The 2026 MotoGP World Championship has a familiar face at the top of the standings after Marc Marquez won at Misano last week to move ahead of long-time leader Jorge Martin.
Marquez leads by virtue of having won more races than his compatriot by the convincing margin of five to one, but both riders have 274 points and are 33 ahead of third-placed Marco Bezzechi.
The seven-time MotoGP champion has now won five of the last seven races and will arrive in Austria full of confidence.
MotoGP Austria Tips Summary
Best Bet - Marco Bezzecchi @ 3/1
Alternative Bet - Pedro Acosta each-way @ 11/1
Alternative Bet - Fermin Aldeguer each-way @ 33/1
MotoGP Austria Prediction
Best Bet: Marco Bezzecchi @ 3/1
While it's no surprise to see Marc Marquez as favourite for the Austrian Grand Prix after his impressive performance to win the sprint and the grand prix in San Marino last week, he doesn't look a great value bet at odds-on to make it three Sunday wins in a row in Austria.
Marquez's win in Spielberg last season was his first success at the Red Bull Ring in his career and given the huge collection of winner's trophies he has at some other tracks, it cannot be considered one of his favourites.
Instead, it may pay to give another chance to Marco Bezzecchi. The Italian was quick last weekend, qualifying on pole and leading the race when he pushed too hard and made an early exit, but he had shown plenty of pace.
Bezzecchi took pole for this event last season before finishing third to Marquez, and his Aprilia team have made further advances this year, which gives them a chance to break Ducati's run of four successive wins in this race.
Bezzecchi won at this track in both Moto3 and Moto2 and has finished on the podium in this event in two of the last three seasons.
At 3/1 he looks a viable alternative to the new championship leader this week.
Alternative Bet: Pedro Acosta each-way @ 11/1
Pedro Acosta played a key role in helping us to a 1-2-3 finish with our San Marino predictions as the 18/1 shot climbed from seventh on the grid to finish on the podium in third place.
The KTM rider had finished second in the previous round in Aragon and is now in the top five in the standings as he continues to seek his first MotoGP win after three runner-up finishes this season.
Acosta went well at this track last season, finishing third in the sprint and then fourth in the grand prix from seventh on the grid, and while he doesn't have the best bike in the field he continues to extract performances from his machine that no other KTM rider can match.
Alternative Bet: Fermin Aldeguer each-way @ 33/1
If you're looking for a big-value outsider, consider backing Fermain Aldeguer at 33/1.
The Ducati rider for the Gresini Racing team turned in what was at the time the best performance of his rookie season when he finished second to Marc Marquez last season having started sixth on the grid.
He went on to beat that when grabbing his maiden win at the top level in Indonesia later in the season and appears to be coming back to top form after missing three races earlier this year with a back injury.
Aldeguer was sixth in Aragon and fourth in San Marino and could be a surprise contender for the podium as he returns to a track where he shone last season.
Key Race Stats
Marc Marquez won the Austrian MotoGP for the first time last season
Francesco Bagnaia won this race in three successive years from 2022 to 2024
Brad Binder (2021) is the only other former winner in the field
Ducati riders have won nine of the last 10 races at this track
Marc Marquez has won five of the last seven races this season
Pedro Acosta has finished second and third in the last two races
Read more MotoGP betting tips and predictions on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
