#ItalianGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE – Bagnaia takes fourth
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Marc Marquez battles to Mugello Sprint win as sparks fly early on.
Mugello always delivers the goods and 2025’s Tissot Sprint was no different as racing fired up on Saturday afternoon. Having secured a 100th career pole, Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) was primed to stamp his authority on Italian soil and that’s exactly what he did – even if he did it a harder way than he’d have preferred. Coming in behind him, Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) was second whilst Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) took third after leading on the opening lap.
EARLY PROBLEMS: the #93 goes backwards
There was drama before the lights even went out for polesitter Marquez, who seemed to be distracted by something as the Sprint got underway, costing him places on the run down to San Donato. The holeshot was grabbed by Bagnaia, whilst Alex was now into second.
Further back, all kinds of drama as Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) fell after contact with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), leaving Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) nowhere to go as both fell. The incident was initially investigated but no further action taken. There was another faller at the end of the first lap with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crashing at Turn 15 before he completed the first lap.
BATTLE COMMENCES: 3 titans put on a show
Lap 2 was a real corker as Marc, now already back into P3, was alongside brother Alex and teammate Pecco into Turn 1, three abreast as they fought for the lead. The #93 initially hit the front but ran himself and his brother Alex wide as Mugello specialist Bagnaia had the inside for the exit. Getting their elbows out, the #63 and #73 went head-to-head into Turn 2, with the Gresini Racing Ducati coming out on top. Pecco was pushed back further at Turn 4 with Marc coming by, re-asserting his authority in the factory colours.
Elsewhere, there was a big battle for fifth place as both Di Giannantonio and teammate Franco Morbidelli duked it out with themselves and also a fading Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP). Quartararo began dropping back further when Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) and Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) came through.
MOVE FOR VICTORY: Marc gets ahead of Alex
On Lap 4, the #93 made his move to lead ahead of his brother, both now a second clear of Pecco in third but it wasn’t all done as both initially seemed to latch back on to the #93. However, with just 4 laps to go, it was looking like a battle for P1 as Alex homed in on Marc and then another for P3, as Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) began to close down double Champion Bagnaia. The gap was just three tenths going into the penultimate lap but in the end, it was to remain the same. Further back and Quartararo’s challenging Sprint was made worse as Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) came through to steal the last point.
At the front, Marc Marquez converted his 100th GP pole to strike in his teammate’s backyard. Another Marquez 1-2 with Alex in second whilst Bagnaia’s run of wins at Mugello draws to a close. Viñales showed great pace but couldn’t quite snatch a podium in the closing stages but a solid fourth will give him encouragement for tomorrow, whereas Di Giannantonio was fifth.
Bezzecchi didn’t have the easiest of races as first lap contact with Pedro Acosta saw him with wing damage but still, a hearty performance brought him home in sixth. Morbidelli had to settle for seventh ahead of Fernandez who bagged his first Sprint points of the season, ahead of Aldeguer, edging out Quartararo for the final point.
MOTOGP – RACE: 93 WINS FOR #93: Marquez magical at Mugello after sensational opening laps
Mugello often delivers some magic and in 2025, it didn’t fail to deliver more. Some all-time great opening laps saw the three heavyweights at the top of the title race go bar to bar in an epic start to the Brembo Italian GP. Having to work hard for a 93rd win across all classes but securing it nonetheless and taking Ducati to victory at home, Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) fended off Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), whilst a late burst from Fabio Di Giannantonio saw him pick Pecco’s pocket for P3 on the penultimate lap.
LET BATTLE COMMENCE: the best start to any GP in 2025… so far!
As the lights went out, it was a drag race between Marc Marquez and Bagnaia down towards San Donato for the first time, initially going to the #93 before his teammate stormed back through at Turn 2 and led the opening lap of his home Grand Prix. Lap 2 and it was absolutely head-to-head – the battle we all hoped for coming into 2025 burst into life. Marc Marquez hit the front again at Turn 1 and held position ahead of his teammate, who even had a look at Turn 6 but thought better of it. On Lap 3 it was Bagnaia’s turn to retaliate at Turn 1 but the #93 got under his teammate, only for the #63 bash his way back into the lead for Turn 2. Marc Marquez barrelled back through two apexes later but Pecco wasn’t done yet, aiming to turn it tight at Turn 5. But there, he kissed the rear end of the #93 Ducati ahead, allowing Alex Marquez through and dropping to P3.
Lap 4 was just as explosive as Bagnaia got himself back into second round Turn 1 before pouncing on Marc Marquez immediately at Turn 2 in a carbon-copy of his earlier move. He made that stick, and held the lead until Marc Marquez tried again at Turn 1 but headed in deep. Bagnaia slipped back through and held the #93 off for the rest of the lap until it almost all came undone for the #63 at the final corner – forced into an incredible front-end save.
He stayed in it but dropped back to second, and that allowed Alex Marquez to clamber onto the back of the two factory machines. Three-abreast into San Donato, Alex Marquez briefly led but Bagnaia took it back again, before the #73 attacked round Turn 3 to take the lead. From there, he got the hammer seriously down – putting some daylight behind the Gresini nearly immediately.
MAKING IT STICK: Marc Marquez takes over as Viñales and Morbidelli clash
Into Lap 7, the #93 pounced again, this time back into P2 as Bagnaia was now forced to take third for the time being. Two laps later, Marc Marquez then struck for the lead as he chipped his brother’s advantage back down and pounced.
Behind, there was big drama in the battle for fourth, and potentially what could have been the battle for the podium. Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) was taken out by Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) as the Italian made contact on the way through, spelling the end of Viñales’ Italian GP and leaving a bitter taste after a strong Sprint. Morbidelli was handed a Long Lap Penalty, which he then also served incorrectly and therefore, issued another. This promoted his teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio into P4, which would go on to have consequences.
FIGHTS DOWN THE FIELD: comebacks, drop backs and heroics
More bad luck struck down field, this time for Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP), who retired with a clutch problem. Meanwhile, Morbidelli’s Grand Prix, after two Long Laps, was now a battle with Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), with the Spaniard having his strongest weekend of the season. Further up the road and fellow Aprilia rider Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) had worked his way into the top five amidst the incidents ahead of him, whilst the battle between top KTM was now between Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and teammate Pedro Acosta, something that went Acosta’s way with five laps to go at Turn 1. Just behind the all-orange battle, Ai Ogura’s Grand Prix was also noteworthy, moving from 21st on the grid into the top ten with four laps remaining as he returns from injury. Dropping out of the top ten in a tricky end to the GP, it wasn’t the Sunday Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) had dreamt of.
CHEQUERED FLAG: Ducati’s streak continues at Mugello
Back in the podium scrap and with brothers Marc and Alex now a settled P1 and P2 respectively, it was a stellar ride from Di Giannantonio to decide the final step on the podium. With a late turn of searing pace, the #49 managed to hunt down a struggling Bagnaia and then got ahead of him at Turn 6. He wasn’t giving up on P2 either, hunting down the #73 and coming up only just short. As Marc Marquez crossed the line to take an incredible 93rd win across all classes, Alex Marquez took second by a matter of metres as Diggia’s charge was forced to stop at P3.
Bagnaia takes fourth after that stunning first few laps some him come up short in the final few, a difficult result for the much-decorated home hero. Fellow home hero Bezzecchi takes fifth for Aprilia Racing on their home turf too, ahead of Morbidelli in P6 after his adventures.
It was a joint-best of 2025 for Fernandez in seventh, and after Viñales’ DNF, Acosta won the battle for top KTM honours ahead of teammate Binder, with Ogura rounding out the top ten. Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) secured 11th, whilst Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) fought back to 12th after a hair-raising moment at Turn 1 on the third lap that had sent him to the back. Miguel Oliveira (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) was the top Yamaha in 13th whilst dropping from P4 to P14, it was a struggle for Quartararo, one place ahead of his teammate Alex Rins.
It was a great start to the race, both the bike and the solutions we are trying out responded well. Unfortunately, from the ninth lap onwards, I had a significant drop in tyre performance. We are making progress and this year at Mugello we had a good race. We need to be optimistic: by testing the new stuff directly in the race, the bike is improving quickly. We need to keep working like this because in MotoGP it’s never enough.
Lorenzo Savadori – P17
Our start was good, but in the end of the first lap we found ourselves in a battle with Johann Zarco after struggling to go past Raul Fernandez. We both arrived very fast to the last corner, I was on the inside, he was outside, and I lost the front when I released the brakes. I had recovered many positions in the first lap because I wanted to do a great result here, but in the end, that was it for me. I think we made some good improvements this weekend, it was positive for us. It was important to get a good result, for myself, for the team, for the morale, but we will try again next week.
Enea Bastianini – NC
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