MARQUEZ WINS AT MISANO UNDER PRESSURE BREAKING RECORDS
Having withstood relentless pressure from Marco Bezzecchi throughout the second half of the race, Marc Marquez has brought his title-chasing resurgence a step closer to completion after securing victory on an enthralling Sunday at Misano. As a result, we head into the Japanese GP with the possibility that Marquez could seal the MotoGP World Championship if results fall his way, with only third-place finisher Alex Marquez still able to deny him.
Drama struck even before the lights went out, as Jorge Martin suffered a mechanica issue on his RS-GP during the sighting lap. He was forced to begin the warm-up lap from pit lane, rejoined his original grid position, and later served two Long Lap penalties.
Once the race was underway, Bezzecchi made a clean launch to maintain the lead while, just as in the Tissot Sprint, Marc Marquez rocketed forward to immediately pressure him from second. Alex Marquez and Fabio Quartararo slotted into third and fourth.
Early attrition quickly thinned the field: Johann Zarco and Joan Mir both crashed at Turn 4 on Lap 1, while Ai Ogura went down on Lap 3 in Sector 3. Maverick Viñales retired on Lap 5, just as Pedro Acosta began to look menacing from fifth place.
By Lap 6, the leading trio of Bezzecchi, Marc Marquez, and Alex Marquez had opened a 1.5-second buffer over Acosta, who soon overtook Quartararo at Turn 8. However, Acosta’s challenge ended abruptly when his RC16 shed its chain on the run to Turn 8, a mechanical gremlin identical to the one that had sidelined teammate Brad Binder on Friday.
Misfortune then struck Francesco Bagnaia, who crashed out from seventh at Turn 10, capping off a disappointing weekend.
At the front, Bezzecchi continued to have Marc Marquez glued to his rear wheel, with Alex Marquez about a second adrift by Lap 10 of 27. A pivotal moment came on Lap 12 when Bezzecchi ran wide at Turn 8, allowing the #93 to seize the lead for the first time.
From there, the duel intensified. On Lap 17, Marquez led by just 0.2s, with Alex Marquez now 1.1s back. By Lap 20, the younger Marquez had slipped two seconds behind, leaving the victory fight solely between Marc and Bezzecchi.
Marquez laid down the fastest lap on Lap 21, stretching the gap to 0.495s, a possible warning shot. Bezzecchi immediately replied, fractionally quicker on the next tour by 0.010s, signalling he was far from done. Still, Marquez extended his margin to 0.6s with four laps to go. Bezzecchi responded with the race’s fastest lap, clawing back 0.3s and suggesting a late charge might be coming.
Yet Marquez struck back again, setting another fastest lap to restore a half-second cushion. When the final lap began, the gap stood at 0.415s. Bezzecchi posted his personal best time on the penultimate lap, but it proved just short.
In a gripping finale, Marc Marquez held firm to banish memories of his Sprint crash and secure 25 precious points, with Bezzecchi a close second after an outstanding effort to keep the pressure on. The pair were in a class of their own, finishing 7.7 seconds ahead of Alex Marquez, who delivered Gresini a cherished home-circuit podium.
Behind them, Franco Morbidelli edged teammate Fabio Di Giannantonio for fourth and fifth, while rookie Fermin Aldeguer impressed with sixth. Luca Marini continued his strong run to claim seventh, followed by Quartararo, Miguel Oliveira and Binder completing the top ten.
Raul Fernandez crossed the line 11th, Jack Miller took 12th ahead of Martin in 13th, Augusto Fernandez placed 14th on the V4-powered YZR-M1, and Thailand’s Somkiat Chantra took the final point in 15th.
It’s official: Marc Marquez arrives at Motegi with his first championship match point. Will the #93 seal his remarkable comeback in Japan? The answer will come soon enough.
Share this content:
