BEZZECCHI TAKES SECOND SPRINT WIN IN A ROW AS APRILIA CELEBRATES HISTORIC 1-2 FINISH
Marco Bezzecchi won his second Sprint race in a row, even after making things difficult for himself. The Italian rider passed Raul Fernandez with three laps to go to take the win. Pedro Acosta finished third, with the fight for places from P3 to P5 decided by just one-tenth of a second.
At the start, Alex Marquez got the best launch and took the lead into Turn 1, but Raul Fernandez moved ahead by Turn 2 and led the first lap. Bezzecchi was right behind him despite some extra damage to his Aprilia after hitting seagulls on the Warm Up Lap.
Pole-sitter Fabio Quartararo dropped to sixth behind Jack Miller and Acosta, while Brad Binder crashed out at Turn 2 on the opening lap.
Fernandez and Bezzecchi pulled away at the front, making it an Aprilia 1-2, while the battle for third heated up. Marquez had to defend against Miller, Acosta, and Quartararo, with Pol Espargaro close behind in seventh.
On Lap 5, Miller and Marquez swapped positions several times, while at the front, Bezzecchi nearly hit Fernandez after a big slide into Turn 10. On Lap 7, Acosta passed both Miller and Marquez at Turn 1 to move into third.
By Lap 9, Bezzecchi was right behind Fernandez again and clearly faster. He made his move at Turn 2 on Lap 10 to take the lead. A few laps later, Fermin Aldeguer crashed out at Turn 6 but was unhurt.
On the final lap, Bezzecchi and Fernandez were safely up front, while Acosta, Miller, and Fabio Di Giannantonio fought hard for the last podium spot.
Bezzecchi held on to win, with Fernandez second, giving Aprilia its first-ever 1-2 finish in a Sprint race. Acosta managed to stay ahead of Miller and Di Giannantonio to finish third, making this the first Sprint without a Ducati in the top three.
Behind them, Alex Marquez finished sixth as the best Ducati rider. Quartararo came home seventh and will hope for a better result in Sunday’s race. Luca Marini and Espargaro took the last points.
Enea Bastianini climbed to tenth, while Francesco Bagnaia and Michele Pirro had a rough race, finishing near the back. Bagnaia’s 19th place, combined with Bezzecchi’s win, means only eight points now separate them in the fight for third in the championship.
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