There was no short supply of talking points from MotoGP’s latest visit to Austin and the Circuit of The Americas. A new COTA King was crowned thanks to the record-breaking performance of Marco Bezzecchi, while his Aprilia Racing teammate Jorge Martin produced heroics in a drama-filled Tissot Sprint.

So let’s have a look at some of the key stories from the US GP before we take a small break ahead of a trip to Jerez at the end of April.

“It’s something you never expect” – Bezzecchi 

Five wins in a row. 121 consecutive laps led (a new record). Bezzecchi is in unstoppable form right now on a Sunday, and it’s something the World Championship leader is unable to explain.

“It’s tough to explain. I don't know how to describe my emotions because obviously it’s something that you never expect. I work so hard, obviously like all the MotoGP riders to try to achieve this kind of result, but at the end you never expect to make something like this. So very, very happy but as I always say, feet on the ground. Let’s continue working because at the end, these are just numbers and I want to continue in this way.”

“I’m enjoying it a lot at the moment” - Martin

And on the other side of the Noale factory box, how good is it to see the 2024 World Champion back fighting for victories? Martin collected his first Sprint gold medal since 2024 in Austin, and backed that up with a P2 on Sunday to see the #89 head to his home Grand Prix second in the title race.

“I’m so grateful. I know what it is being in a deep moment, so I’m really, really happy. I’m enjoying a lot the moment. Really here now, being present, because you never know what is going to happen next time. Really happy about my performance. I tried to push Marco to the limit. I think I misunderstand a bit the situation in the race because I thought the best option was to be behind Pedro and Marco, but then I realized I overheated the front a bit and I wasn’t able to do anything else. Anyway, I tried to push Marco until the end, but he was fast. He’s at an amazing level. I tried to never give up, as always.”

“I destroyed the bike in warm up” – Acosta

After a big crash in Warm Up, Acosta responded brilliantly in the afternoon to pocket a podium in the USA after a trickier weekend in Brazil.

“Super happy. I just want to thank KTM because at the end I destroyed the bike in the warm up. All the guys from the factory come to my box to try to repair that bike to have a spare one for this. I’m super grateful for that. In the other hand, super happy to be again in the podium after the penalty for yesterday. For this, everything is coming good. I said at the beginning of the season that I just wanted to be inside this top five every race. Looks like we are trying to stand up in the podium always. For this, we have to be happy.”

“I’m missing… not the bike” – Marc Marquez

It wasn’t the weekend the reigning World Champion was looking for on a familiar stomping ground. The #93 explained where he’s struggling most in the early part of the season after coming back to P5 on Sunday having had a Long Lap penalty to take.

“I'm missing. Myself is missing, not the bike. But in the first laps when the tyres are new, the bike becomes more aggressive and I can't ride at the moment.

“I need to understand well how to improve the first laps. I don't feel well on the bike. Then it looks like I get used [to be] in a position, not a natural position on the bike and I'm just riding. Just riding, still I'm fast, but I cannot make the difference.”

Marc Marquez continued… “We’re not worse, the others are better”

The Spaniard also spoke about the current performance of Ducati and championship frontrunners Aprilia in 2026.

“I think we are not worse than last year, but the others are better than last year. So we need to find a way to have a step. And yeah, it's not only a manufacturer it's also a rider that is Bezzecchi and Martin, but especially Bezzecchi, they are in a very good form. Always it’s a consequence. When you feel well with the bike, you give more and then you start to ride better and you are faster. Saying that, it's true that right now I'm not helping the bike. I think I can do more for myself.”

“Happy, but not really…” – Razgatlioglu

A first point in MotoGP? Happy days for the impressive Turk. However, a P15 isn’t where Toprak Razgatlioglu (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and Yamaha want to be finishing.

“I'm happy, but not really. Because, okay, we did a good job, but in general, you know, 25 seconds… This is not really good. We need to improve more. But in the race, I'm trying my best, like always. Especially at the beginning, I'm trying to pass Fabio, but Fabio into corner 12 especially, he's really strong and how his bike is stopping, I don't understand, because my front tyre always locking on the brake. I'm not trying a later brake because the bike is not stopping. But in the end his tyre also started to drop and after the pass at a different corner and I just tried to get my rhythm.”

“In warm up I started to feel worse” – Bagnaia

After a Saturday silver medal, Sunday didn’t bring the same success for 2025 COTA winner Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team).

“I was out of everything. In the morning already in the warm up, I started to feel worse compared to yesterday, I didn't feel good this morning, I was feeling that the bike was much heavier and with low grip. And then as soon as I started the race, I felt that the rear grip was lower. So I just decided after a few laps that it was better to go with more calm. I saw that Diggia was trying to recover to the first group, but I just tried to wait. I arrived to him without pushing, and even if I wasn't pushing I finished completely the rear tyre and after 8 laps I started to feel a big drop, and the last two laps I was completely on the limit, I was risking to crash just leaning on the right side. So it was very difficult.

“Similar to Thailand and similar to Goiânia. I think in Goiânia and here we worked very well during the weekend, we improved. Here the difference compared to Goiânia where I started behind but with the sprint I was quite strong is here, I was starting in the front and I did a very good sprint race. But in both situations, all three races from the start of the season, I struggled a lot in the Sunday races and I cannot push like I want, I just need to survive and even surviving I finish completely the rear tyre. So we need to understand what to do.”

“That was probably the first time I matched the pace of the rider who won” – Ogura

It was Sunday heartbreak for Ai Ogura and Trackhouse MotoGP Team at the squad’s home Grand Prix. Ogura was well on course to grab a maiden MotoGP podium before a technical issue halted the Japanese star’s charge.

“If you see the result, Pedro was more than four seconds behind Bez, so our pace would have been enough to get a podium finish, so...

“I'm making so much time in the braking. Today I think in general grip was a lot less compared to yesterday. For me that helps a lot to get a good braking performance, so that was the biggest point of the day. That was probably the first time that I matched pace with the rider who won the race. So best performance I think.”

“Ai is an amazing rider” – Di Giannantonio

Ogura overtook Diggia, shortly before his premature DNF. And in the aftermath, the Italian heaped praise on his rival.

“Ai is an amazing rider. I'm a fan of him, let's say! His way of riding is impressive. In Moto2 he was doing incredible things on the bike, and I really think he's a strong rider. Today too, when he overtook me, he was doing great, he was doing 2'02.0, which was a crazy time at that moment, so I'm really impressed in a positive way from him.”

Di Giannantonio continued… “I just couldn’t stop the bike behind them”

The polesitter was unable to stand on the podium on Sunday, but a P4 – and the top Ducati again – signalled more signs of progress and speed for the Pertamina Enduro VR46 star.

“Our rear is really good. Our rear is really good, it's just that we use the rear too much for doing everything. So once you don't treat well the rear for a while, then you don't have the front to continue to push. I think in the last years we've done incredible races, because we were ahead of the competition with the control of the rear tyre, but now that the guys improved a lot the front, that control of the rear tyre is not enough. We need to improve the braking and the entry a lot. Like today when I was behind the Aprilias and Pedro, I just couldn't stop the bike like them. So you can manage the tyres as well as you want, but then if you cannot brake that hard you stay there.”

Next stop: Jerez. The European tour begins with a real classic.