#ValenciaGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE – Bezzecchi victory in Valencia
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Alex Marquez resists Acosta for Sprint victory in Valencia
Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) took honours in the final Tissot Sprint of 2025 as he cruised to victory on Saturday afternoon. Making it back-to-back Sprint wins and a third of the season, the #73 headed home a strong ride from Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) who had to come from the second row, whilst Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) bagged third after a late attack for the podium against Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team).
LIGHTS OUT! Bezzecchi drops, Acosta shines, Marquez leads!
Getting the perfect launch from P2 on the grid, Marquez grabbed the holeshot to beat polesitter Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) into Turn 1. It was a rapid start from Acosta, who elevated himself from fifth to third and by Turn 2, into P2. ‘Bez’ dropped down to sixth behind the likes of Fernandez, Di Giannantonio and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) after a Lap 1 to forget for the polesitter.
TEAMMATE CLASH: Mir takes out Marini at Turn 2
At the start of the second lap, there was drama for Honda as Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) lost the front at Turn 2, taking out teammate Luca Marini, ending their Sprint. Mir has a Long Lap penalty for the GP race for the incident. At the same corner a lap later, there was contact between Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), resulting in the #54 being pushed wide. Miller was soon handed a penalty to drop three places for that, which he failed to do and was therefore given a Long Lap Penalty, hurting his charge to Sprint points.
BATTLES BEHIND: Bezzecchi gets to P5, Morbidelli climbs
After battling hard, Bezzecchi had finally cleared Quartararo for fifth but the Italian now had over a second to catch up on Fernandez and ‘Diggia’ ahead of him. At the front, the gap had grown to 1.4s by the halfway stage with Marquez managing it perfectly over Acosta, the latter still chasing a first win in MotoGP. The #37 needed to start thinking about those behind as those behind started to close him down. On Lap 9, meanwhile, Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) got through on Quartararo as ‘El Diablo’ dropped back.
P3 FIGHT: head-to-head on the penultimate lap
In the fight for third, the gloves had really come off between Di Giannantonio and Fernandez as they swapped places all the way from Turn 4 to Turn 6 on the penultimate lap. All of the fighting was giving Bezzecchi second wind and with the last lap looming, time was running out for the final rostrum place.
AT THE FLAG! Marquez majestic in last Sprint of 2025
On the last lap and it was all settled at the front with Marquez taking honours ahead of Acosta who made it four consecutive Sprint podiums. Not only did the Spaniard take P2 but that, combined with a P14 for Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), means he is now into P4 in the standings with six points over Pecco.
Di Giannantonio held on to take third ahead of Fernandez, whilst Bezzecchi will be wanting more on Sunday after P5 on Saturday. The Italian does at least secure third in the Championship and with that, the first time Aprilia finish in the top three of the Riders’ Championship in MotoGP. Morbidelli was able to hold off Quartararo for P6 whilst Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) came home eighth from P15. Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) takes ninth for a first Sprint point since his home GP at Motegi. That means Honda are just out of scoring range with Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) in tenth – making it nine points they still need from Sunday to change concession rank from D to C.
MOTOGP – RACE: Brilliant Bezzecchi holds off Fernandez for Valencia victory
Back-to-back victories for the first time and a first 1-2 finish for the first time since 2023? That’ll do very nicely for Aprilia as Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) clinches a lights-to-flag victory in Valencia. The Italian was made to work for it though. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) produced a fine ride to end his home GP just 0.6s away from Bezzecchi, as Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) battled past Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) to earn P3 and keep Ducati’s 88 successive podium streak intact heading into 2026.
Morbidelli crashes on the grid
For the final time in 2025, it was almost lights out for MotoGP, but before we got to that part, there was a strange crash for Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) while the grid pulled up to their starting slots. The #21 hit the back of Aleix Espargaro (Honda HRC Test Team) as the Spaniard stopped in hit grid position, and after heading back out, Morbidelli pulled into the box to signal the end of his 2025. Later, it was confirmed that Morbidelli had picked up a left-hand fracture, meaning he’s also ruled out of Tuesday’s Valencia Test.
Bezzecchi earns holeshot as Zarco and Pecco collide
Then, the Grand Prix got underway. Bezzecchi secured the launch he had wanted and held the lead over Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), as drama unfolded in the midfield at Turn 4.
Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) was out of control into the right-hander and in the wrong place at the wrong time was Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). The Italian was forced into the gravel and then couldn’t stop a small tip-off from unfolding, and that was Bagnaia’s GP and season over. Zarco, meanwhile, was handed a Long Lap Penalty for the incident.
Fernandez begins Bezzecchi hunt
At the front, Fernandez was making strong progress and after passing Di Giannantonio, the Australian GP winner set about reeling in Bezzecchi and Marquez on Lap 3 of 27. Successive fastest laps followed as the Trackhouse rider sat 0.6s off of Marquez’s rear tyre. 1.2s further back was Acosta, who was also able to pass Di Giannantonio in the early laps.
The top three, by Lap 10, were 2.6s clear of Acosta in P4. And at the end of Lap 11, Fernandez pounced on Marquez at the final corner. At this stage, Bezzecchi held a 1.3s lead over his fellow Aprilia star, with Fernandez immediately putting 0.7s into Marquez, who was now by far the slowest rider of the top five. Acosta and Di Giannantonio were closing in on the Tissot Sprint winner.
With 11 laps remaining, Acosta got the gap below half a second, with Fernandez chipping away at Bezzecchi’s lead, which was now hovering around the 0.8s mark. And in the battle for P3, after a few laps of Marquez engaging defensive mode, Acosta struck at Turn 4 on Lap 20. It was a successful pass too, and now, Di Giannantonio was climbing all over the exhaust pipes of Marquez, who seemingly had no more pace in his back pocket. Then, sure enough, Di Giannantonio mirrored Acosta’s move at Turn 4 a lap later to wrestle his way into P4.
Bezzecchi vs Fernandez, Acosta vs Di Giannantonio
Bezzecchi’s lead remained narrowly north of half a second on Lap 22 of 27, with both the Italian and the hunter, Fernandez, lapping equally. At this stage, Bezzecchi was buckling under the pressure, but with five laps to go, the gap was down to 0.6s for the first time as Bezzecchi dipped his boot into the 1:31s, with Di Giannantonio a good three tenths faster than anyone else on circuit. Acosta was now the rider feeling the heat in P3.
At the front, it was now 0.540s between Bezzecchi and Fernandez. Would Bezzecchi blink? Any small error from the #72 now would open the door for the #25. On the next lap, it came down again. 0.4s. This was excellent from Fernandez, but with three to go, time was running out.
And it was for Di Giannantonio too in the chase for Sunday’s bronze medal. Acosta was defending well, with the Italian hounding the KTM.
Two laps of 2025 to go! Bezzecchi vs Fernandez for the win, Acosta vs Di Giannantonio for P3. And at Turn 4, Acosta was passed. Could the KTM star respond? He was going to give it a mighty good go.
Last lap time! Bezzecchi led Fernandez by 0.3s, with Di Giannantonio a tenth ahead of Acosta. Halfway around, Bezzecchi was keeping that much-needed breathing space between himself and his fellow RS-GP rider, and that was how it stayed at the chequered flag. Bezzecchi bagged back-to-back victories for the first time in MotoGP, and it was the first Aprilia 1-2 since the Catalan GP after Fernandez’s brilliant ride to P2. Di Giannantonio held off Acosta after his late move, meaning the Italian ends his season with a double podium in Valencia.
The points scorers in Valencia
Acosta’s efforts ended with him unable to respond to Di Giannantonio’s late attack, meaning it’s a P4 to end the Spaniard’s season that also finishes with a P4 overall finish. Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) picked up P5 with a final corner overtake on teammate Marquez, who crossed the line in P6 following a disappointing Sunday at the office.
P7 went to Honda HRC Castrol’s Luca Marini, which means the Japanese factory move up to concession Rank C, signalling their impressive progress in 2025. It was P8 for Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), P9 for Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP), and P10 for Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3), who complete the last top 10 of the campaign.
Miguel Oliveira (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) ended his MotoGP career with a P11 as we wish the Portuguese star good luck in his new WorldSBK adventure in 2026. After his Long Lap Penalty, Zarco crossed the line in P12 ahead of Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol), who also had a Long Lap Penalty after his Sprint incident, as Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) and Nicolo Bulega (Ducati Lenovo Team) collected the final points of the campaign in P14 and P15.
A good start and the first five laps were great. I was confident of recovering more positions but then my front tire dropped a lot and my dream of another comeback stopped. I was floating in the apexes so it was hard to keep the lap-times and I could not fight for more. It was strange because normally I can manage that part of the race but I reached the limit today. Apart from the mid-corners I was competitive and I saved the top ten. Now we work for Tuesday and I also know where I need to improve this winter.
Enea Bastianini – P10
This morning, during warm-up, we made a change to the bike and I felt better, with more grip. The start wasn’t the best, having to ride to turn five with the front fork lowered. Then, unfortunately, I struggled to find grip, especially at the rear and under acceleration. In any case, I’m quite satisfied with this experience: I made my debut in the penultimate race of the season and the level is very high. On Tuesday, in testing, I will try to take a step forward, riding as much as possible and increasing my confidence on the bike.
Nicolo Bulega – P15
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Valencia.