Bastianini loses Motegi Sprint podium to track-limits ruling as KTM's day unravels
Enea Bastianini crossed the line third in the MotoGP Sprint at Motegi but was demoted to fourth for exceeding track limits, capping a mixed day for Red Bull KTM.
- 4th
- 0.076 s
- 12 laps
- 24 laps
What Happened
Enea Bastianini took his KTM RC16 to third place in the MotoGP Sprint at a sunny Motegi Mobility Resort, round 16 of 22, but was demoted to fourth after marginally touching track limits on the last lap — denying him a second Sprint podium of the season and a third Sprint medal on the RC16, the 11th of his career. He had charged from seventh on the grid to the rear wheel of second place and takes six points for fourth. Pedro Acosta, third in qualifying, was hit into the gravel by another rider at Turn 3 on the first lap and retired, Brad Binder finished 18th after running off the track at Turn 1, and Maverick Viñales took 15th on his return to racing since the German Grand Prix. In Moto3, Red Bull KTM Ajo's Brian Uriarte and Alvaro Carpe qualified second and third for the front row.
Pedro Acosta fights for P1 and ends 0.076 of a second off the mark; Enea Bastianini joins him in direct Q2 access with decent one-lap potential.
Brad Binder is 7th and returning Maverick Viñales 9th, lining up 17th and 19th on the grid for the Sprint and Sunday's Grand Prix.
Acosta is 3rd fastest and Bastianini 7th, with only half a second splitting the top ten.
Marc Marquez wins in 20:50.376; Acosta is out at Turn 3 on the first lap; Bastianini is demoted from 3rd to 4th for track limits; Viñales is 15th and Binder 18th.
The 24-lap Grand Prix starts, with the 17-lap Moto3 race opening the programme in the morning.
- 7th on the grid, 4th in the Sprint (six points)
- 3rd on the grid, DNF in the Sprint
- 19th on the grid, 15th in the Sprint
- Moto3 qualifying: David Almansa took pole on a KTM in 1:54.572, with Brian Uriarte 2nd at +0.045 and Alvaro Carpe 3rd at +0.075 for Red Bull KTM Ajo — the second race in succession on the front row for both.
- Rico Salmela qualified 7th (+0.675) and Valentin Perrone 8th (+0.882) for Red Bull KTM Tech3.
- Jose Antonio Rueda was 15th in Moto2 qualifying for Red Bull KTM Ajo, earning the fifth row.
- Milan Pawelec, the 19-year-old double European Moto2 champion, stood in for the injured Collin Veijer and was 27th after Q1 and Q2 in his first Grand Prix overseas; Veijer is still recovering from surgery on his left collarbone.
“I was a bit frustrated…but, for the rest, I'm quite happy because I was solid from the start until the end of the race and I was also good in qualifying.”
“Disappointing that Pedro's race was already over on the first lap and it didn't last too much longer for Brad in the fight for positions.”
Previously from KTM AG
Earlier this week KTM confirmed that its Moto3 GP Academy is set to continue in 2027, and that the Tech3 team has locked in a full MotoGP line-up for the coming season. Both strands were in play at Motegi, where the GP Academy's Moto3 effort and the Tech3 MotoGP squad were on track.
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of KTM AG's official releases.
Why this matters
Motegi is round 16 of 22 in the 2026 MotoGP season, so the points KTM's riders take or lose there count directly in their championship campaigns — Bastianini's podium was taken away by a track-limits ruling on the final lap. The result affects KTM's factory and Tech3 teams: Acosta scored nothing, Binder had a day to forget and Viñales returned for the first time since the German Grand Prix.
Terms in This Story
- Sprint
- A short MotoGP race, roughly half the distance of a Grand Prix, that awards championship points.
- track limits
- The boundary of the racing surface; a rider who exceeds it can be penalised or lose a finishing position.
- DNF
- Did Not Finish — a rider who retires from a race and scores no points.
- Long Lap penalty
- A penalty that forces a rider to ride through an extended outside loop of a corner, losing time.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.