MotoGP heads to MotorLand Aragon this weekend for the 2026 Aragon Grand Prix as the championship enters another important stage of the title fight.
Ahead of the action in Spain, live on SPOTV NOW, here are five things to know.
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Marc’s personal playground
Few circuits have belonged to one rider quite like MotorLand Aragon has to Marc Marquez. The Spaniard has won seven MotoGP races at the circuit, beginning with his maiden Aragon triumph during his rookie season in 2013 before adding victories in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 with Honda.
After missing both MotorLand races in 2020 through injury, Marquez returned to the top step in spectacular fashion with Gresini Ducati in 2024, ending a 1,043-day wait for a Grand Prix victory. He then dominated again as a factory Ducati rider last year to claim his seventh win at the circuit.
Only Casey Stoner and Jorge Lorenzo have also won multiple MotoGP races at MotorLand, with two victories each.
Bagnaia’s maiden MotoGP victory
Francesco Bagnaia has since become a two-time MotoGP world champion, but his first premier-class victory came at MotorLand Aragon in 2021.
The Italian started from pole and spent the closing laps defending against Marquez, who launched several overtaking attempts during an intense battle between the pair. Bagnaia resisted every challenge and eventually crossed the line just 0.673 seconds ahead to claim his maiden MotoGP victory, beginning a run that would ultimately lead to his first world championship the following season.
All-Spanish podium lockouts
MotorLand Aragon has produced three MotoGP podium lockouts by riders from the same country, putting it level with Jerez for the most at a single circuit involving Spanish riders.
Spain swept the podium in 2017 through Marc Marquez, Dani Pedrosa and Jorge Lorenzo, before repeating the feat at the 2020 Aragon Grand Prix with Alex Rins, Alex Marquez and Joan Mir. Another all-Spanish podium followed in 2024 when Marc Marquez led Jorge Martin and Pedro Acosta home.
Meanwhile, Motegi, Brno and Silverstone have each produced two all-Spanish podium sweeps.
Honda’s happy hunting ground
Marquez’s extraordinary record has also helped make MotorLand one of Honda’s most successful venues of the MotoGP era. The Japanese manufacturer has claimed seven premier-class victories at the circuit, with five coming through Marquez and the other two courtesy of Pedrosa in 2012 and Casey Stoner a year earlier.
Honda has enjoyed plenty of success in the smaller classes too, particularly in Moto3, where its riders won six of the seven races held at MotorLand between 2016 and 2021, including the additional Teruel Grand Prix staged during the pandemic-affected 2020 season.
That second 2020 weekend also produced a memorable qualifying result for Honda when Takaaki Nakagami became the first Japanese rider to take a MotoGP pole position since Makoto Tamada in 2004.
Zarco set to return after longest absence
Johann Zarco is set to make his MotoGP comeback at Aragon after missing six consecutive rounds with the left knee ligament injury he suffered at the Catalan Grand Prix in May.
The Frenchman opted against surgery and had initially targeted a September return, but his recovery has progressed sufficiently for LCR Honda to bring his comeback forward, subject to him passing the mandatory medical examination at MotorLand.
It represents the longest absence of Zarco’s remarkably durable Grand Prix career, which began in 2009. His previous longest spell away came in 2019, when he missed Aragon, Thailand and Japan after his relationship with KTM ended prematurely. He returned for the final three rounds with LCR Honda, the same team he now represents full-time.
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