Raul Fernandez wins British MotoGP at Silverstone; Jorge Martin widens championship lead

Raul Fernandez led from the opening lap to win the British MotoGP at Silverstone on August 9, 2026, while Jorge Martin's second place extended his championship lead.

Fernandez swept past pole-sitter Martin into Turn One and established control of the race, stretching his advantage to more than four seconds before taking the chequered flag 2.54 seconds clear. The victory was Fernandez's second in MotoGP and his first since last year's Australian Grand Prix, capping a recovery from a crash in Saturday's sprint. "I am really happy for the team. Yesterday I was quite frustrated after my mistake. But we are human, and it is part of the sport," Fernandez said.

Martin, who had won the sprint, was hampered at the start when his ride-height device failed to disengage at Turn One, dropping him behind Marc Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi. He recovered through the field to reclaim second from Bezzecchi on lap nine but was unable to close the gap to Fernandez.

"The results here are a big boost of confidence for me and the team," Martin said. "It seems like we found a bit of direction to get the momentum on our side now. The race was fantastic. I made a small mistake at the start, but I am glad I was able to fight back."

Marco Bezzecchi finished third after fending off pressure from Gresini Racing's Alex Marquez, who made a late mistake and dropped back. Bezzecchi's podium was his second of the weekend and marked his first Sunday finish since winning his home Italian Grand Prix at the end of May; he had led the championship earlier this season. Alex Marquez took fourth, KTM's Pedro Acosta finished fifth and VR46 Racing's Fabio Di Giannantonio was sixth.

Defending world champion Marc Marquez endured another difficult afternoon, finishing seventh after starting sixth on the grid. Takaaki Ogura suffered his first retirement of the season during the race.

Martin's runner-up finish extended his championship lead to 31 points, with Bezzecchi moving up to second in the standings; Ogura fell 37 points behind Martin and Marquez dropped to fourth in the championship order.