PECCO BAGNAIA TAKES VICTORIES IN JAPAN DESPITE ISSUES, AS TEAM MATE MARQUEZ SEALS THE CHAMPIONSHIP
Francesco Bagnaia managed to win the Japanese Grand Prix at Motegi despite late concerns over his Ducati’s reliability, while Marc Marquez wrapped up the 2025 MotoGP championship.
Marquez’s runner-up finish was sufficient to secure his seventh premier-class crown, and his ninth title across all categories, with five races still to go. For a moment it seemed he might even take the win, but Bagnaia managed to bring his smoking Desmosedici across the line unchallenged.
The weekend began with Marquez shadowing Joan Mir during the sprint, yet Sunday’s main event unfolded differently. A Turn 1 mistake from Mir immediately opened the door for Marquez to climb into third, though he soon found himself stuck behind Pedro Acosta’s KTM.
Acosta’s strength on the brakes kept Marquez at bay, which allowed Bagnaia to steadily pull clear, two seconds ahead by lap six, then stretching the margin beyond three seconds by lap 10 of the 24-lap contest.
It wasn’t until lap 11 that Marquez finally forced his way past Acosta with a Turn 3 manoeuvre. By then, Bagnaia’s advantage was already 3.7s and remained stable over the following laps.
Drama struck on lap 15 as Bagnaia’s Ducati began to emit smoke, which soon intensified from the exhaust, suggesting a looming engine failure. Yet the Italian’s machine endured, and his rhythm hardly faltered. Marquez managed to reduce the gap with a characteristic late charge on worn tyres, but ultimately eased off, crossing the finish 4.2s behind.
Behind them, Mir achieved a notable milestone, his maiden podium for Honda and his first in MotoGP since Portimao 2021. Once he found a way past Acosta, Mir established enough of a cushion to resist Marco Bezzecchi’s late pressure, even briefly threatening to challenge Marquez for second before the Spaniard picked up the pace.
Bezzecchi, who had dispatched Franco Morbidelli on lap five, also worked his way past Acosta. Morbidelli followed him through and finished just three-tenths shy of his VR46 teammate.
Acosta’s promising start ultimately yielded nothing, as he slid into the gravel while under attack from Alex Marquez. The younger Marquez brother inherited sixth, though the result confirmed the end of his own title aspirations.
Raul Fernandez delivered seventh place for Trackhouse Aprilia, with teammate Ai Ogura sidelined due to lingering hand pain from Misano. Fabio Quartararo, after running fourth in the early laps, slipped down the order following a series of mistakes, eventually settling into eighth ahead of Johann Zarco.
Fermín Aldeguer climbed from 14th on lap one to claim 10th for Gresini Ducati, while the race saw three retirements: Honda tester Takaaki Nakagami suffered a slow-speed fall, Luca Marini was forced out with a technical issue in his first DNF of the season, and Jack Miller’s Pramac Yamaha shed its chain in the closing stages.
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