Bastianini takes season-best 4th as all four KTM riders score points at Japanese MotoGP
Enea Bastianini came within a tenth of a second of a first 2026 podium at Motegi, finishing 4th as all four Red Bull KTM RC16s scored points in Japan.
- 122,000
- +2.330 seconds
- Jorge Martin, 333 points
- 11th, 116 points
What Happened
Enea Bastianini delivered his best performance of the 2026 season at the Japanese Grand Prix, finishing 4th at the Motegi Mobility Resort and missing a first podium of the year by less than a tenth of a second. All four Red Bull KTM RC16s scored points in the 24-lap race, run in overcast and cool conditions at the facility 150km north of Tokyo. The track was hosting its 26th Grand Prix, and its newly surfaced 14-corner layout proved abrasive enough to challenge tire durability during Saturday's Sprint. Bastianini set the four fastest laps of the race with four laps remaining before making a final surge for P3, with 122,000 spectators watching the 16th round of the 22-race campaign.
- Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3): 4th, +2.330 seconds, his best result of the year after two previous P6 finishes in the USA and the Netherlands; he also took P4 in Saturday's Sprint
- Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing): 7th, +16.928, after starting from 3rd on the grid and scrapping with Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura for 5th
- Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing): 11th, +25.853, taking five points after starting 17th
- Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3): 14th, +33.995, two points on his return after missing the previous four Grands Prix to recover from a left shoulder problem
“I've been waiting for this moment for a long time! To be able to ride like that. The morning was a bit strange because we did not expect the hard to work quite good from the first lap and it was clear it was the choice for the race. I lost some time at the start to overtake Pedro but from the middle of the race until the end I always tried to push a bit more. I had an incredible feeling and saw the chance for the podium. I didn't overtake Marco for 3rd but...it's OK.”
“Enea's performance yesterday, today and at the end of the race was amazing but it was a tough day today. Our expectations were much higher with Pedro because we'd seen his speed early in the weekend and after the bad luck of the Sprint we were hoping for the podium but unfortunately we couldn't make it and now we need to analyze why. In any case we have all four riders in the points. We showed we have the potential. We just need to put all the things together for Indonesia.”
In Moto3, Red Bull KTM Ajo's Alvaro Carpe took 3rd aboard the title-winning KTM RC4, his seventh trophy of 2026 and the twelfth of his career. Brian Uriarte recovered from a technical issue on the grid and a double long lap penalty to finish 4th, Rico Salmela sealed 5th for his fourth top-five of the season after the USA, Hungary and Germany, and Valentin Perrone crossed the line 14th. Carpe sits 3rd in the championship, eight points from 2nd, with Uriarte 4th and four points behind his teammate, while Salmela is 10th and Perrone 6th. KTM have already been crowned Moto3 Constructors Champions, with Maximo Quiles leading the standings on 326 points.
Moto2 put two Red Bull KTM Ajo rookies into action: Jose Antonio Rueda started his first intermediate-class Grand Prix from 15th on the grid and came through to 10th, his second top ten of the campaign, while 19-year-old Polish double European Moto2 Champion Milan Pawelec finished 24th from 27th as a temporary replacement for Collin Veijer, who has almost recovered from left collarbone surgery. MotoGP now moves south to the island of Lombok for the Grand Prix of Indonesia at Mandalika next weekend.
Sprint: Bastianini is denied a Sprint podium by marginally exceeding track limits on the final lap.
Japanese Grand Prix: Bastianini finishes 4th, less than a tenth of a second from the podium, and all four Red Bull KTM RC16s score points.
MotoGP moves to the island of Lombok for the Grand Prix of Indonesia at Mandalika.
Previously from KTM AG
Days before this Japanese round, KTM confirmed that its Moto3 GP Academy will continue in 2027, and that the Tech3 team has locked in a full MotoGP line-up for the coming season. Those two announcements frame the factory and satellite structures whose riders were in action at Motegi.
Background drawn from MotorClaw's earlier coverage of KTM AG's official releases.
Why this matters
Bastianini's 4th place is his best result of the 2026 season, and with every KTM rider scoring, the factory leaves Japan with points from all four bikes. KTM has already been crowned Moto3 Constructors Champions, and its Moto3 riders remain in the championship fight ahead of next weekend's Indonesian round, where the team hopes to convert its speed into a podium.
Terms in This Story
- Sprint
- A shorter points-scoring race held on the Saturday before the main Sunday Grand Prix.
- Long lap penalty
- A penalty in which a rider must ride through an extended loop of the track, losing time, rather than serving a time penalty.
- Constructors Champions
- The title awarded to the manufacturer whose bikes score the most points across a season, regardless of which rider or team scores them.
- Moto3
- The entry-level class of the MotoGP World Championship, raced on smaller-capacity prototype bikes.
Summarised from the linked release; details can be imperfect — always verify against the original source.