MotoGP heads to the Red Bull Ring this weekend for the Austrian Grand Prix, with the championship arriving in Spielberg finely poised after a dramatic turnaround at the top of the standings.
Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin are level on 274 points, with the defending champion leading on countback, while Pedro Acosta heads to KTM’s home race in his best form of the season.
Here are five fun facts to know ahead of the 2026 Austrian Grand Prix from September 18-20, live on SPOTV NOW.
View this post on Instagram
Hall-Marc of a champion
After the Italian Grand Prix, Marquez trailed then-championship leader Marco Bezzecchi by a massive 102 points. Just seven rounds later, victory at the San Marino Grand Prix moved Marquez level with Martin on 274 points.
Marquez has therefore erased the largest deficit to take the championship lead in the MotoGP era, surpassing the 91-point gap Francesco Bagnaia overturned in 2022.
The latter, however, still holds the record for the biggest comeback to win the MotoGP title after completing the job against Fabio Quartararo that season.
A decade of survival
Of the riders entered in the MotoGP class when Austria returned to the calendar in 2016, only Marquez, Maverick Vinales and Jack Miller remain on the grid a decade later.
Miller did not start the 2016 race after suffering a warm-up crash, while Vinales remains doubtful for this weekend as he continues his recovery from a shoulder injury.
Should Vinales be ruled out again, Marquez would be the only full-time rider to start both the 2016 and 2026 Austrian Grands Prix. Incidentally, Vinales’ replacement in recent rounds, Pol Espargaro, was also on the grid 10 years ago.
Another win for Ducati?
The Red Bull Ring has become a Ducati stronghold since MotoGP returned to Austria in 2016. The Italian manufacturer has won ten of the 12 premier-class races staged at the circuit over the past decade, including the additional Styrian Grands Prix held in 2020 and 2021.
Andrea Iannone, Andrea Dovizioso, Jorge Lorenzo, Martin and Francesco Bagnaia have contributed to that dominance, while Marquez joined the list when he finally ended his long wait for an Austrian victory last year.
Watch out for the Shark
Only one manufacturer has prevented a complete Ducati sweep at the Red Bull Ring since 2016: home team KTM. Miguel Oliveira delivered the Austrian manufacturer a victory at the 2020 Styrian Grand Prix before Brad Binder produced his unforgettable slick-tyre triumph in the rain at the 2021 Austrian Grand Prix.
With that in mind, do not rule out Pedro Acosta becoming KTM’s third MotoGP winner on home soil and finally ending his own wait for a maiden MotoGP Grand Prix victory.
The Spaniard heads to Spielberg with back-to-back podiums after finishing second at Aragon and third at San Marino, with KTM’s recent engine work helping the RC16 return to the front.
What better way for “The Shark” to sign off his final Austrian Grand Prix as a KTM rider before joining Ducati than with a home victory?
View this post on Instagram
Final Bagger showdown
The inaugural FIM Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup reaches its conclusion at the Red Bull Ring this weekend, with four riders still in contention for the title.
Archie McDonald leads the standings with 174 points, just seven ahead of Eric Granado on 167, while Oscar Gutierrez sits third on 148 and Andrea Iannone remains in the hunt on 147. If Iannone manages to defy the odds, it would be another landmark triumph for the Italian at the venue.
A decade ago, he claimed his first and only MotoGP victory at the Red Bull Ring, ending Ducati’s six-year premier-class win drought. This weekend, the same circuit could provide the setting for Iannone to become the inaugural Bagger World Cup champion.
View this post on Instagram
