#JapaneseGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE – Bagnaia secures sublime double
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Back in business: Bagnaia wins as Marc Marquez strides towards title
Francesco Bagnaia: back in business. Ducati Lenovo Team’s double MotoGP World Champion returned to form with an almighty bang as the Italian cruised to a Tissot Sprint gold medal at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, beating teammate Marc Marquez by 1.8s. The latter, meanwhile, takes a huge stride towards being crowned 2025 World Champion on Sunday with that P2, because Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) finished P10, meaning no points were scored in the blue corner. And after a slightly dramatic day, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) salvaged a Saturday P3 for the Austrian manufacturer.
Bagnaia grabs holeshot, Aprilia duo crash at Turn 1
Bagnaia earned the holeshot from pole position with Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) keeping hold of P2, as a double dose of drama unfolded for Aprilia Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin as both crashed out at Turn 1. Replays showed Martin got it all out of shape on the brakes and unfortunately tumbled into the pack, with Bezzecchi the unlucky rider to also go down in the incident. Unfortunately, the crash saw Martin sustain a broken collarbone, ruling him out of Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Elsewhere, Marc Marquez lost a place to Acosta and at the end of Lap 1, Pecco led the field by 0.6s. Alex Marquez was P9 at the end of Lap 1, and remember, he’s the only rider who can stop Marc Marquez from clinching the title at the close of play on Sunday. Acosta, on the move once more, pinched P2 from Mir at Turn 5.
Back-to-back fastest laps of the Sprint saw Pecco edge his advantage up to 0.8s by the end of Lap 3, with teammate Marc Marquez still sitting behind third place Mir. And that stayed like it was as the Sprint clocked onto Lap 6, with Marquez’s two attempts at passing his former HRC teammate not coming off so far.
Up front, Pecco’s lead was now 1.6s as the Italian set a commanding pace. Acosta was lapping 0.5s ahead of the Mir, Marc Marquez battle, with Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) 0.8s in arrears in P5.
Then, Marc Marquez did make a move stick on Mir – and it was an aggressive one too. Turn 10 was the spot, a block pass on the Honda rider, but it was a harsh move that stuck as the #93 moved into the bronze medal spot with four laps to go. Up next: Acosta.
And with three laps left, Turn 10 – again – saw Marc Marquez carve up the inside of Acosta to shuffle into P2, as Alex Marquez dropped to P10 behind home hero Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team). As things stood, he was gaining nine points on his title rival, and if that remains the same tomorrow, the 2025 MotoGP crown would be his.
Bagnaia shot onto the last lap with a 2.4s lead over Marquez, with Acosta clinging onto P3 bu 0.5s over Mir. Is the #63 back to his best? Well, today he was. Vintage Francesco Bagnaia stood up on Tissot Sprint Saturday to collect his first gold medal of the season, as Marc Marquez took a giant leap towards becoming a seven-time MotoGP World Champion in Japan with P2. Acosta held off Mir for P3, 0.6s the gap between the Spaniards over the line.
Motegi’s Sprint scorers
Mir’s P4 rounded off a very successful day for the 2020 MotoGP World Champion and HRC on home turf, as Morbidelli completed the top five. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) kept Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) behind him as the Frenchman and Italian earned P6 and P7 ahead of Raul Fernandez and Trackhouse teammate Ogura, with the Japanese rider beating Alex Marquez to the final Sprint point.
MOTOGP – RACE: Bagnaia secures sublime double, Marc Marquez takes historic seventh MotoGP crown
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) took the Grand Prix honours on Sunday at the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, poised under pressure as he got back to the business of winning in MotoGP – despite tension in the pitbox as small puffs of smoke ramped up the drama.
In second place, Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) kept equally cool to take an incredible seventh MotoGP World Championship with second place, completing the greatest comeback in sporting history – 2184 days after he last ruled the most exciting sport on Earth.
In third, the headlines kept coming – Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) got back on the podium for the first time since 2021, and gave Honda a home podium to celebrate on a day for the history books at Motegi.
But back to where it started. And so, after a weekend of anticipation, it was time to get the ball rolling on the MotoGP Grand Prix to see whether Marc Marquez would clinch his seventh MotoGP title. At lights out, Bagnaia got a lovely launch again to grab the holeshot ahead of a fast-starting Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), as Marc Marquez kept hold of P3 on the opening lap. Alex Marquez was P7, one place behind Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing).
Pecco’s lead at the start of Lap 2 was 0.7s over Acosta, as Mir picked his way back up to P4 after dropping to P6 on the opening lap from the front row. And on the next lap, a 1:44.412 saw Pecco lead by 1.2s, with Marc Marquez tucked right behind his compatriot in P3.
There was an early retirement for Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) who encountered an issue on his RC213V to end another positive weekend prematurely. That meant HRC’s sole podium hopes fell into the lap of Mir, and the 2020 World Champion was less than half a second away from Marc Marquez’s rear tyre.
At the end of Lap 6, Pecco’s lead crept beyond the two second mark, while it was as you were in the podium fight – but Mir gained some time on the #93 after the champion elect made a small error at Turn 5. Then, on Lap 9 of 24, another slight error came at Turn 10. It didn’t cost Marc Marquez too much time, but this wasn’t as smooth sailing as it could have been so far as he and Mir began to reel in Acosta.
By Lap 11, Acosta’s pace was beginning to suffer and at Turn 3, Marc Marquez drew alongside the KTM and made a move for P2 stick. And straight away, Marquez was able to begin lapping a very similar pace to his teammate Pecco, who was 3.7s up the road at the start of Lap 13. Marquez, meanwhile, had put some breathing space between him and Acosta, one second of it to be exact, as the #37 began to come under plenty of pressure from Mir, with Bezzecchi sniffing a podium chance in P4.
The pressure then told as Mir made a classy Turn 7 move up the inside of Acosta to jump into P3, as we then saw smoke coming out of his Ducati. What was the problem? Was it race ending? Not for now, and he wasn’t losing time either – but this was a concern for Bagnaia and Ducati, who was leading by 4.1s.
The gap went up again by a tenth on Lap 16, so for the time being, it wasn’t a full-on issue. In the meantime, Acosta’s podium hopes were fading quickly as Bezzecchi and then Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) got the better of him.
With seven laps to go, Marc Marquez was in a title-winning position. And as comfortable as one could be in his position P2, with Mir slowly chipping away at the gap between the former HRC teammates in P3. Mir, meanwhile, was 2.4s clear of Bezzecchi as the #36 and HRC began to dream of a phenomenal return to the podium.
Acosta’s top six hopes then ended with a Turn 1 runoff, as we saw more smoke coming out of Bagnaia’s Ducati. Pensive and worried faces were plastered across the factory Ducati box and pitboard, and across millions of faces around the world, but Pecco continued on his way for now. The gap was coming down; it was now 2.8s with four laps left, but Pecco wasn’t even looking down or noticing something might be going wrong. Stange.
With two laps to go, Pecco led Marc Marquez by two seconds. As things stood, Marc Marquez just needed to guide his Ducati home for the greatest comeback to be completed. Mir was comfortable and now, a very lonely P3.
Last lap time. And history beckoned. A long look over the shoulder came on the exit of Turn 2, and it was empty space. You’re under no threat from behind Marc, that seventh MotoGP title was a minute and a half away. Bagnaia crossed the line to take his first double of the season, very much back in business, as just behind, more history was made.
Four surgeries. Four years of mostly blood, sweat and tears. But finally, for the first time since 2019, Marc Marquez stands atop the world with a seventh MotoGP World Championship – the longest wait a rider has ever had between premier class crowns.
Mir, after coming close on Saturday, completes the podium after his own journey of bad luck and a difficult run, the 2020 Champion delivering the goods for Honda on home turf.
Fourth went to Bezzecchi as he made big progress, just holding off Morbidelli by the flag. Alex Marquez takes P6 after a tougher weekend for MM93’s sole remaining rival on the way in. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) and Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) completed the top ten.
In general we can be happier than what we were yesterday, and we improved a bit the setup of the bike. From ten laps to go I improved my pace and I gave something more. This is a strange world. Sometimes, at some tracks, nothing works like what you want. I think we need to understand why and try to be competitive in every track. I hope to see us like 3-4 races in the past: competitive. I want to be back in the top five like a few races ago.
Enea Bastianini – P11
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