Season-opening Sydney, F3 derbies headline 2026/27 A-League rivalry dates

MotoGP returns from its summer break this weekend as Silverstone hosts the 2026 British Grand Prix. Ahead of the action, live on SPOTV NOW, here are five things to know.

Closest title race after 11 rounds

The 2026 MotoGP title fight resumes with only 24 points separating the top five riders after the opening 11 rounds. It is the closest championship battle at this stage of the season since the pandemic-affected 2020 campaign, when the leading five were covered by 29 points. By comparison, the gap between championship leader Marc Marquez and second-placed Alex Marquez had already stretched to 83 points at the same stage last year.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by MotoGP™ (@motogp)

Silverstone's streak of different winners

The British Grand Prix has produced 11 different MotoGP winners across its last 11 editions, with Jorge Lorenzo starting the sequence in 2013 before Marco Bezzecchi extended it last season. The next-longest active streak is just six races, shared by Qatar, Barcelona and the Circuit of the Americas, underlining Silverstone's reputation as one of MotoGP's most unpredictable venues.

Winners at Britain's two MotoGP venues

Several riders have won Grands Prix at both Donington Park and Silverstone across different categories, but only three have achieved the feat in the MotoGP class: Casey Stoner, Valentino Rossi and Andrea Dovizioso. Stoner triumphed at Donington in 2007 and 2008 before winning at Silverstone in 2011. Rossi's victory in 2015 came after seven premier-class wins at Donington, while Dovizioso added Silverstone success in 2017 to his maiden MotoGP victory at Donington eight years earlier.

Feast or famine for Marc

Silverstone has rarely produced an ordinary weekend for Marc Marquez. Across 10 MotoGP starts at the circuit since 2013, the Spaniard has claimed four podium finishes, with his sole win in 2014, but also suffered four retirements. He finished fourth in the other two races. In other words, Marquez has stood on the podium, finished just off it or failed to finish altogether in every MotoGP appearance at Silverstone, highlighting the circuit's all-or-nothing nature for the eight-time world champion.

More racing action for fans

The British Grand Prix weekend also features two support championships alongside MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3: the Moto4 British Talent Cup and the Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup. The latter will feature former MotoGP rider Bradley Smith, who has received a wildcard to race in front of his home crowd.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Harley-Davidson Bagger World Cup (@baggerworldcup)

MotoGP returns from its summer break at this weekend's British Grand Prix with the closest championship battle in the modern era. Just 24 points separate the top five riders after 11 rounds, leaving little margin for error and giving Saturday's sprint race an importance that cannot be dismissed as a supporting act. Jorge Martin arrives at Silverstone leading the standings on 208 points, but the Aprilia rider's advantage is only 14 over Trackhouse sensation Ai Ogura, while reigning champion Marc Marquez sits a further four points behind. Marco Bezzecchi and Fabio Di Giannantonio remain within a race win of the lead, ensuring every point on offer could reshape the title picture.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by MotoGP™ (@motogp)

That is particularly significant in an era where a portion of the points available each weekend is awarded on Saturday. Since sprint races were introduced in 2023, contenders have had to excel over two scoring days instead of one, making consistency across the entire weekend more valuable than outright Grand Prix pace. The current championship leader provided the clearest example in 2024. Although Francesco Bagnaia outscored him by 33 points in Grands Prix, Martin gained 43 more points on Saturdays to overturn the deficit and clinch his maiden MotoGP crown by 10 points. The pattern has re-emerged this season. Marquez has scored only 117 Grand Prix points, the fewest among the top five contenders, yet remains within striking distance of the championship thanks largely to his field-leading 73 sprint points, including four Saturday victories. Martin is the second-best sprint performer with 63 points, while Ogura has built his title challenge on Sunday consistency, scoring the second-highest Grand Prix points of the season so far but only sixth-highest points in sprints. The numbers also reveal contrasting strengths elsewhere. Bezzecchi has amassed 153 Grand Prix points, the most of any rider, but has collected only 33 in sprints, while Raul Fernandez ranks third in sprint scoring with 59 points to help him place sixth overall. With 11 rounds remaining, the sprint race has evolved from a weekend curtain-raiser into a championship-defining contest. In a title fight this close, the points gained on Saturday could ultimately prove just as valuable as those scored on Sunday in deciding who will be crowned MotoGP world champion.

2026 MotoGP Riders' Standings After German Grand Prix

#	Rider	Team	Sprint	Grand Prix	Total
1	Jorge Martin	Aprilia Racing	63	145	208
2	Ai Ogura	SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team	46	148	194
3	Marc Marquez	Ducati Lenovo Team	73	117	190
4	Marco Bezzecchi	Aprilia Racing	33	153	186
5	Fabio Di Giannantonio	Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team	50	134	184
6	Raul Fernandez	SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team	59	100	159
7	Pedro Acosta	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	43	105	148
8	Francesco Bagnaia	Ducati Lenovo Team	56	87	143
9	Alex Marquez	BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP	32	55	87
10	Luca Marini	Honda HRC Castrol	6	73	79
11	Fermin Aldeguer	BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP	11	65	76
12	Enea Bastianini	Red Bull KTM Tech3	14	62	76
13	Brad Binder	Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	11	53	64
14	Fabio Quartararo	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team	13	42	55
15	Diogo Moreira	Pro Honda LCR	4	44	48
16	Franco Morbidelli	Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team	10	36	46
17	Johann Zarco	Castrol Honda LCR	8	26	34
18	Joan Mir	Honda HRC Castrol	7	19	26
19	Alex Rins	Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team	0	21	21
20	Jack Miller	Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP	0	19	19
21	Toprak Razgatlioglu	Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP	0	12	12
22	Maverick Vinales	Red Bull KTM Tech3	0	10	10
23	Iker Lecuona	BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP	0	9	9
24	Augusto Fernandez	Yamaha Factory Racing	0	5	5
25	Cal Crutchlow	Castrol Honda LCR	0	0	0
26	Jonas Folger	Red Bull KTM Tech3	0	0	0
27	Michele Pirro	BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP	0	0	0
28	Lorenzo Savadori	Aprilia Racing	0	0	0

Southeast Asia concluded the 2026 Commonwealth Games with a combined haul of 18 medals, as Malaysia led the region's main challenge in Glasgow, Scotland. Malaysia accounted for 16 of those medals, finishing 10th overall with eight golds, three silvers and five bronzes. Weightlifting spearheaded the Malaysian campaign, delivering five gold medals through Aniq Kasdan, Aznil Bidin, Erry Hidayat, Hafizuddin Roslin and Syahmi Nor Ghazali.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Commonwealth Sport (@commonwealthsport)

Cycling legend Azizulhasni Awang also added another memorable chapter to his decorated career by winning gold in the men’s keirin event, while Abdul Latif Romly and Amir Daniel Abdul Majeed completed Malaysia's gold-medal tally in para-athletics and judo respectively. Malaysia’s other medals came from lawn bowls, para-athletics and para powerlifting. Singapore contributed the region's remaining two medals, with gymnast Amanda Yap and para-swimmer Toh Wei Soong both claiming silver.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by SNOC (@sgolympics)

Brunei, the only other Southeast Asian nation represented at the Games, finished without a medal. Australia comfortably topped the overall medal standings with 171 medals, including 70 golds, ahead of England's 110 and Canada's 62. The 23rd Commonwealth Games took place in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2, featuring a streamlined programme of 10 sports and 215 medal events after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew as host, prompting Scotland to stage a scaled-back edition. The next edition of the Commonwealth Games is scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad, India, in 2030.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Glasgow 2026 (@glasgow_2026)

The Saudi Pro League has used a new tier-based fixture scheduling system for the 2026/27 season fixture list. According to the league, the model is designed to produce a more balanced calendar while taking into account stadium availability, clubs competing in Asian competitions, FIFA international windows and the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, which Saudi Arabia will host.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Roshn Saudi League (@spl_en)

The league has divided its 18 clubs into four performance-based tiers using results from the previous three seasons, with greater weight given to the most recent campaign. Defending champions Al Nassr are joined in the top tier by King’s Cup winner Al Hilal, AFC Champions League Elite title holders Al Ahli, Al Qadsiah and Al Ittihad. All five clubs will also compete in this season's AFC Champions League Elite, while Level B side Al Taawoun have qualified for the AFC Champions League Two. Under the new system, no club will face top-tier opponents in consecutive league matches, with the remaining 12 clubs split across three lower levels according to their recent performances. The new season begins on August 13, with Cristiano Ronaldo and his Al Nassr team-mates opening their title defence against Al Fateh two days later. Al Nassr's first meeting with another Level-A side comes away to Al Ittihad on September 6 before facing Al Ahli in the same month, Al Qadsiah in November and Al Hilal in December. Selected games from the 2026-27 Saudi Pro League season will be shown live on SPOTV NOW.