Austrian GP 2026 - 15 Podiums, One Maiden Win & a Hot Mic That Broke the Paddock

Pedro Acosta has been fast enough to win a MotoGP race since the first weekend he appeared on a premier class grid. He had 15 podiums to prove it, including eight second-place finishes that had made him the rider with the most top-three results without a victory in the history of the class. On Sunday at the Red Bull Ring — at KTM's home circuit, in front of an orange grandstand, in his final season with the manufacturer — he led from lap nine and won by just over a second from Jorge Martin. He had crashed from a two-second lead in the Sprint the previous afternoon with three laps to go. He came back the next day and did not make a single mistake across 28 laps. That is the short version. Dave and Nicky spend considerable time on the longer one.

Marc Marquez's front brake lever was at a different position every time he touched it from the first lap of the race. He ran wide at Turn 1 on lap ten when he could no longer trust the feedback. He considered pulling into the pits to retire. He eventually finished fifth, more than seven seconds behind Acosta, after catching and passing Brad Binder and Fermin Aldeguer in the closing stages. It was the best available result given the circumstances. Separately, Ducati's wider struggle at the Red Bull Ring continued — the Michelin special rear carcass used at this circuit and three others on the calendar exposes a weakness in the Desmosedici that Aprilia and KTM do not share. This matters because Mandalika uses the same compound.

Martin won the Sprint after Acosta crashed from a dominant lead, then finished second in the Grand Prix. He leads the championship by twelve points over Marquez heading into the flyaway rounds. Bezzecchi is a further seventeen behind Marquez. Ai Ogura returned from injury and ran fourth, completing an Aprilia 2-3-4 behind the KTM of Acosta. The Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio situation — caught on a DAZN microphone at Misano discussing Ducati's refusal to allow setup changes, leading to Dall'Igna admitting Ducati had not made the most suitable decisions — is covered in full.

Senna Agius has the last MotoGP seat on the 2027 grid with Tech3 KTM. Manuel Gonzalez, who leads the Moto2 championship by over eighty points in the same team, does not. Dave and Nicky break down the four reasons Agius was chosen over the championship leader, and what it means for Gonzalez's future. In Moto3, Quiles won his ninth race of the season after championship rival Almansa crashed from the lead in Austria. He now leads by 131 points and can mathematically clinch the title at the next round in Japan.