Any one of three riders could be in the lead of the 2026 MotoGP championship when the teams depart Misano on Sunday night after the Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera and the scene is set for another close race.
Aprilia's Jorge Martin leads the MotoGP standings largely due to his consistency as he has won only one of the 13 races so far, but he is being chased hard by seven-time champion Marc Marquez, whose victory in Aragon last time out was his fourth in the last six races.
Marquez is still 19 points behind Martin, while Marco Bezzecchi, who won the first three races of the year and has had one more victory since, is 24 points behind the leader, but will start from pole here.
MotoGP San Marino Tips Summary
Best Bet - Marc Marquez to win @ 6/5
Alternative Bet - Alex Marquez each-way @ 7/1
Alternative Bet - Pedro Acosta each-way @ 18/1
MotoGP San Marino Prediction
Best Bet: Marc Marquez to win @ 6/5
Marc Marquez was making cautious comments after practice at Misano on Friday, saying his rival Bezzecchi could be the one to beat this week, but the oddsmakers aren't convinced of that, making the pair joint-favourites for the race after the first day of track action.
Marquez should perhaps be more confident about his chances given he has won this race in each of the last two seasons and five times overall, and he arrived at the track as the rider in form, too.
The Spanish star has won four of the last six races in Hungary, Czech Republic, Germany and Aragon, and he didn't lack speed on the first day, posting the fastest time in the first session and being just 0.103 seconds behind Bezzecchi in the second.
He looks worth backing at an odds-against price to make it three Misano wins in a row, having qualified second on the grid.
Alternative Bet: Alex Marquez each-way @ 7/1
Marc's brother Alex Marquez also looks set for a strong weekend in San Marino after setting the fourth-fastest time in first practice and improving to third place in the second hour of action.
The younger of the brothers is only ninth in the standings despite winning his home race in Jerez earlier this season, but he has been extremely competitive in the last two rounds.
He finished fourth in both races at Silverstone and was second in the sprint in Aragon before coming fourth again in the main event.
On top of that, he performed well at this track last season, with second place in the sprint and making it a double podium weekend with third in the grand prix.
The Gresini Ducati rider is a solid each-way option, even if qualifying down in ninth place has not helped his chances.
Alternative Bet: Pedro Acosta each-way @ 18/1
At a bigger price, consider a third Spanish rider in 18/1 shot Pedro Acosta.
The KTM rider was sixth in the morning practice despite a crash late in the session and repeated that placing in the second period, which he finished as the second-fastest non-Ducati.
Acosta registered his third runner-up finish of the season in the last round at Aragon and his first MotoGP win after 14 career podium finishes may not be far away.
He finished fifth in the sprint race at this circuit last season despite qualifying only ninth and was unfortunate in the grand prix when he had to retire due to a snapped chain.
Seventh place in qualifying was not quite what Acosta would have hoped for, but he should still be in contention for a top-three finish.
Key Race Stats
- Marc Marquez has won the San Marino MotoGP in each of the last two years
- Jorge Martin, Francesco Bagnaia and Franco Morbidelli are the other recent winners in the field
- Ducati riders have won the last five races at this circuit
- Marc Marquez has won four of the last six races this season
- Championship leader Jorge Martin has still won only one race this season
- Marco Bezzecchi has finished third in the sprint and the grand prix in the last two rounds
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.
