Ducati star at sun-bleached Monster Energy Brno MotoGP
Marc Marquez, Francesco Bagnaia and the factory Ducati Lenovo team kept cool under relentless Czech Republic sunshine to own round nine of 2026 MotoGP, for what was yet another event of the world championship that throbbed with extreme speed, action, pulse and public. The Monster Energy Grand Prix of Czechia delivered the juice at one of Europe’s prime motorcycle racing spots, while the temperature also raised a notch in the chase for the tower of champions in 2026.
MotoGP raced around a flat, condensed and echoey Balaton Park in Hungary for round eight two weeks ago but headed straight back into fan inferno at Brno. The course is set on the side of a steep hill and in the confines of forestland outside of the second biggest city in the country. The central European geographical location draws public from nearby nations; most of whom aim for their own slice of grassy real estate on the amphitheatrical banks.
The Monster Energy rig supplied the beats, the vibes and the cool samples of several popular flavours like Ultra and Juiced: the chilled drinks flowed under another European heatwave that edged the mercury into the 30s (high 80s Fahrenheit). 63,000 spectators settled in and made their own relief and shade on Sunday for Moto3 (16-laps), Moto2 (18 laps) and the 21-lap MotoGP showpiece. Among them was TT icon John McGuiness and cycling legend and Tour de France master Sir Mark Cavendish who was keeping an eye on mate Cal Crutchlow; the Grand Prix winning Brit turning out again as a fill-in rider for LCR Honda and at the track where he won so memorably exactly 10 years previously.
Behind a rampant Marquez, who won for the second Grand Prix in a row and since returning from a foot injury, Pecco Bagnaia marked the early pace and then made sure of 3rd place for his fourth podium in a row. The former double world champ set the stage nicely on Saturday with an immaculate run to Sprint victory; comfortably ahead of Ai Ogura and his teammate.
“I’m happy. We are improving. We are getting closer to the pace,” #63 said. “Today I tried everything in the first laps to control the race and until lap 16 I was quite confident. I was not having vibration like yesterday, but I started to have more of a floating feeling and, honestly, I was struggling a bit. The pace was good but not good enough.”
What about Diggia? The VR46 Italian ace was narrowly pipped to Pole Position on Saturday and then hounded Bagnaia in the last two laps of the Grand Prix. Fabio Di Giannantonio logged his seventh top five result from nine to remain firmly in the championship hunt. He currently holds 3rd and is just 23 from the peak of the world.
Monster Energy Yamaha missed valuable power for the long drag up ‘horsepower hill’. The factory are still working on development of their new V4-engined project with an eye on a return to former glories in 2027; the next chapter begins on Monday in Czech with a ‘closed-doors’ test of the new 850cc fire-breathers.
Brno was the start of another 2026 double date for MotoGP. Take out the hills and add a few kinks and the relentless rhythm of Brno becomes the equally iconic TT Circuit Assen. Expect more crowds, clamour and rubber-burning at another MotoGP classic.