A demanding and enduring Japanese Grand Prix proved to be another satisfactory round of 2026 MotoGP for Red Bull KTM as Enea Bastianini unveiled his best performance of the season to capture 4th place. The Italian was a whisker from a first podium appearance of the year as all four Red Bull KTM RC16s logged points at the Motegi Mobility Resort. In Moto3™ Alvaro Carpe gunned the title-winning KTM RC4 to 3rd place as 122,000 spectators watched the sixteenth date of the current campaign.
Highlights and key moments from race day at Motegi:
Motegi was overcast and cool for the 26th Grand Prix event to take place at the motorsports facility 150km north of Tokyo. Red Bull KTM lined up for the 24-lap race from 3rd (Pedro Acosta), 7th (Enea Bastianini), 17th (Brad Binder) and 19th (Maverick Viñales) slots on the grid and wary of the abrasiveness of the newly surfaced 14-corner layout that created challenges for tire durability during the Sprint on Saturday.
A confident Bastainini, who had been robbed of a Sprint podium by marginally exceeding track limits on the final lap of the chase yesterday, flew into the top five and had to find a way around Acosta. The Italian moved forwards while Acosta needed time to work temperature into the harder tires. Enea set the four fastest laps of the race with four to go while Acosta had an entertaining scrap with Raul Fernandez and Ai Ogura for 5th. Bastianini made a final surge for P3 and missed out by less than a tenth of a second. P4 still represents his best result of the year (the previous highest being two P6s in the USA and the Netherlands). Pedro had to accept a hard-won P7 at the finish.
Brad Binder sliced his way towards the periphery of the top ten and was able to gain 5 points for 11th place. Maverick Viñales edged close to the top fifteen in the first laps. The Spaniard, who had missed the previous four Grands Prix to further recover from his left shoulder problem, persevered and completed the race with 14th.
MotoGP now moves south and to the island of Lombok for the Grand Prix of Indonesia at Mandalika next weekend.
Enea Bastianini, 4th and 11th in the championship: “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.”
Pedro Acosta, 7th and 4th in the championship: “Tough one…and it feels like we haven’t had a tough one in a while! It looks like we didn’t match the bike with the tires. I don’t know why we struggled but I had difficulty stopping the bike and then also in the drive area, otherwise the bike was normal and good. Anyway. P7 is not a disaster. It was not our day…but I am happy to see another KTM bringing home a P4 and we can have some data to check.”
Brad Binder, 11th and 13th in the championship: “Much better than yesterday. The physio did a great job on me and I felt more human! We did the warm-up on the hard tire and straight out of the pits I thought ‘this thing is not bad...’. It was pretty good. The race was quite OK. We toned everything down to preserve the tire but, in the end, I think we could have done more distance on it. The best I could do today was 11th. Not a great Japan, and we were expecting better but I think I ruined it a bit when I threw myself down the road in Q1. It made the rest of the weekend more challenging. Onto the next one.”
Maverick Viñales, 14th and 22nd in the championship: “I’m happy this weekend because I found better feelings from the bike with every session. I still need to push more and in the correct place but I understand the bike a lot more. I’m really enthusiastic to get to Mandalika and keep improving. I expected to struggle more today. I was not worried about the shoulder but more the arms; here they get very tired with the heavy braking. It was good training! I found some good speed in the middle of the race. We are in a good way.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “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.”
Results MotoGP Grand Prix of Japan
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 41:31.467
2. Jorge Martin (ESP) Aprilia +1.363
3. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia +2.252
4. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +2.330
7. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +16.928
11. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +25.853
14. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +33.995
World Championship standings MotoGP
1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Aprilia, 333 points
2. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati, 331
3. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia, 284
4. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 243
11. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 116
13. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing, 99
22. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 12
KTM GP Academy
Moto3 brought Grand Prix Sunday up to speed with 17 hotly contested laps. Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brian Uriarte and Alvaro Carpe started the race from a front row that wa3s separated by less than a tenth of a second after Saturday’s Q2 qualification. The Red Bull KTM Tech duo of Rico Salmela and Valentin Perrone lined-up next to each other on the third row and in P7 and P8 respectively. Uriarte had a technical issue on the grid and was given a double long lap penalty but the youngster was still lightning fast in his recovery of ground and positions.
The lead group was formed of three racers in the closing phases as the laps ticked down with Carpe in contention. Uriarte completed his sanction and was agonizingly adrift of the chase in P4. Alvaro lost the tow to David Almansa and Maximo Quiles in the last three laps and had to accept 3rd and a trophy for the seventh time in 2026 (the twelfth of his career). Salmela sealed 5th and entered the top five for the fourth time in 2026 after previously making the grade in the USA, Hungary and Germany. Perrone was further back and crossed the line in P14.
The Moto3 world championship standings continue to see Maximo Quiles head the field. Carpe is 3rd and just 8 points from 2nd while Uriarte is 4th and 4 points behind his teammate. Perrone (P6) and Salmela (P10) are also in the current top ten. KTM have already been crowned as Constructors Champions.
Alvaro Carpe: “Not bad, I’m quite happy being on the podium but also quite upset because I lost the two front riders in the last five laps. I missed feeling and could not go any faster. I gave 100% and it’s another race where we just missed a bit: I was pushing while the others were ‘relaxing’. Anyway, the weekend was good overall because we improved, and I was at the top in almost every session. I want to say thanks to the team because they are doing a brilliant job. See you in Indonesia.”
Moto2 rolled two rookies into action for Red Bull KTM Ajo. Jose Antonio Rueda started his first intermediate class Grand Prix at Motegi from 15th on the grid and Milan Pawelec – a Polish 19-year-old double European Moto2 Champion making his first appearance in Ajo colors – set off from 27th. Moto2 laid rubber around the Japanese course for 19-laps and Rueda pushed through for 10th (his second top ten appearance of the campaign) while Pawelec managed 24th for his first non-European Grand Prix bow as a temporary replacement for Collin Veijer who has almost recovered from left collarbone surgery.
Results Moto3 Grand Prix of Japan
1. David Almansa (ESP) KTM 32:45.544
2. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.046
3. Alvaro Carpe (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +2.738
4. Brian Uriarte (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +3.610
5. Rico Salmela (FIN) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +4.430
14. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +21.776
18. Marco Morelli (ARG) CFMOTO Aspar Team +27.938
World Championship standings Moto3
1. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 326 points
2. David Almansa (ESP) KTM, 199
3. Alvaro Carpe (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 191
4. Brian Uriarte (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 187
5. Marco Morelli (ARG) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 146
6. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 120
10. Rico Salmela (FIN) Red Bull KTM Tech3, 81
Results Moto2 Grand Prix of Japan
1. Izan Guevara (ESP) 34:14.675
2. Tony Arbolino (ITA) +0.419
3. Filip Salac (CZE) +1.057
5. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Aspar Team +1.554
8. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +7.069
10. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +11.517
24. Milan Pawelec (POL) Red Bull KTM Ajo +38.626
World Championship standings Moto2
1. Manuel Gonzalez (ESP) 245.5 points
2. Izan Guevara (ESP) 235
3. Ivan Ortola (ESP) 181.5
4. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 166
5. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team, 154
10. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 75.5
18. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo, 37