marco Bezzecchi, who trails Márquez by five points, has won four GPs, at Buriram, Goiania, COTA and Mugello, and no sprints.
Márquez will already have assessed his chances at the last nine tracks of 2026 – where he can attack, where he will have to defend and where he may not be able to do anything more than survive.
The Sunday Aragon podium: winner Marquez with runner-up Pedro Acosta (left), third-placed Marco Bezzecchi and Riccardo Savin, Ducati’s vehicle dynamics and design manager
MotoGP
San Marino GP, Misano
11/12/13 September
A defence circuit. Misano will be tough for Márquez. Remember last year when he had to dig very deep to win the Sunday race from a charging Bezzecchi, who knows every ripple of the track, because he rides there regularly with his fellow VR46 Riders Academy riders. Also, Aprilia will have a real advantage through the most important corner – the 150mph Curvone right-hander at the end of the back straight – where riders both make the lap time and start building overtakes into the Turn 14 hairpin.
Austrian GP, Red Bull Ring
18/19/20 September
An attack circuit. Red Bull Ring shouldn’t be too much of a problem for Márquez, who won there last year. In theory the Ducati should work well around this stop-and-go layout, but Aprilia will be faster than last year, when Bezzecchi finished only three seconds behind winner Márquez.
Japanese GP, Motegi
2/3/4 October
An attack circuit. Another stop-and-go venue, so Ducati will be strong there. Indeed, the last non-Ducati Motegi winner was Márquez, way back in 2019. Last year, Aprilia’s best finisher was Bezzecchi, 10 seconds down on winner Pecco Bagnaia, because the RS-GP struggled with braking stability into slow corners. Aprilia has largely but not fully fixed this problem.
Indonesian GP, Mandalika
9/10/11 October
A defence circuit. Mandalika is Márquez’s biggest worry. “It’s my worst because I only have bad memories,” he said on Sunday at Aragon. From the massive highside in 2022, which had him (briefly) deciding to retire, to last year’s lap-one incident with Bezzecchi, he’s never stood on the podium at Mandalika. He says you need corner speed there and that’s never been his biggest strength.
Australian GP, Phillip Island
23/24/25 October
An attack circuit. A big chance for Márquez to score another points full-house, because PI goes left, left, left, so it’s another happy hunting ground. However, the latest Aprilia’s high-speed abilities (Raul Fernandez won there last year, while Márquez was absent through injury) suggest PI won’t be as easy as it has been in the past.
Márquez took the lead from Bezzecchi at the first corner of both the sprint and the Sunday race
MotoGP
Malaysian GP, Sepang
29/30/31 October
A defence circuit. During his 14-year MotoGP career, Márquez has only won twice at Sepang, in 2014 and 2018, so the track doesn’t work so well for him. Even in 2019, his best season, he could only finish second, three seconds behind Maverick Vinales. On the other hand, this was Aprilia’s weakest track during the second half of 2025, when the RS-GP was generally working very well…
Qatar GP, Losail
6/7/8 November
A defence circuit. Márquez took the double at last year’s Qatar GP, but the Aprilias will be a real danger – lots of medium- to high-speed corners are just what the RS-GP’s downforce aero loves.
Fifteen months from now, MotoGP plans to host the 2027 Australian Grand Prix in an Adelaide park, but growing local resistance has triggered a parliamentary inquiry into the project
Bezzecchi only finished ninth, 14 seconds down, at Losail last year, but bike and rider have come a long way since then. This event may be cancelled due to the US/Iran war.
Portuguese GP, Portimao
20/21/22 November
A defence circuit. Márquez hasn’t raced there since 2024, when he crashed out with Bagnaia, and has never stood on a Sunday podium at Portimao. The Aprilia’s chassis and aero will make it the better bike at this penultimate round, when the points pressure will be building to a climax.
Valencia GP, Ricardo Tormo
27/28/29 November
An attack circuit. But Márquez’s recent record at the traditional season finale hasn’t been great – the last time he stood on the Valencia podium was after the 2023 sprint and the last time he won a race at the track was in 2019. But he knows the place and it turns left, so he will be in the fight and if Valencia turns out to be the championship decider, he will risk everything, in the lefts and the rights.
That makes four attack circuits and five defence circuits (or four, if Qatar is cancelled). The good news for Márquez is that there are no more circuits where he will be forced to survive, like Assen and Silverstone, where he was too weak to deal with the numerous high-speed direction changes.
