“I made a mistake by touching the inside white line,” Marco Bezzecchi said after crashing out of the 13‑lap Thai MotoGP Sprint on lap two. Bezzecchi, who had taken pole for the weekend with a 1:28.652 Q2 lap, briefly retook the lead from Marc Márquez early in the sprint but ran wide and lost the front while trying to close the racing line. Reports differ on whether the incident happened at turn eight or turn nine; in any case the crash ended his sprint and left him unable to rejoin. Pedro Acosta inherited the win, Márquez was promoted to second and Aprilia’s Raúl Fernández completed the podium.

The crash capped a troubled weekend for Bezzecchi, who topped most sessions but suffered multiple crashes — including a heavy qualifying spill that deployed his airbag and, by some counts, three incidents across the event. He accepted responsibility, apologized to his Aprilia Racing team and rejected suggestions that earlier on‑track skirmishes caused the fall. Bezzecchi said the front closed after touching the white line, that the track felt worse during the race and that missing sprint laps would hinder his preparation for Sunday’s longer Grand Prix.

Aprilia’s team principal had urged caution before the sprint, warning riders to “play clever,” and team officials noted the weekend still represented a strong start for the factory, with other Aprilia riders finishing high in the sprint and Raúl Fernández reaching the podium. Bezzecchi said the team would analyze telemetry and data in the pits and that he would work in the garage to get ready for the main race — where he will still line up from pole despite the Sprint retirement.

Pedro Acosta was declared the winner of the opening Sprint at the Thailand GP in Buriram after race stewards penalized Marc Márquez one position for forcing Acosta wide at the final corner. Márquez accepted the one-place drop in parc fermé following steward Simon Crafar’s decision, promoting Acosta to victory on the official results — Acosta’s first MotoGP win in any format, achieved at the season opener of his third campaign.

Marco Bezzecchi had dominated the weekend, topping practice sessions and setting a practice lap record of 1:28.526 before taking pole with a 1:28.652 in qualifying. He suffered two crashes over the weekend, including a heavy Q2 tumble that deployed his airbag and left him sore, and he crashed from the lead in the Sprint while attempting to open a gap; that incident removed him from contention and left Acosta and Márquez to duel for victory.

Acosta executed a decisive pass on the penultimate lap and Márquez lunged back at the final corner; after a stewards’ review the late lunge was judged to have forced Acosta wide, triggering Márquez’s demotion. Raúl Fernández finished third on the road, roughly half a second behind the leading pair, while Ai Ogura recovered to fourth. Jorge Martín crossed fifth on the road but faced an eight-second sanction for a suspected tire-pressure infringement that could alter the official finishing order; that penalty remained under review at the time of reporting, and Ducati team boss Davide Tardozzi called the sanction “unfair.” The 13-lap Buriram Sprint produced a landmark early-season victory for Acosta after an eventful qualifying and sprint day.

Marco Bezzecchi topped both Friday practice sessions at the Thai MotoGP in Buriram and produced a late lap that set a new record (one report put it at 1:28.526), finishing roughly 0.4 seconds clear of Marc Márquez. He credited his crew’s quick, last-minute reaction to looming storm conditions and praised improvements in Aprilia’s stability and weekend setup, but downplayed favorite status — “Marquez is the favorite, not me” and “I’ll be happy with a good start.” He declined to elaborate on aerodynamic rumours and warned that Ducati and Márquez will remain major obstacles going forward.

Márquez reached Q2 and was second fastest on Friday while still managing recovery from a shoulder injury that has limited his braking position and riding style. He rode with Ducati’s 2024-spec aerodynamic package to reduce strain on his right shoulder, said he was “not riding in an automatic way,” and reported feeling better on used tires than on new rubber. Starting the session on a medium rear tire was a calculated risk that nearly cost him a Q2 spot when light rain and a late pit call complicated track action; he called himself “lucky” to progress. He also acknowledged Bezzecchi and Aprilia looked a step ahead, in part because of their ability to exploit Michelin’s harder rear-tire construction.

Dark clouds, intermittent rain and strong winds repeatedly shaped the session, prompting teams to prioritize early banker laps and make rapid setup changes. Aprilia’s strong early running — at one point taking three of the top four places in practice — and Bezzecchi’s record lap gave the factory momentum into qualifying and the sprint, but riders and teams noted that Friday form, heavily influenced by weather and tire strategy, did not guarantee race-day performance.

Pecco Bagnaia failed to reach Q2 after posting the 15th-fastest time in Friday practice at Buriram and was the only GP26 rider to miss the top group. He blamed a rushed approach and the wrong setup, saying “I just worked bad” and “I’m in Q1 because of my own fault, I was in too much of a hurry and messed up,” and cited a degraded new setup, a hurried tire change when rain threatened, and a tailwind on the back straight as compounding factors.

He nevertheless praised aspects of the GP26, noting later braking and greater stability in the morning, and confirmed he stayed with the 2024 fairing rather than the 2025 aerodynamic package for the event. Bagnaia vowed to push on Saturday to return to Q2 and “give it 100%,” as the team planned overnight changes and further setup work ahead of qualifying.

Fabio Di Giannantonio, by contrast, finished third in the opening practice and reported he had “everything in place,” praising the GP26’s race pace and a more honest front end while confirming he was running the factory aerodynamics package. He said his best lap was almost half a second off Marco Bezzecchi’s benchmark but that the team had margin to improve; both riders acknowledged Bezzecchi and Aprilia looked quick in Thailand, and the combined takeaway was that Ducati must refine setup and aerodynamic strategy for mixed and changing conditions to recover in qualifying and realize the bike’s potential on race day.